A positive development in the Senate

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid abruptly pulled the FISA bill last night, the one that would have granted telecom companies immunity for violating the privacy rights of their customers when they assisted the government in conducting warrantless wiretaps. More here.

I liked this quote from Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, "Those like myself, who are against immunity, really don't want to punish the phone companies as much as we want to hold the government accountable. But it's very difficult to do that."

The reasonable path is to continue to require a court order before the telcos cooperate with the government and allow it to spy on people in the United States.

NPR also had this report yesterday on "All Things Considered" and this one on "Marketplace." In the latter report, Senator Ted Kennedy dismisses the Administration's argument that without immunity, the telcos could be bankrupted by lawsuits:

In other words, the administration is telling us that these companies may have engaged in lawbreaking on a scale so massive that they could not afford the penalty if they are brought to justice. But massive lawbreaking is an argument against immunity, not for it.