TELCOM IMMUNITY UPDATE

The short version is that Fredo lost (for now) and the Constitution won. The bill from the Senate Intelligence Committee will now be subject to amendments, including a few that remove immunity. Oddly, the GOP senators refused to enact a 30 day extention of the current law despite the fact that Fredo says it's absolutely crucial that we maintain the practices allowed by the current law. Others have made the same observation:

Glenn Greenwald:

...that means (in light of Bush's refusal to accept a 30-day extension) that the PAA is almost certain to expire on Friday without any new bill being in place. Given Bush's endless insistence that the PAA is necessary to save us all from The Terrorists, it is -- as I explained this morning -- one of his most brazen acts ever that he will simply allow the PAA to expire. How can expiration of this "Critical Intelligence Tool" possibly be preferable to a 30-day extension?

Ryan Paul at Ars Technica:

The Republican effort to block the 30 day extension is puzzling, because the Bush administration and Senate Republicans have frequently insisted over the past few weeks that the absence of the Protect America Act would leave the country in severe danger.

Jane Hamsher at FireDogLake:

The Republicans in the Senate, acting at George Bush's behest, failed to get cloture on the Intelligence Committee's version of the FISA bill, so there will be no up-or-down vote. They then blocked along straight party lines a 30 day extension of the PAA that would keep protections in place they've been insisting at top volume were absolutely necessary for American security because the President told them to.

Just so you now that this isn't just an issue for the Left, the John Birch Society also opposes this infringement on the 4th Amendment:

Time is short. If you do not like the idea of having government spies listening in the next time a member of your family calls home from overseas, you must contact your senators immediately and demand that they vote against S. 2248. If this measure is not approved by February 1, the FISA will (mercifully) expire.