i predict the courts will keep hold of this one way or the other..

News flash: the media shield bill is not “must pass”. If the Senate tries that the House will simply not take it up for a vote or strip it out. The House is not the senate. They can do whatever they want. Majority rules.

Also, If this Human Events guy knew anything about how congress works he would know that that BS discharge petition is going nowhere. Discharge petitions almost ALWAYS fail. They are political gimmicks used by the minority to create press pretending that they are doing something. There’s one on immigration, one on earmarks. They are all pointless. R’s simply do them so they can add it to their constituent newsletters so the voters think they are doing something.

And now that I read the article this Human Events guy is an idiot. Some examples:

Last year, an urgent fix to FISA — dealing with the effects of a FISA court decision that extended the act’s coverage to foreign communications that passed through American computer systems — was enacted and then extended. But the interim fix expired on February 16 because the House refused to act on a long-term fix that included the civil immunity for the telecom companies.

Well guess what, Republicans were actually given a chance for another extension in order to continue negotiating the telecom immunity part of the bill. They voted against it. So it expired because they refused an extension. And now of course they allcry that we are in more danger than ever. Well then, why did you vote against extending it?

Or where he said that Pelosi blocked immunity because she is “in thrall to the trial lawyers”. Huh? As opposed to things like constitutional rights. This is the kind of stuff you expect in right wing paranoid bulletin boards.

The damage to US intelligence gathering has accumulated, and in August will become overwhelming.

Then why did Republicans vote against extending it?

One House source said that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has a veto-proof sixty votes lined up for the media shield bill.

Then maybe you should stop talking to HOUSE sources when talking about the inner workings of the Senate. It takes 68 votes to override a veto you idiot. 60 is to break filibuster.

Cong. Pete Hoekstra (D-Mich.) is the ranking Republican on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

And yet you put a D on his name. Did a 3 year old write this shit?

It’s not going to happen. And I am particulacy amazed that Think progress picked this up. Its just not credible.

the most blatant:

‘But the interim fix expired on February 16 because the House refused to act on a long-term fix that included the civil immunity for the telecom companies.”

-WRONG, democrats voted on another extension but republicans voted against it.

“One House source said that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has a veto-proof sixty votes lined up for the media shield bill. ”

-You need 68 votes to override a veto, 60 is to break a filibuster.

and what would a house source know about what Reid is doing?

House sources say that the combination of the House bill and the Senate FISA bill could penetrate Pelosi’s wall around FISA. Those sources also said that the media shield bill is a “must pass” piece of legislation this year because the Democrats reportedly are under enormous pressure from their media pals to pass the bill.

What in the hell does the media have to do with telecom companies illegally assisting the garbage Chimpy administration’s illegal spying on Americans ?

What next , GOP ?

Adding certain caveats to a Homeland Security bill that will give the entire Congress more options to hold hearing on athletes using steroids ?

What a bunch of unfunny , stupid clowns……….

Besides, what “friends in the media” do Democrats have exactly? I can count them on one hand and still have fingers remaining.

I think what we really need in our country is a consumer bill of rights that protects us from corporations secretly giving our information away without our consent. If corporations plan to give the feds access to our conversations, they have to tell us up front and let the free market decide. We need to have the choice to not use the services of that company.

Not at all.

This comes from a republican, so it’s only about half true, as usual.

The problem with this scenario, is that since corporate media has literally billions of dollars at stake with media shield legislation, to suggest that it’s dems who will feel the heat, when republicans have the most to lose, is a truly weak lie.