02/3/08

Senator Dianne Feinstein
One Post St
Ste 2450
San Francisco CA, 94104

Fax 415 393 0710

RE: Vote "No" for Cloture on S2248, the FISA Amendments Act.
Please forward my message to the Senator in Washington DC

Dear Senator Feinstein,

This afternoon I was looking at the US Senate website to see
what business was coming up for consideration this week. The
first thing that caught my eye was that the Senate will
resume consideration of S2248, the FISA Amendments Act of 2007
again tomorrow. Haven't we been down this road before?

I have been a constituent and a supporter of yours since you
were reelected Mayor of San Francisco. It is critical that you
oppose cloture on S2248. Its equally important that you support
the Dodd-Feingold amendment SA3909 which, if I understand
correctly, was specifically submitted to do away with
retroactive amnesty for telecommunication companies included
in S2248.

I am writing to reiterate my belief that Congress must not give
a free pass for these corporations to violate the fourth
amendment right of all Americans to be free from unreasonable
search and seizure.That is essentially what this issue is about.

In addition, granting amnesty sets a dangerous precedent. It is
as if the Congress is saying that lawbreaking is acceptable and
that the rights of Americans can be freely infringed by these
private companies in defiance of the law.

Legislation updating and amending FISA should not include
amnesty. Telecoms must be held accountable.

Lawsuits may be the only way Americans subjected to this
illegal spying are able to obtain justice. In this
electronic age telecomshave essentially become the first
line of defense against governmental abuse. If Congress
sends the message that they are not liable for breaking
privacy laws, then their interest in protecting
customers' privacy, such as it is, will disappear.

Please vote to preserve the rule of law. Reject any
legislative efforts to give these powerful telecoms
amnesty for denying Americans their constitutional
right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.


Respectfully,

Mike Ring