This letter is to urge you to vote against the extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that authorizes warrantless (no approval by a FISA court required) wiretapping and other forms of electronic surveillance. The requirement for FISA court approval should be reinstated so that our constitutional right to privacy can be restored.  The FISA court approval provision did not require prior approval before surveillance could begin. It contained a retroactive approval provision that allowed immediate surveillance to begin when time was critical.
  Therefore there is no reason to have eliminated this check on executive power. If we continue to lose our constitutional freedoms (habeas corpus, now privacy) out of fear of terrorism then we have lost the very liberty that our forefathers have fought, bled and died for over two hundred years. Hear the words of our fourth President, James Madison, “If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.”
  Also, I was appalled to learn that the Bush administration used bogus threats of terror attacks on the U.S. capital to influence House members to approve the current Surveillance Act. Extra guards were posted and this information was being ‘surged’ through the House on the very day that the House approved this Act.   This information came out in an interview with Rep. Jane Harmon.

  The very definition of terror is to coerce by intimidation or fear. It seems that that the terrorists are not now limited to other shores but are alive and well in Washington, D.C. The  mis-information that 1/3 to ½ of all intelligence would be uncollectible and that ‘Americans would die’ if the bill was not passed was also used to promote this bill.  
  Please vote against the extension of this act to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans. No one doubts that there are terrorists who threaten our way of life, but we must not lose our freedoms in our fight against these foes. Vote to restore our liberty! Sincerely, Molly Roberts,Registered voter who votes in every election