Ashcroft begins Patriot Act campaign

[DeathvadeR]

WASHINGTON - Worried about mounting opposition to the nation's tough anti-terrorism law, Attorney General John Ashcroft on Tuesday launched a cross-country public relations blitz to defend the USA Patriot Act, saying it has helped keep Americans safe.

Ashcroft's road show kicked off with a speech in Washington and will hit more than a dozen states over the next month.

Critics have complained that the Patriot Act, which permits sweeping new surveillance and investigative powers to combat terrorism, violates civil liberties

<http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/6569998.htm>
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[PaDUer]

1. Brainwashing the people....

we should file a class action lawsuit against him!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

2. Sign a petition to stop him here:

http://www.deanforamerica.com/stopashcroft

[joshdawg]

3. already signed---

Thanks for the post

[alaine]

4. Me too, and ripped Ashcroft a new hiney hole in the

comments section. Called him unpatriotic for daring to violate the constitution. So if you don't hear from me anymore...

Thanks for posting the petition, I was going to put it here but you beat me to it.

edit: on second thought, it might have been in an ACLU petition, but I signed Deans too.

[revcarol]

5. "Not a political trip"

that "just happens" to go through Des Moines, Iowa, even though the rest of the cities have not been selected yet...:puke:

[UpInArms]

6. ABC News has this

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/WorldNewsTonight/victory_act030820.html

Target: 'Narco-Terror'
Draft Bill Would Provide Broader Power; Ashcroft Defends Patriot Act

excerpt:

Justice has also suggested the 93 U.S. attorneys around the country hold town hall meetings to reach out to people in their jurisdictions, to try to reassure them there is no threat to law abiding people in the Patriot Act.

Ashcroft began his tour in Washington, D.C., to put out the message personally that the Patriot Act has greatly aided the fight against terrorism and has not infringed on constitutional rights or civil liberties.

Speaking at the conservative-leaning think tank American Enterprise Institute, he lauded the achievements of law enforcement in preventing another terrorist attack in the nearly two years since Sept. 11, 2001, and in tracking down suspected terrorist cells in suburban Buffalo and Portland, Ore.

[Judi Lynn]

7. Harsh measures described in the ABC article:

(snip) Provisions in the draft would:

Raise the threshold for rejecting illegal wiretaps. The draft reads: "A court may not grant a motion to suppress the contents of a wire or oral communication, or evidence derived therefrom, unless the court finds that the violation of this chapter involved bad faith by law enforcement."

Extend subpoena powers by giving giving law enforcement the authority to issue non-judicial subpoenas which require a person suspected of involvement in money laundering to turn over financial records and appear in a prosecutor's office to answer questions.

Extend the power of the attorney general to issue so-called administrative "sneak-and-peak" subpoenas to drug cases. These subpoenas allow law enforcement to gather evidence from wire communication, financial records or other sources before the subject of the search is notified.

Allow law enforcement to seek a court order to require the "provider of an electronic communication service or remote computing service" or a financial institution to delay notifying a customer that their records had been subpoenaed. (snip/...)

[realFedUp]

12. Called the "Victory Act"

victory for whom?

Tell your Congresscritters that you don't want
this passing.

[Kolesar]

8. 70 Protestors in Cleveland, Ohio at Noon Wednesday, 8/20

That is quite a few. I am delighted. There are other Ashcroft protests on the website at www.indymedia.org

[alaine]

9. There was a funny cartoon in the Charlotte observer

yesterday with a man sitting in from of the T.V. in an American
flag T-shirt and the annoucer is saying Ashcroft is touring to support the patriot act. The man says "thank you John Ashcroft" and then out of a potted plant comes a little voice saying "your welcome".

[4dsc]

10. Ashcroft To Speak On Patriot Act In Des Moines

http://www.theiowachannel.com/politics/2419943/detail.html

Ashcroft To Speak On Patriot Act In Des Moines
Critics Say Act Gives Government Too Much Power

DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Iowa Civil Liberties Union says Attorney General John Ashcroft's tour to promote the Patriot Act shuts the door on the people the law is supposed to protect.

Ashcroft winds up his two-day tour on the anti-terrorism law in Iowa Thursday. He'll speak to law enforcement officials in Des Moines.

The ICLU's executive director criticizes Ashcroft for speaking only to a group that's likely to support the measure.

I noticed ASScroft is also afraid of the people!!! Just like dubya!!

[noonwitch]

11. He's in Detroit today

My guess is he's sticking to friendly downtown venues like the Detroit Economic Club. The majority of Detroiters despise him for the racist he is.
There's a calico cat who has been hanging around my house-I should capture it and bring it to wherever he is.

[Drifter]

13. Is it typical for an AG to "campaign" an issue ...

I don't seem to remember Reno do this.

If you ask me the legislation should sell itself. If someone has to convince me (against my best judgement), then there is a good chance that the legisation does not do (or was intended to do) what they are saying.

I hope he meets protesters at every stop.

Cheers
Drifter

[realFedUp]

14. No the AG shouldn't be campaigning for this

I think he's collecting money on the side for
Bush's re-selection.

[shockandawed]

15. Strategy for Stopping the Ashcroft roadshow

We should get friendly democratic senators who could block any and all federal funds to pay for the trip! Ron Paul ? Should state that it is wholly inappropriate that the AG of the federal government, especially in a time of recession, should not lobby its own population to pass laws surrendering its rights.

Ashcroft's actions are as unseemly as a chemical company lobbying to get rid of environmental regulations. Democracy, like nature is a delicate balance.

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[primavera]

21. You notice he's only speaking to select conservative bodies?

His idea of selling his views to the people is showing up at closed-door gatherings of a couple dozen hard-core wingnuts, carefully shielded by security from the people to whom he's supposedly trying to make his pitch. You think Faux News will notice? x(

[Fleshdancer]

22. Speaking in Iowa an attempt to over shadow Dem. candidates

Some rnc ass made the statement that ashcroft going to Iowa has the added benefit of stealing the spotlight from the Democratic Presidential candidates. I think I read this in yesterday's 'The Note'.

According to the Dean blog, the Dean campaign will personally hand over the Stop Ashcroft petition to ashcroft personally. I don't know how they're going to do this, but I would pay good money to see a picture of that happening. Please oh please Goddess!

My wish is to have all Democratic supporters, regardless of who they support (including that elusive "undecided" person who's so high up in the polls) join together in protest against ashcroft in Iowa.