Oil and gasoline prices are setting all-time records, helping the five biggest publicly traded oil companies in the world earn a staggering $148 billion in profits over the past year.[1] At the same time, the U.S. government continues to provide massive subsidies to oil companies.
These subsidies for some of the most profitable companies in the world, given directly and through the tax breaks, are a waste of taxpayer dollars and continue tax dollar investments in oil instead of shifting incentives to clean energy alternatives. Subsidies for the oil industry preserve our dependence on oil, which leaves our economy vulnerable to price surges, our security vulnerable to hostile oil-rich nations, and our climate vulnerable to greenhouse gas pollution.
If elected president, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) would provide $39 billion in federal help for oil and gas companies over the next five years. Some of these subsidies already exist: McCain supports the continuation of many of the current subsidies, which will total $33 billion over the next five years according to a study by Friends of the Earth, "Big Oil, Bigger Giveaways."[2] While McCain would repeal some of these subsidies, he would also pass a corporate tax cut that would be worth more than $22 billion to America's five largest oil companies over the next five years.[3]
These subsidies and corporate tax breaks would divert money away from much-needed investment in a serious long-term solution to the energy crisis. These same dollars could be spent investing in efficiency and alternative sources of energy such as super-efficient cars, wind and solar power, and enhanced energy efficiency, which would save American families money, create thousands of new jobs, and help power millions of homes with clean, renewable sources of energy.
This paper outlines McCain's plan to expand these subsidies, demonstrates how that money could instead be invested in energy efficiency and renewable energy, and estimates how much of their tax dollars the citizens of each state can expect to spend on subsidizing the oil and gas companies over the next five years under John McCain.

The McCain plan
As president, John McCain would continue some of the largest subsidies for oil and gas companies and level a corporate rate cut that would save them additional billions.
The subsidies he would continue include the oil and gas depletion allowance, which allows "oil companies to deduct 15 percent of their sales revenue to reflect the declining value of their investment," an expensive set of tax breaks that treat oil and gas as "manufactured" goods.[4]
McCain's campaign has promised to close many of the existing subsidies—though they have only released specifics to the The Washington Post editorial board and not on the campaign website— yet the subsidies and giveaways that McCain would apparently continue total nearly $17 billion.
John McCain has also proposed a sweeping reduction in the corporate tax rate, to 25 percent from 35 percent. This tax change would save America's five largest oil companies $22 billion over the next five years.[5]
These existing and new tax breaks would together transfer nearly $39 billion from taxpayers to the oil and gas industry over the next five years in the form of subsidies and forgone revenues.[6]

Investments in home weatherization
Saving energy by using it more efficiently is often less expensive than generating more power. Weatherizing homes can cut families' energy bills dramatically, reduce oil consumption, and reduce global warming pollution.
The money that would go to oil companies in subsidies, tax breaks, and giveaways under John McCain's plan could be used to weatherize over 13.8 million American homes, saving each household an average of $360 dollars every year in reduced utility bills, and dramatically reducing energy usage and carbon emissions.[7]

Investment in clean and renewable energy
The taxpayer money that would go to wildly profitable oil and gas companies under John McCain's plan over the next five years could also be invested in clean and renewable energy.
An investment of $39 billion over five years could build enough wind power plants to power over 6 million homes every year, based on estimates from an earlier analysis from the Center for American Progress.[8] An investment of this relatively modest magnitude in wind power could create over 46,000 new high-quality jobs.[9]
Similarly, the same money could be invested in enough geothermal power plants (which generate electricity from heat stored below the earth's surface) to power over 9.7 million American homes,[10] creating over 120,000 jobs in the process.[11]

State-by-state analysis
Families in every state pay for oil subsidies. The tables below estimate how much the citizens of each state can expect to subsidize oil and gas companies over the next five years under John McCain, despite those companies' record profits.[12]
Oil subsidies also represent a lost opportunity to promote the efficient use of clean, renewable energy. The tables describe alternative uses of these resources: the number of homes that states could weatherize, the number of households that could be powered by clean and renewable sources of energy, and the minimum number of high-quality clean energy jobs that could be created by such an investment.

