I'm still trying to figure out what exactly is going to go on with the FISA bill debate today. As we know, Chris Dodd has stepped up with his intention to filibuster the bill because of the retroactive telecom immunity provision contained within the bill Harry Reid has brought to the floor. Floor speeches on the matter are currently underway at CSPAN2.

Earlier, Senator Feinstein offered up an amendment to the bill that would narrow the immunity provision of the FISA law to allow the FISA court to determine whether the telecoms complied with the law or not. Apparently, under this amendment, if the telecoms were found to have broken the law, even in the name of assisting the federal government in "national security," immunity would not apply to them. The question remains, if Feinstein is so interested in holding telecoms that broke the law accountable, why is she standing in the way of the pending lawsuits designed to determine just that. And at what point exactly is Feinstein going to realize that reasoned half-measures don't work. They want it all and we need to demand that they get nothing.

Chris Dodd gets this. That's why he was determined to filibuster the bill today. The Dodd campaign explained how it would go down on a conference call earlier today (h/t mcjoan ):

Dodd's staff explained in a conference call that as soon as the bill is brought up, he will introduce the Dodd/Feingold resolution to strip the amnesty provision from the bill. If that resolution passes, which is unlikely, then we all rejoice. If it fails, Dodd will ask for recognition and his filibuster will begin.

As Chris Dodd's deputy campaign manager, Amos Hochstein, put it:

"He will speak as long as he can," Hochstein said. "He will speak until he can no longer."

Right now, what's going on on the floor is an extended post-cloture debate on the FISA bill while the procedural rules are hashed out. There was a cloture vote earlier today but it does not affect the ability for Dodd to filibuster the bill. That will commence later this afternoon.

In the meantime, Dodd can be seen on the floor intermittently, appearing to run the show really, and made an impassioned speech earlier this morning, an excerpt of which is below:

Mr. President, why do I feel so strongly about this matter?

For the last six years, our largest telecommunications companies have been spying on their own American customers.

Secretly and without a warrant, they delivered to the federal government the private, domestic communications records of millions of Americans--records this administration has compiled into a database of enormous scale and scope.

That decision betrayed millions of customers' trust. It was unwarranted--literally.

But was it illegal?

That, Mr. President, I don't know. And if this bill passes in its current form, we will never know. The president's favored corporations will be immune.

Their arguments will never be heard in a court of law. The details of their actions will stay hidden. The truth behind this unprecedented domestic spying will never see light. And the book on our government's actions will be closed, and sealed, and locked, and handed over to the safe-keeping of those few whom George Bush trusts to keep a secret.

Thank you for stepping up today, Senator Dodd.

Here's video of his stunning speech on the floor from earlier today opposing telecom immunity:

"I've never come to the floor with such anger."

[editor's note, by Todd Beeton]Received some clarification, edited accordingly. Assuming his amendment to strip telecom immunity from the bill fails as all expect, Senator Dodd will begin filibustering this bill later today, time TBD.