Security, Civil Rights and Freedom  A time comes when silence is betrayal.  Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth,  men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government's policy, especially in time of war…   We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for the victims of our nation, for those it calls "enemy,"  for no document from human hands can make these humans any less our brother.  -- from A Time to Break the Silence, Martin Luther King's speech in New York City, April 4, 1967

The war-and-peace pages of this website -- including the pages the continued erosion of our civil rights and the freedoms on which our country was founded -- are no longer being updated, but remain as a resource of previous articles and links. Some of the external links may no longer work.

Security, Civil Rights and Freedom!   
May 1, 2006

The Patriot Act and Domestic Spying

• Bush challenges hundreds of laws
  President cites powers of his office
  By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff,  April 30, 2006
  WASHINGTON -- President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ''whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research. 
• Media finally starting to report the President's systematic lawbreaking   By Glenn Greenwald
  On March 24, 2006, The Boston Globe published an article by Charlie Savage reporting that the President, after signing into law the bill which renewed the Patriot Act, issued a "signing statement" making clear that "he did not consider himself bound" to comply with various reporting provisions in the law and therefore reserved the right to violate them. The article was extraordinary because it noted that the Patriot Act signing statement was merely "the latest in a string of high-profile instances in which Bush has cited his constitutional authority to bypass a law" -- and the article tied that ideology of lawlessness to, among other things, the President's deliberate violations of FISA when ordering warrantless eavesdropping on Americans. . . . One of the principal tactics used over the last five years by Bush defenders to transform the president, our public servant, into some sort of monarchical figure is the endless, craven effort to refer to him as "The Comamnder-in-Chief," in order to implicitly bestow upon him an aura of elevated, militaristic glory which renders not only disrespect towards the President, but also mere criticism of him, somehow inappropriate, even unpatriotic. In that regard, it was extremely refreshing to see Stephen Colbert's stand-up routine last night. . . . The [Boston] Globe has today published an even more sweeping and significant article, this one also by Savage, reporting as clearly and unambiguously as I have seen on the fact that the President not only believes that he has the right to break the law but has been exercising that right with staggering frequency, in almost every area of significance . . . .
• Basis for Spying in US Is Doubted
  By Eric Lichtblau and Scott Shane (January 7, 2006)
  A Congressional Research Service report questions the legality of US President George Bush's order to eavesdrop on US citizens without warrants. While the Bush administration justifies the legality of this program, referring to a congressional approval of such eavesdropping after 9/11, the report argues that Congress "does not appear to have authorized" such surveillance. The report also questions the president's authority to bypass Congress within a system of checks and balances. (New York Times)

The Patriot Act The Patriot Act text can be found here.