Conclusion
If elected, John McCain would preserve and create $39 billion in federal help to the oil and gas companies over the next five years. These same dollars could be better spent investing in efficiency and alternative sources of energy that would save American families money, create thousands of new jobs, and help to power millions of homes with clean, renewable sources of energy.
Download the report (pdf)

Endnotes
Center for American Progress Action Fund, "Big Oil Earned $236 Per American Driver In The Last Year," July 31, 2008, available at http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2008/per_driver.html.
[2] Friends of the Earth, "Big Oil, Bigger Giveaways," July 2008. Available at http://www.foe.org/pdf/FoE_Oil_Giveaway_Analysis_2008.pdf.
[3] Center For American Progress Action Fund, "The McCain Plan to Cut Oil Company
Taxes by Nearly $4 Billion," March 27, 2008. Annual tax benefit grown with GDP over five years based on CBO economic projections available at http://www.cbo.gov/budget/data/econproj.shtml.
[4] Based on a list of his proposed tax break rollbacks published in The Washington Post and a list of giveaways from the Friends of the Earth Report. McCain's plan available from The Washington Post, "The McCain Budget Plan," July 14, 2008. Available at . Full list of subsidies & descriptions from Friends of the Earth, "Big Oil, Bigger Giveaways."
[5] Center For American Progress Action Fund, "The McCain Plan to Cut Oil Company
Taxes by Nearly $4 Billion," March 27, 2008. Annual tax benefit grown with GDP over five years based on CBO economic projections available at http://www.cbo.gov/budget/data/econproj.shtml.
[6] Based on a sum of the above two estimates.
[7] Based on cost estimates from the Weatherization Assistance Program, the Department of Energy, and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
[8] Daniel Weiss and Alexandra Kougentakis, "Waitin' On A Sunny (And Windy) Day," Center for American Progress, April 1, 2008. Alternative energy production estimates scaled up based on additional money available.
[9] Apollo Alliance, "Community Jobs in the Green Economy," 2007. Available at . Job estimates based on Apollo Alliance's jobs/MW ratio applied to a low-bound capacity estimate for the new power plants.
[10] Daniel Weiss and Alexandra Kougentakis, "Waitin' On A Sunny (And Windy) Day."
[11] Apollo Alliance, "Community Jobs in the Green Economy."
[12] Based on the portion of total federal income taxes paid by each state from the Internal Revenue Service. Data available here.

