You have to give Pelosi some credit. One of my colleagues commented that she must have been eating spinach.

The House is NOT going to take up the Senate passed version of the new domestic surveillence bill which grants telecom companies immunity. The House Dems tried to extend the current law to make time to go into conference and resolve the differences between the House- and Senate-passed versions of the bill before time ran out, but that got shot down. The main difference between the bills is the question of legal immunity for telecommunications companies that handed over personal information to the feds without a warrant, which violates civil and criminal law.

President Bush, of course, has said that if the House doesn't shut up and pass the Senate version of the bill (and grant the telecos immunity from all the lawsuits that have sprung up as a result) it will imperil every red-blooded American. Sweeping immunity for some telecom companies that knowingly broke the law IS THAT IMPORTANT. Both the House and Senate bills give the government expanded authority to snoop - but this isn't about that, is it?

But it looks like Pelosi is going to call the bluff and let the bill expire while they fight it out over immunity. Kudos.