It's worth noting that the issue that's presently burning up the blogosphere wasn't even mentioned on any of the networks Sunday...the House vote to give immunity to the telecoms. How often does a criminal have the luxury of going to Congress, after having committed a crime, and then being granted immunity retroactively? This is historic because it is unprecedented. And yet not a peep from even one "responsible" network talking head. Instead we get "gas prices" and "flip flopping" (a cliched term that needs to be stricken from political discourse.)

It's also worth noting that the most egregious crimes in this area were by AT&T. As a matter of fact we wouldn't have even known about the illegal wiretapping of "all" Americans if not for the whistleblower who came forward. He was the man who installed the electronics in the secret room in California into which all communications...email, phone calls, cell phones, etc. were routed.

AT&T spends millions advertising on all of the network news shows for the purpose of buying content just like BASF, Cargill, Monsanto, ADM, Boeing and other corporations like them. The next time you watch a BASF commercial ask yourself, "What are they are selling?" Their slogan repeated ad infinitum, "We don't make the products you buy, we make the products you buy better." is the giveaway. They're not selling a product. So why spend millions on a Sunday morning commercial? The answer is that they are buying and controlling the content of the program itself. By doing the same, AT&T guarantees that there will be no negative coverage of them even if warranted. If this past Sunday's blackout of one of the most historic votes in Congress' history is any indication...AT&T's advertising dollars were well spent.

In general, this is how the network news operates on any given issue, which is why any coverage on any issue by them should be viewed with a jaundiced eye.

However, a "minor" consequence of all of this was the further evisceration of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution. It will be interesting now to see how Barack Obama will vote on this issue given his promise last year on the same issue when he vowed to..."support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies."

We need him to honor that promise.

If you have a minute to spare call his D.C. office at 202-224-2854 and ask that he block any compromise that includes immunity for phone companies that helped Bush break the law.