Robert Eringer
August 2, 2008 12:00 AM
The Investigator
Few noticed that President George W. Bush quietly revamped the role of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board earlier this year. But nobody knows, until now, that a spy scare was one of the reasons to precipitate this change.The role of the advisory board, which President Eisenhower created in 1956, has been to monitor U.S. intelligence services and offer non-partisan, expert advise to the president on its conduct. In the mid-1970s, after the exposure of CIA abuses by the Church Committee, PFIAB's clout expanded to investigate crimes within the intelligence community, empowered by President Ford to report criminal activity directly to the attorney general.On Feb. 29, President Bush signed an executive order that diminishes PFIAB's authority and transfers the investigative powers to the director of national intelligence.This followed a lengthy FBI counterintelligence investigation into the activities of a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who they suspected of spying on PFIAB for Russia.It is believed in some quarters that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin personally recruited this colonel while Mr. Putin was posted to Dresden, East Germany, as a KGB intelligence officer. From 1985 to 1990 it was Mr. Putin's job to recruit spies in Germany, where U.S. military officers serving at NATO air bases were considered high priority targets.At that time, the colonel was based at Borfink Air Force Base, where he supervised top-secret U-2 and SR-71 reconnaissance flights over the Soviet Union.Soon after retiring from the Air Force, this colonel, in 1992, organized a trade delegation of Russians to the Principality of Monaco. Included in this delegation was an obscure political functionary from St. Petersburg. His name was Vladimir Putin. (Mr. Putin had resigned from the KGB a year before.) This delegation marked a Russian entry into Monaco, a tax haven that provides a variety of shielded opportunities to the very rich.A Russian presence in Monaco has greatly proliferated during the past two years. As if to consummate the relationship, Prince Albert II of Monaco last August vacationed for a week in Russia with Mr. Putin, as the Russian president's guest. More recently, the Russian state "gifted" Prince Albert with a two-story, three-bedroom dacha, which Russian builders constructed from scratch on the grounds of Roc Agel, the bachelor prince's country hideaway in the French Alps, high above his glamorous principality.Back to the mid-1990s, the Air Force colonel created a business entity in Monaco with a member of a prominent Monegasque family. Over a five-year period this entity is understood to have laundered $600 million through Monaco's banks for corrupt Russian interests -- funds reputedly channeled into real estate around Western Europe and further laundered through coded accounts at banks in Malta, the Bahamas, and the Turks & Caicos Islands. An estate in Ireland was allegedly purchased on behalf of one "Andrey Vasiliyev," an alias that Mr. Putin, while president, was known to use in correspondence with his intelligence chiefs.The colonel was also known to carry suitcases full of cash -- presumably on behalf of Russians, maybe for Mr. Putin personally -- from Switzerland to Monaco for deposit in local banks.Although his last annual salary in the Air Force as an attachè was about $60,000 -- and that by his own admission he "retired broke" -- the colonel quickly amassed $10 million worth of real estate in Monaco, London, Malibu and Whistler, Canada, plus luxury cars, and a collection of ultra-pricey Ming Dynasty antiques.One of the Russians who figured into the colonel's Monaco-based Russian money laundering scheme was Viktor Bout, a former major in the GRU (Soviet military intelligence), nicknamed "The Bill Gates of Arms Dealing" and now in custody in Thailand, fighting extradition to the United States.Trouble for both the colonel and Mr. Bout, 41, first began in February 2001 when a prosecutor in Belgium, under pressure from the United States government, issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Bout alleging that this merchant of death had laundered millions of dollars from illegal arms sales, including the sale of Russian military aircraft to the Taliban in Afghanistan, pre-9/11.The colonel and his Monegasque partner, who has since died, liquidated their entity four months later and are understood to have destroyed the company's documentation. The colonel then left Monaco to lay low in his other homes.However, the colonel still maintained a link to PFIAB, whose meetings he had occasionally attended while in the Air Force to "flap charts" for senior officers conducting presentations. The colonel, in retirement, had been known to boast to others that he was attached to PFIAB, and that he was engaged in running secret missions on its behalf.But he was lying. The colonel neither sat on PFIAB's 16-member board nor was he on its staff; nor does PFIAB have operational authority or capability to run missions.Yet when annual PFIAB meetings rolled around every December, the colonel traveled first-class to Washington, D.C., for precisely the same dates and holed up in five-star hotels -- The Willard or the Hay Adams -- a stone's throw from PFIAB's venue, the Old Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House.It is believed the colonel knew someone at PFIAB -- a board member or staffer -- whom he wined and dined at expensive restaurants and from whom he weaseled intelligence gossip about PFIAB briefings and discussions. And then reported everything he collected to the Russians.The colonel has apparently gotten off scot-free, unless the FBI turned him into a double agent. Obviously, they're not saying, and are otherwise preoccupied celebrating their 100th anniversary with a PR campaign.A call from The Investigator to PFIAB for comment was referred to the White House Media Office, which did not call back.

NYT Rips Voting Machine Bill

An election reform bill (S. 3212) sponsored by Democratic California Senator Dianne Feinsten and Republican Senator Robert Bennett of Utah was panned by the New York Times this morning in an editorial. The Times says election reform is indeed necessary, but not in the form put forth in this bill. Here’s a quick look at the Times’ POV:
Voters cannot trust the totals reported by electronic voting machines; they are too prone to glitches and too easy to hack. In the last few years, concerned citizens have persuaded states to pass bills requiring electronic voting machines to use paper ballots or produce voter-verifiable paper records of every vote. More than half of the states now have such laws.
There is still a need for a federal law, so voting is reliable in every state. A good law would require that every vote in a federal election produce a voter-verifiable paper record, and it would mandate that the paper records be the official ballots. It would impose careful standards for how these paper ballots must be “audited,” to verify that the tallies on the electronic machines are correct.
For the complete editorial, click here.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: As we constantly mention here, election reform shouldn’t just be about looking at the ways we vote, but the day we vote as well. In 2006, we caught up with Senator Feinstein in California to talk to her about why we vote on Tuesday. Do you know why? To see whether Senator Feinstein knew the answer (most members of congress don’t know) check out this video. If you don’t know the answer, you can find it right here.
ABOUT US: If you’re new here, we invite you to learn more about our nonpartisan mission at Why Tuesday? including who we are and what we do.

