Chris Dodd is currently giving yet another impassioned speech about the faults of the FISA bill before Congress. He's calling this one of the darkest days he's seen in the Senate. The Senate is virtually empty. The media has buried the story. Fellow Democratic Senators have voted against limits on spying.
Why doesn't anyone care?
This is big-brotherism at its core. The federal government, abetted by the telecom industry is spying on us, one and all.
As Glen Greenwald indicates, one of the reasons is that many Democratic lawmakers actually support the "core value of our political establishment (as reflected by the Bush administration)." So, they can't be expected to vote against more power to the feds. In the same way, average Americans have been scared to death by the boogeyman of "terrorism" and so are ready to relinquish freedom for security.
The media doesn't care because they can't figure out a way to sell it to the world as an issue of importance. It's not a simple issue, nor a simple bill. But the base concept is simple. The Bush administration (the federal government/the political establishment) wants the ability to listen in to any of us, at any time, without an explanation.
If it interfered with America's ability to vote for American Idol. If an item suddenly appeared on our phone and cable bills, labeled "Spying....$30." If your cell coverage was suddenly limited to certain quadrants. Or, if your son or your daughter suddenly "disappeared" for having protested government actions, then America would begin to care.
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