And you honestly think any of it has jack-diddly shit to do with "telecom companies" going "bankrupt because they did their patriotic duty." Are you SERIOUS? REALLY?
The telecom companies don't
give a shit about the lawsuits. The ONLY people who seem to be worried are the folks in the Administration (and their enablers) who really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really DON'T want to have to answer any pesky questions like:
Who, precisely, were you spying on, that you couldn't be bothered to get a rubber-stamp FISA warrant that can be issued 72 hours retroactively AFTER the fact?(Not to mention this old, crowd-pleasing favorite:
"Why, if the sweeping spy powers were needed in the wake of 9/11, was the program instituted in February of 2001?")
Let's leave aside Hillary and Obama for a minute.. do you HONESTLY BELIEVE that allowing this Administration- ANY administration- to spy on whoever they want, whenever they want, under any circumstances they want, with--
ZERO OVERSIGHT WHATSOEVER --constitutes the telecom companies doing their "patriotic duty"?
For real?
What if it turns out Karl Rove was monitoring John Kerry's phones and email in the run up to the 2004 election? Would it still be the "patriotic duty" of the telecom companies to comply with Bush's every weasely request?
Remember, even John Ashcroft had problems with this program.. so Gonzo was brought in, and he didn't have any problems with it. You trust THAT guy to have total unfettered access sans warrants or oversight to tap any phone or electronic communcation he would want?
That's not patriotism, Ben. There is nothing "patriotic" about selling civil liberties, the rule of law, and the United States Constitution down the river. That is the antithesis of patriotism.
And the ONLY way any of us are going to get any answers regarding what WAS done under these "programs" is if civil cases can be brought against the telecoms- and THEY are not the ones particularly concerned (much less in danger of being made "bankrupt") about these lawsuits.
I suggest you do a little more research into the subject.