+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| "Clear" Laptop Found, In the Same Locked Office
| from the never-mind dept.
| posted by kdawson on Wednesday August 06, @08:06 (Privacy)
|

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/06/1021225
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]jafo alerts us to an SFGate story reporting that the [1]lost "Clear" Program laptop has [2]turned up in the same office from which it was
reported missing, but not in its previous location. "A preliminary investigation shows that the information was not compromised... The
computer held names, addresses and birthdates for people applying to the program, as well as driver's license, passport and green card
information. But, she said, the computer contained no Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, fingerprints, facial images or other
biometric information... The information was encrypted on the server, but not on the laptop, although it should have been... However, it was
protected by two levels of passwords." Reader jafo adds, "Pardon me if I have little confidence that an organization that loses a sensitive laptop
for 9 days is able to tell if it was compromised."
Discuss this story at:

http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/08/06/1021225
Links:
0.

http://www.tummy.com/journals/users/jafo/
1.

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/05/1539231&tid=158
2. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/05/BU2V125HTF.DTL&tsp=1

Prosecution made easy

By Dan Goodin in San Francisco → More by this author

The US Senate has passed a bill to strengthen the hands of federal prosecutors who fight computer crime by removing some of the more common hurdles in prosecuting online miscreants.
One provision would eliminate a requirement that prosecutors prove illegal activity has caused at least $5,000 in damage before they can bring charges of unauthorized computer access. The threshold often proves problematic in pursuing cyber crime because a single incident may spread the damage across hundreds of thousands of victims. Because the harm is so dispersed, it's often hard to meet the burden.
Under the new legislation, criminals could be charged with a felony if they install spyware or keystroke-monitoring software on 10 or more computers, no matter how much damage is caused. It also allows identity victims to seek restitution for the time they spend trying to restore their credit.
The bill would give the feds additional new powers. For the first time, they could pursue crimes when the miscreant and victim live in the same state. It also contains new provisions for charging cyber extortion.
The new provisions have been added to H.R. 5938, the so-called Former Vice President Protection Act.

August 4, 2008

Americans United Deplores Florida Court's Decision Allowing Deceptive Amendments On November Ballot
Disappointing Court Decision Will Be Appealed, Says AU's Lynn
Americans United for Separation of Church and State will appeal Leon Circuit Judge John Cooper’s decision to allow two amendments on Florida’s November ballot that could erase religious freedom safeguards and harm public schools in the state. Americans United filed a lawsuit, Ford v. Browning, along with other civil liberties and education groups in June, urging the court to remove the amendments because the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission exceeded its authority in approving both ballot amendments and because one of the amendments is worded in a misleading manner. AU hoped the court would see through former Gov. Jeb Bush’s backdoor political maneuver to get these amendments on the ballot and do the right thing in removing them. "These dangerous proposals have no business being on the ballot,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “We will appeal this decision. “We cannot stand by and let Jeb Bush and his cronies succeed in manipulating and misleading Floridians,” Lynn continued. If these amendments are voted into law, they will permit voucher subsidies for religious and other private schools in Florida and eliminate the state constitution’s language barring tax aid to religion. The result is that houses of worship and religious schools could receive massive new streams of public funding. In addition to Americans United, groups who backed the lawsuit include the Florida Education Association, the Florida School Boards Association, the Florida Association of District School Superintendants, the Florida Association of School Administrators, the Florida ACLU, the Anti-Defamation League and People For the American Way.

The Minimum Security Prison of America (aka "Fun Times at the Canadian Border!")

Total war dead is 4,685, not 4,128 misinformed -- plus 80,000-800,000 others criminally ignored.

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FBI Seizes Library Computers Without Warrant
| from the we-don't-need-no-steenkin dept.
| posted by kdawson on Sunday August 03, @16:36 (Privacy)
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/03/192222
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "Two FBI agents walked into a public library
in Maryland, without a warrant, and [0]walked out with two computers. The
library director agreed to release the machines to these smooth-talking
feds. According to the article, the director of Frederick County Public
Libraries indicated that this was the third time in his 10 years there
that the FBI had requested records, but the first time they had come
without a court order. The director seemed to indicate no regrets,
stating 'It was a decision I made on my experience and the information
given to me.' He further justified his actions, noting that the agents
indicated specific computers they needed (of the several dozen in the
library) and further that they 'had an awful lot of information.'" The
library director speculated whether the raid may have involved the
[1]Bruce Ivins / anthrax case, musing "Obviously it coincided with the
events everyone is talking about," but he said the agents hadn't
mentioned it.
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/08/03/192222
Links:
0. http://wtopnews.com/?nid=598&sid=1452848
1. http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/01/1532217&tid=266

