Sen. Dodd has a post up at HuffPo on FISA:

Most agree that this law needs to be modernized, as it has been many times over the years. But this time, the president is asking Congress to do something much more: to shield the telecoms from any judicial review of their actions. He wants Congress to declare spying without a warrant both constitutional and necessary to defend this country.

It is neither.

That is why I have done everything I can to stop retroactive immunity from being included in the FISA bill. As written, this bill does not say, "Trust the American people." It does not say, "Trust the courts and judges and juries to come to just decisions" about what happened at the telecoms. Rather, retroactive immunity sends this message:

"Trust me" -- a message that comes straight from the mouth of President Bush. I would never take "trust me" for an answer, not even in the best of times. Not even from a president on Mount Rushmore.

The work to stop this terrible bill is overwhelming, and I know we could lose.

But process-wise, there's been great progress. The issues with FISA are dense (history of why Congress first passed the act/the concept of civil vs. criminal telecom immunity/exclusivity precedent/etc.). Five years ago, would 20,000 activists organize on a politician's website in protest? Would any conversations between activists, online or off, even broach the subject?

There's still time to tell our elected officials not to cave. Blue America has tools, and Christy Hardin Smith writes up the details.

It used to be harder for the average citizen to engage in politics - reading news on specific issues and checking the positions of their representatives pre-internet was time consuming. Advocacy campaigns too-often relied on more heated, visceral issues to engage people.

Even just a few years ago, activism around an issue as weedy as FISA wouldn't stand a chance. And we're certainly not quite where we need to be yet. But it's a thrill watching so many people discuss and organize around a fundamental constitutional issue.