Jay Inslee from WA's 1st Congressional District
It's great, especially in the times we live in, to know that the United States Congressman who represents you... actually represents you. I get several emails a day asking me to call to email my congressman on various issues, but Jay Inslee is consistently on the same side of those issues that I am. Occasionally I'll send him an email on something of particular importance to me and in his response I find that he's already fighting my fight for me. THAT'S what representational government is supposed to be about. Here's a bit of an email I got from him today...
I wanted to share with you my recent comments from the floor of the House in opposition to HR 6304, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) legislation. I believe that our civil liberties are undermined with the unfortunate passage of this legislation. I assure you, in my mind the only thing this bill succeeds in compromising is our constitutional freedoms and I know of no justification for this blanket disregard of the law and the public trust.
“Have we forgotten what our ancestors have done in the cause of liberty? Don’t we realize there are some lines we can never cross? Don’t we realize we should never legitimize illegal violations of America’s privacy rights, which this bill does? This bill says if the telecommunication companies violated America’s privacy willfully, knowingly, knowing it was illegal, we are giving them immunity. Where is the excuse for that? Where is the excuse for turning a nation of laws into a nation that will be led by a President who knows how to manipulate our fears? We have got to know the law is our ultimate guardian of liberty, and those on this side have accused us of having a pre-9/11 mentality. Let me remind them that July 4, 1776, was pre-9/11. And heaven help us the day that those values are shucked aside at the service of fear.”
I want to say a few more words on the power of fear. It’s a theme that has prevailed under the Bush Administration. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt once used this word to inspire hope in the face of darkness, brotherhood in the face of personal uncertainty. In contrast, this administration has used this word as a means to inspire hatred and mislead the American people. Fear may have brought us here. Let it be hope that lifts us out. You can continue to count on me to demand accountability from this administration.