Watchdog Group Asks U.S. Department of Defense to Investigate Missouri Army Base That Promotes Baptist Church Proselytism

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today asked the U.S. Department of Defense to investigate an Army base’s practice of coercing soldiers to attend church services during their training. Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri offers “Free Day Away” as one of only two opportunities for soldiers to leave the base during eight weeks of vigorous Army training. (The other day is the day before graduation, which can be spent with parents and guests.) During “Free Day Away,” trainees are picked up by a bus sent from the Tabernacle Baptist Church of Lebanon, Mo., to participate in a day full of recreational activities, followed by dinner and a required church service. Trainees are given the impression that the event is sponsored by the Army and that they must attend. If they do not attend, they have to remain on the base and continue with training, while those who attend the event have a break for the day. “We believe that it is of utmost importance that the Army guarantee the constitutional rights of those who risk their lives to protect our freedom,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “And that means ensuring that soldiers have the freedom to practice any faith or no faith at all. “The coercive religious practices at Fort Leonard Wood are an outrage,” he continued, “and the Department of Defense should put a stop to them immediately.” During the church service, soldiers are told that they are all sinners who must repent and that they “must be saved now or go to hell.” Soldiers willing to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior are instructed to step into the aisles of the church and enroll in a six-lesson correspondence course that will lead to their “personal salvation.” In a 2003 article in the Global Baptist Times, the pastor of Tabernacle Church reported that 270,000 soldiers had participated in the “Free Day Away” ministry since its inception in 1971 and that 47,000 had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. The Tabernacle Church also asks the soldiers to provide their home addresses so members of their families can also be “saved.” Fort Leonard Wood has promoted this program for the past 36 years and the program is endorsed by the base commander, Americans United learned during its investigation. Americans United, in its

letter, urged Gordon S. Heddell, acting inspector general for the Department of Defense, to conduct a full investigation into the Army’s “Free Day Away” practice.
The letter was prepared by Americans United Senior Litigation Counsel Alex J. Luchenitser and volunteer attorney Howard Sribnick.

"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the
animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel
nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest
lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."

Brett Dobbs says: "I found this the most useful guide to explain what has gone on with FISA. With flowcharts!"

The Problem

What is causing the high price of fuel?

The oil price bubble is unfairly taxing American families and restricting our nation’s economic potential. While everyone is aware that supply and demand constraints contribute to price increases, there’s another force at work that, like gravity, is invisible yet powerful. This force is rampant speculation.

Every time you buy products such as food or gas, you are impacted by unregulated, secretive and often foreign commodities futures markets. Speculators in these markets are increasingly buying and selling commodities such as oil to sell again, rather than to use. As largely unregulated speculators pocket billions of dollars at your expense, the price of commodities has increased out of proportion to marketplace demands.

As speculators continue to dominate the market, the volume of oil traded “on paper” has been as high as 22 times greater than the volume of oil consumed. As prices rise, institutional investors have become active traders, turning commodities into just another asset class. This has caused severe market imbalance and upset the natural relationship between supply and demand. As a result, legitimate customers such as trucking companies, airlines, and consumers have been forced to purchase oil at unnecessarily higher prices. This has dramatically raised costs, resulting in needlessly high prices for American consumers and businesses.

How do they get away with that?

Over the last 20 years, commodities markets have become increasingly less regulated. Today, as many as 90 percent of all commodities trades occur outside of the traditional marketplace exchanges. In these so-called “Swaps trades”, parties secretly buy and sell commodities with absolutely no one watching. This means speculators can manipulate oil prices and corner the market without anyone knowing.

In addition, other loopholes exist allowing increasingly sophisticated speculators to take advantage of consumers. For example, in 2000 Enron lobbied policy makers to permit some U.S. commodities exchanges to operate without normal oversight. This has allowed speculators to dodge public disclosure rules that would normally limit the number of trades an investor can make.

Impeachment is the proccess in the Senate through which the President, Vice President and civil officers can be tried for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors," according to the Constitution. For Bill Clinton, it came in the aftermath of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. But for George W. Bush, it comes...

