Paul is ready to rattle Obama's Cage Sunday

[planosteve]

Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul said he’s ready for a “spying showdown” when the Senate holds a rare Sunday session, a sign he isn’t relenting in his fight against renewing anti-terrorism programs set to expire Monday.

Paul, of Kentucky, asked supporters in an e-mail Friday to join him in opposing National Security Agency spying. Three surveillance provisions of the USA Patriot Act are set to expire at 12:01 a.m. Monday. Like any U.S. senator Paul has the ability to tie the chamber in procedural knots.

“We fought a revolution over this,” Paul told a Republican Party meeting Friday in Rock Hill, South Carolina. “John Adams said that the spark that led to the American Revolution was James Otis’ fight against general warrants,” Paul said, referring to the colonial Massachusetts lawyer credited with popularizing the phrase, “Taxation without representation is tyranny.”

President Barack Obama’s administration warns that failing to renew the spying measures will put the U.S. at risk for terrorist attacks.

“I don’t want us to be in a situation in which for a certain period of time, those authorities go away and suddenly we’re dark,” Obama said. “Heaven forbid we’ve got a problem where we could’ve prevented a terrorist attack or apprehended someone who was engaged in dangerous activity but we didn’t do so simply because of inaction in the Senate.”

The bill, passed by the House 338-88 on May 13, would require the NSA to get court warrants to obtain individual phone records held by telecommunication companies.

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-05-29/paul-seeks-spying-showdown-in-sunday-senate-meeting-on-nsa

[grouchy]

Makes one wonder.

[planosteve]

The Republicans are in conference. They will probably return to the Senate about 5pm. They may try to pass the Freedom Act which extends the unconstitutional collection of information on the American people. It previously lost by 3 votes. But, Mitchell has to agree and he won't unless he is sure he had the votes for it to pass. I imagine some serious arm twisting is going on. You can watch it on CSPAN-2.

[planosteve]

The bill will not be revoted. Yea!

[planosteve]

The Freedom Act is dead.
The vote to limit debate on the Patriot Act passed.

[Cowman52]

They had a heads up on the Boston bombers and still couldn't catch them before they did their terrorist ca ca. I'm of he mind Jack Clapper could not find his butt with a map, a flashlight, and both hands. Peter King will squeal like a pig under a fence but every one of the so called surveillance experts ought to have to hunt a *^#€£ing job!

[planosteve]

Paul's speech on the floor of the Senate yesterday was the best I've heard in many years. If you missed it you can see it here. It lasts about 5 minutes.

The Right to be left alone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3Iz19kkEzU