Despite Republican tactics that pulled the House of Representatives into a late-night secret session — only the third since 1825 — today the House said no to warrantless government wiretapping and no to immunizing telcos that participate in warrantless trolling of American citizens’ communications. Nicely, they also said yes to investigations of the whole Bush administration domestic spying program and yes to our Fourth Amendment rights. Wee. [Read more about it at the Washington Post] Now it’s back to the Senate for a test of that body’s spine.

Of course, Bush trotted right out of the White House to say that he’d veto it all if it got to him. [Cover story of Cover Your Ass Weekly] Still, I watched the C-Span of some of the debate before the vote and it was nice to see that some legislators still understand the Bill of Rights when it says:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Contact your Senator to let him/her know you’re still listening. Learn more about this issue in this and this previous post.