Top 10 Civil Liberties News Stories - August 22, 2006 Edition

Senate Debates New Wiretapping Legislation

Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) introduces the Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2006, one of several pieces of legislation written to accommodate or otherwise address the Bush administration's controversial NSA wiretapping program.

Image courtesy of the U.S. Senate.

• A censure resolution sponsored by Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), which galvanized opposition to the NSA surveillance program but isn't likely to gather enough support to pass under the current majority. Republican senators tend to openly support the Bush administration's policy on this issue, and even those who don't generally don't want to challenge a sitting president in a midterm election year.
• A heated exchange between Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Vice-President Dick Cheney over how best to address the legislative issues concerning the NSA program.
• Multiple bills, which I will be profiling in greater detail over the coming days, which would modify the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978 to permit further snooping. The Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2006 was the first major bill of its kind to surface, but now Senator Specter has introduced another bill, the National Security Surveillance Act. Both largely acquiesce to the administration's demands. I'll have more to report on the dueling bills over the coming days, so stay tuned.

• Federal Judge Declares NSA Wiretapping Program Unconstitutional
• Senate Debates New Wiretapping Legislation
• ACLU Challenges Anti-Immigrant Hazleton Ordinance in Court
• Schwarzenegger Vetoes Bill Supporting Victims of Wrongful Mexican Repatriation
• New Pension Bill Provides Benefits for Same-Sex Couples
• Border Patrol Agrees on Settlement in Attack on U.S. Citizen
• ACLU: New York Pharmacists Altering Emergency Contraception Prescriptions
• U.S. Government Examines Privacy Concerns Raised by Automobile "Black Boxes"
• Heterosexual Couples Challenge Arizona Anti-Gay Marriage Referendum
• Virginia Teenager Not Required to Undergo Chemotherapy