Creating a Secret Propaganda Campaign to Manufacture a False Case for War Against Iraq.
Falsely, Systematically, and with Criminal Intent Conflating the Attacks of September 11, 2001, With
Misrepresentation of Iraq as a Security Threat as Part of Fraudulent Justification for a War of
Aggression.
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Possessed Weapons of
Mass Destruction, to Manufacture a False Case for War.
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Posed an Imminent Threat
to the United States.
Illegally Misspending Funds to Secretly Begin a War of Aggression.
Invading Iraq in Violation of the Requirements of HJRes114.
Invading Iraq Absent a Declaration of War.
Invading Iraq, A Sovereign Nation, in Violation of the UN Charter.
Failing to Provide Troops With Body Armor and Vehicle Armor
Falsifying Accounts of US Troop Deaths and Injuries for Political Purposes
Establishment of Permanent U.S. Military Bases in Iraq
Initiating a War Against Iraq for Control of That Nation's Natural Resources
Announcing the Intent to Violate Laws with Signing Statements
Failing to Comply with Congressional Subpoenas and Instructing Former Employees Not to Comply
Tampering with Free and Fair Elections, Corruption of the Administration of Justice
Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965
Misleading Congress and the American People in an Attempt to Destroy Medicare
Directing Telecommunications Companies to Create an Illegal and Unconstitutional Database of the
Private Telephone Numbers and Emails of American Citizens
Katrina: Failure to Plan for the Predicted Disaster of Hurricane Katrina, Failure to Respond to a Civil
Emergency
Misleading Congress and the American People, Systematically Undermining Efforts to Address GlobalClimate Change
Repeatedly Ignored and Failed to Respond to High Level Intelligence Warnings of Planned Terrorist
Attacks in the US, Prior to 911.
Obstruction of the Investigation into the Attacks of September 11, 2001
Endangering the Health of 911 First Responders
Creating a Secret Task Force to Develop Energy and Military Policies With Respect to Iraq and Other
Countries
Misprision of a Felony, Misuse and Exposure of Classified Information And Obstruction of Justice in
the Matter of Valerie Plame Wilson, Clandestine Agent of the Central Intelligence Agency
Providing Immunity from Prosecution for Criminal Contractors in Iraq
Reckless Misspending and Waste of U.S. Tax Dollars in Connection With Iraq and US Contractors
Illegal Detention: Detaining Indefinitely And Without Charge Persons Both U.S. Citizens and Foreign
Captives
Torture: Secretly Authorizing, and Encouraging the Use of Torture Against Captives in Afghanistan,
Iraq, and Other Places, as a Matter of Official Policy
Rendition: Kidnapping People and Taking Them Against Their Will to "Black Sites" Located in Other
Nations, Including Nations Known to Practice Torture
Imprisoning Children
Misleading Congress and the American People About Threats from Iran, and Supporting Terrorist
Organizations Within Iran, With the Goal of Overthrowing the Iranian Government
Creating Secret Laws
Violation of the Posse Comitatus Act
Spying on American Citizens, Without a Court-Ordered Warrant, in Violation of the Law and the
Fourth Amendment

The erosion of our civil liberties continues. Congress seems to be uncaring or even in conspiracy to undermine The Bill of Rights. This is demonstrated by a letter from congressman Todd Akin below. PLEASE tell your congressmen that they are WRONG.

From: Congressman Todd Akin <mo02ima@mail.house.gov>
Date: Jul 14, 2008 1:06 PM
Subject: From the office of Congressman Todd Akin

