[warch]

From thehill.com:

Civil liberties don’t matter much ‘after you’re dead,’ Cornyn says on spy case
By Jonathan Allen

“None of your civil liberties matter much after you’re dead,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a former judge and close ally of the president who sits on the Judiciary Committee.

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), who has led a bipartisan filibuster against a reauthorization of the Patriot Act, quoted Patrick Henry, an icon of the American Revolution, in response: “Give me liberty or give me death.”

He called Cornyn’s comments “a retreat from who we are and who we should be.”

From an AP story:

The ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee says it makes a mockery of the system of checks and balances inherent in the U-S Constitution. Senator Carl Levin of Michigan says court oversight of such wiretaps is critical. He says there's a system in place right now that permits government officials to tap first and get court approval later, but the administration has chosen not to do that.
Senator Russell Feingold objected more strongly. The Wisconsin Democrat says of Bush, "He's a president, not a king." Feingold also said, "We could all go home now because apparently we don't have a role if the president can just make up these laws."
Feingold says the Senate must fast-track hearings on the matter.