• Let sense, not fear, guide the Patriot Act Editorial, The Seattle-Times The Patriot Act, now up for reauthorization, was passed at a time of maximum fear. America had been attacked. Security was the urgent concern. Now is a more normal time, and Congress needs to rewrite this law to make it consistent with our civil liberties.
• A Big Split on the Patriot Act Knowville News Blogs Business groups complained to Congress on Wednesday that the Patriot Act makes it too easy for the government to get confidential business records. That put them at odds with one of President Bush's top priorities — the unfettered extension of the law passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
• Inside the Patriot Act by Nigel Deans The sections of the Patriot Act that I read seem to be little more than a hit-list for knocking off pre-existing rules. This may explain how such a long document could have been produced in such short order; the list probably reflects decades of limits on what law enforcement agencies would like to have done if not for the interference of our constitutional rights. Indeed, all the rules on the hit-list are rules that protect those rights. ...The Patriot Act is being sold on the premise of being an anti-terrorist tool to combat the organization of terrorist resources and activities, but think about it ... How do you think the government would classify your resources and activities if you found it necessary to fight them? It's impossible to lock down the nation and secure it from terrorism without giving up your own right to insure your own liberty and that's just what we are doing when we say the Patriot Act is needed.
• U.S. foreign policy would best encourage democracy, rather than try to impose itAsheville Citizen-Times. August 12The "Advance Democracy Act of 2005" reads, "The promotion of democracy constitutes a long-term challenge that does not always lead to an immediate transition to full democracy, but through a dedicated and integrated approach can achieve universal democracy.".... Perhaps democratization would be a goal better suited for national policy rather than foreign policy. With the voting rights of minorities threatened by the failure to reinstate the Voting Rights Act of 1965, torture being used in the war on terrorism and racial profiling as a result of the Patriot Act, it is clear that the United States is not always a shining example of best in democratic practices.
• ABA leader criticizes portions of Patriot ActBy Andrew Stern. August 9, 2005. ReutersThe president-elect of the nation's largest lawyers group said yesterday that some of the federal government's investigative powers included in the USA Patriot Act are a threat to constitutional rights.... Of all the sections of the act, it is Section 215 that has drawn the most attention and scrutiny.... Section 215 grants the FBI the extraordinary power to obtain the personal records of any U.S. citizen as long as the related investigations "protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities."
• One Nation, Under Watch By Silja J.A. Talvi, Santa Fe Reporter. Posted August 8, 2005President Bush is expected to sign the reauthorized and largely permanent PATRIOT Act into law on Sept. 11, 2005, pending an ironed-out version between the House and the Senate once the legislative session resumes.
• Patriot Second Act June 13, 2005. Editorial, The Washington Post.Although the Patriot Act has become a catch phrase for civil liberties anxieties, it in fact has little connection to the most serious infringements on civil liberties in the war on terrorism.
• Senate panel to start work on renewing Patriot Act May 17, 2005. Reuters.The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence said it would hold a closed markup session on Thursday, the first legislative step toward a reauthorization vote long sought by Republicans including President Bush.... Sarah Little, spokeswoman for the Republican chairman of the committee, Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, said the meeting was closed "because they will discuss actual intelligence operations and how the Patriot Act applies to those operations." ....But ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said in a statement: "One reason that people across the political spectrum are concerned about the Patriot Act is that so much of it is shrouded in secrecy. Now, lawmakers are trying to keep legislation to reauthorize the Patriot Act secret as well," he added.
• Keep Out: Border control Joe McCarthy would have loved. By David Cole. May 11, 2005 Worse that the Patriot Act - An attachment to a bill that supplements funds for Iraq, passed by Congress and now on the president's desk, would allow the United States once again to keep out and to deport foreign nationals not for their conduct, but for their politics—their ideas, their speech, and the groups with which they associate.... According to the new law, an immigrant whose mother supported the African National Congress' lawful, nonviolent anti-apartheid work during the 1980s would be deportable today because the ANC fought apartheid with sabotage and other illegal acts of violence as well as with nonviolent protests. So would an immigrant who supported the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, the Israeli military, the Nicaraguan contras, or the Palestinian Authority, all of which have illegally used or threatened to use weapons against people or property.

• Patriot Debates A Sourceblog for the USA Patriot DebateMany provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act will expire at the end of 2005. This forum is devoted to civil and informed debate about these provisions and whether they should be renewed, as well as a few other issues that are likely to be part of the renewal debate in 2005. We have an all-star cast of contributors, each of whom has agreed to an exchange of at least four comments on each provision. 

• Conservatives, liberals join to fight Patriot Act renewal Associated Press. Mar 26, 2005 Conservative and liberal groups normally at each other’s throats over the direction of government are finding common cause in wanting to gut major provisions of the government’s premier anti-terrorism law. . . . Administration officials have said the Patriot Act has kept America safe, but opponents have called the law intrusive and contend that it undermines civil liberties and threatens to let the government snoop into the lives of innocent Americans.

• Despite Poor Civil Liberties Record, DHS Nominee Questioned Mildly By Kari Lydersen. Feb 3, 2005. New StandardThough civil liberties advocates have plenty of questions for Michael Chertoff before he is approved as the next Homeland Security chief, the US senators who questioned him for less than 4 hours chose to leave most out.

• NCC Weighs In, Again, on Due Process for National Security Detainees The National Council of Churches USA Feb. 15 heard a concern expressed by the NCC's Interfaith Relations Commission on the effects of the USA PATRIOT Act on civil rights and due process for Muslim people.

