Civil rights pushback

A New York Times editorial this morning condemns the "phony" compromise on the Bill of Rights being hashed out between the White House and Congress over domestic surveillance - and telecom immunity that pretends it isn't:

This week, House and Senate leaders were trying to allay the concerns of some lawmakers that approving the immunity would be tantamount to retroactively declaring the spying operation to have been legal. Those lawmakers are right. Granting the corporations immunity would send that exact message.

The final details aren't clear, but Congress may wish to consider which side of history it will be on. Last week, British Shadow Home Secretary David Davis resigned after the Commons passed another bill eroding rights dating back to the Magna Carta. British public opinion was unexpectedly positive [1], while much of the "Westminster village" and the press were critical. The public excitement [2] over the move left some in the press back-peddaling [3].

Protesters gathered in Stockholm recently to voice opposition [4] to expanded surveillance powers as undermining civil liberties in Sweden.

Maybe the public knows something the press and legislators don't.