Political Quotes

“today we are debating the amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. I am going to say a few words about why Congress ought to provide legal relief to those private entities that have aided the United States in our war against al-Qaida and, in particular, one of the amendments that will be voted on tomorrow. I begin by quoting a passage in an opinion by Justice Cardozo, from the time when he was the chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals. In the 1928 decision Baggington v. Yellow Taxi Corp., this is what Justice Cardozo had to say about the legal immunities that should be provided to private parties that assist law enforcement efforts: The rule that private citizens acting in good faith to assist law enforcement are immune from suit ensures that the citizenry may be called upon to enforce the justice of the State, not faintly and with lagging steps, but honestly and bravely and with whatever implements and facilities are convenient and at hand. We need to encourage citizen involvement in our efforts against al-Qaida. We know that good intelligence is the best way to win the war against those terrorists, and if we want to monitor al-Qaida, we need access to the information which is available through the telecommunications companies. We asked them for help, and they provided that help at a critical time, after 9/11. We need to know, for example, whether al-Qaida terrorists are planning other attacks against us.”