• Flawed Intelligence Bill Advances Bush Agenda By Emile Schepers. December 18, 2004. People's Weekly World. The Bush administration has been pushing an agenda of restricting constitutional rights and increasing the power of the executive branch to suppress dissent. Step by step, starting with the USA Patriot Act, Bush has gotten Congress to marginalize judicial oversight of executive branch spying on and repressing people it dislikes.

• 'Unconstitutional' offers chilling look at Patriot Act by Paul Liberatore. Sept. 17, 2004 Remember all those civil rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution? You don't have them anymore. Under the guise of the war on terrorism, Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Bush administration now have the authority to take many of them away, ostensibly to prevent another 9/11....More than 25 ACLU affiliates will host additional screenings of "Unconstitutional" this month and next....I think I was more affected by "Unconstitutional" than any of the other political documentaries that have come along this year, including "Fahrenheit 9/11." And I wasn't the only one who walked out of the theater shaken.

• Outside view: Patriot Act problems by Bob Barr (R-Ga., a former member of the House Judiciary Committee, served in Congress from 1995 to 2003). Sept. 3, 2004. UPINot content with exercising the unprecedented broad powers it was awarded in the 2001 Patriot Act, the administration has moved aggressively to obtain even more power. A Son of Patriot Act has been drafted and floated on the Hill, and pieces of it have found their way into other legislative initiatives. The administration has fought vigorously to defeat any moves on the Hill -- even those sponsored by conservative Republicans -- that would in any way limit the Patriot Act; even amendments that would simply scale it back to what the administration said it wanted when the act was proposed....The term "national security" has become the trump card in the government's possession with which it seeks to squelch any dissent, to hide any misdeeds, and even to prevent its arguments from being made public.

• Restore Freedom of Information Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL). April 23, 2003The Homeland Security Act, enacted last year, allows private firms that may pose environmental hazards to communities to hide this information from public view under the guise of "critical infrastructure information," and it prevents community activists, environmentalists, local and state agencies, and (in many cases) other federal government agencies from gaining access to information about potential environmental hazards within their jurisdictions.

• EFF Analysis Of The Provisions Of The USA PATRIOT Act   Relating to Online Activities. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is a non-profit group of passionate people — lawyers, volunteers, and visionaries — working to protect your digital rights....The government may now spy on web surfing of innocent Americans, including terms entered into search engines, by merely telling a judge anywhere in the U.S. that the spying could lead to information that is "relevant" to an ongoing criminal investigation. The person spied on does not have to be the target of the investigation. This application must be granted and the government is not obligated to report to the court or tell the person spied upon what it has done.

The "Patriot II" - The Domestic Security Enhancement Act 

• Proposed Anti-Terror Legislation Would Amass Further Executive Branch Power Statement of Lawyers Committee for Human Rights . February 17, 2003 Sequel to USA PATRIOT Act would overrule pending court cases, further disrupt checks and balances. The 86-page bill makes more than 100 changes to the law. Among the most troubling are [article discusses 5].

• Even in Wartime, Stealth and Democracy Do Not Mix By Charles Lewis, founder of the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, tax-exempt organization.. WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2003 -- A few days ago, the Center for Public Integrity obtained a copy of draft legislation that the Bush Administration has quietly prepared as a bold, comprehensive sequel to the USA Patriot Act. This proposed law would give the government breathtaking new powers to further increase domestic intelligence-gathering, surveillance and law enforcement prerogatives, and simultaneously decrease judicial review and public access to information.

• Son of the Patriot Act By Carles Lewis and Adam Mayle. February 11, 2003.. Sante Fe New Mexican.com  The Bush Administration is preparing a bold, comprehensive sequel to the USA Patriot Act passed in the wake of September 11, 2001, which will give the government broad, sweeping new powers to increase domestic intelligence-gathering, surveillance and law enforcement prerogatives, and simultaneously decrease judicial review and public access to information.

• Proposed Legislation Threatens Civil Liberties By Matthew A. Wallace, based on a report by the Center for Public Integrity on the proposed Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003.

• Orange Alert for Civil Liberties The "Domestic Security Enhancement Act" Consequences of the proposals in the draft DSEA

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