Dear Friend:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. This bill passed in the House on June 20 with significant support from both Democrats and Republicans and is currently before the Senate.
Much of the controversy over this bill is rooted in the powers granted to the executive branch. In addition to this delegation of authority, many are troubled by what has been termed "telecom immunity." While I share your concerns about a more powerful federal government, I believe that this bill does much more good for our nation than harm.
First of all, this legislation aims to facilitate the ability of our defense intelligence organizations to collect information on foreign threats in foreign nations-not spy on American citizens in America.
When drafting the Constitution, James Madison insisted that Congress be assigned the authority to "declare war" rather than the authority to "make war." Madison stressed this distinction because he wanted the President to be able to respond promptly and effectively to urgent national security threats without being blocked by legislative gridlock in Congress.
The wisdom of the Founding Fathers still holds true today, when, more than ever, our security forces must respond quickly to terrorist threats if they are to prevent more attacks on our nation
This is why the President-not Congress or the judicial branch-is charged with the duty to levy war as Commander in Chief of our armed forces. According to Constitutional law, the authority to monitor operations such as conducting surveillance on foreign targets in foreign countries in the interest of national security during wartime clearly falls under the scope of the executive branch of the government, and with good reason. This FISA bill reinforces the wisdom of James Madison and our Founding Fathers.
One must remember that this bill does not give the executive branch a blank check to practice domestic surveillance on American citizens. Limiting the scope of authority to foreign targets in foreign countries, this legislation provides a process for judicial review by federal courts should time permit such action. Only in the most urgent cases will individual FISA court orders be issued.
Secondly, I share your concerns over telecom immunity. Rest assured that I will always support reasonable measures of governmental oversight. Telecommunications companies aiding the government, however, must have assurance that they will not be subject to frivolous lawsuits for helping protect the country. By providing liability protection, we will facilitate these organizations' ability to ensure America's safety.
There will be no "blanket immunity" granted through this bill. In order to receive civil liability protection, the Attorney General must provide evidence that certifies that a telecommunications company assisting the government in intelligence gathering was the subject of a written request or directive certifying the authorization by the President.
Representing you is a privilege. As always, I appreciate the opportunity to hear from you about the issues before Congress. Please do not hesitate to contact me regarding any matter where I may be of assistance.

Member of Congress

Sincerely,

W. Todd Akin

[note: bold is added by this site]
It is interesting to note that there was NO Fisa court in the founding fathers' time. Similarly there was no literacy rate above 10% or even ability to communicate faster than horseback. This legislation is giving CLOSED courts with absolutely NO congressional or legislative oversight the right to SPY on ALL communications with a simple presidential order and as we have seen in the Reagan years and the current Cheney Bush administration the president's office often issues sweeping orders of which the president may not even being aware.
not like you

Gas could fall to $2 if Congress acts, analysts say

Limiting speculation would push prices to fundamental level, lawmakers told

By Rex Nutting & Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch

Last update: 4:24 p.m. EDT June 23, 2008

Index speculation damages price-discovery mechanisms provided by futures markets, Masters added. The committee will likely consider legislation that would rein in index speculation by imposing higher-margin requirements; setting position limits for speculators; requiring more disclosure of positions; and preventing pension funds and investment banks from owning commodities. Both major presidential candidates have supported closing loopholes that encourage speculation in the energy markets. Read more on Election Blog. However, other witnesses said that pure speculators have had little impact on energy prices, which have doubled in the past year to about $135 per barrel. Both Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman have dismissed the impact of speculators on prices paid by consumers. Speculators now account for about 70% of all benchmark crude trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up from 37% in 2000, said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the investigations subcommittee. Stupak introduced a bill on Friday that would limit index speculation. There has been much discussion recently about how big a role speculators have been playing in the sharp rise in energy prices, though no consensus has emerged on this point. Congress, however, has grown increasingly concerned over speculative investors' role in the energy market in comparison with those buying futures contracts to hedge against risk from price changes. Lawmakers are expected to consider legislation to set strict limits -- or in some cases, an outright ban -- on speculative trading in energy futures in some markets. Dingell is looking into any legal loopholes that may have contributed to speculation in energy markets. In 1991, according to documents provided by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to the committee's investigators, the agency authorized the first exemption from position limits for swap dealers with no physical commodity exposure. This began what Dingell said was "a process that has enabled investment banks to accumulate enormous positions in commodity markets." Is Congress barking up the wrong tree? Neal Ryan, manager at Ryan Oil & Gas Partners, said that if Congress develops regulations to cut back speculative trading, speculation will just find a new home. "Speculation is the root of capitalism," he said. "If the speculation is forced out of the U.S. exchanges, it'll simply show up on other exchanges that are OTC like the ICE, or new exchanges will pop up to allow for the spec trades to continue functioning." Ryan said he does see a reason for Congress to look at eliminating aspects such as allowing West Texas intermediate crude oil futures to trade on foreign markets and the "Enron loophole," but "these exchanges are currently functioning as they are supposed to in a free marketplace." The creation of a comprehensive U.S. energy policy that tackles issues of increasing domestic supply and reining in consumer demand via conservation should be Congress' focus, Ryan said. "Instead we're on bended knee begging the Saudis to put more oil on the market and talking about shutting down spec trades."