Urge your Members of Congress to oppose expansion of the Patriot Act NOW!!

[Douglas Carpenter]

:bounce:

Get info on the Patriot Act here:

http://www.reformthepatriotact.org



TAKE ACTION NOW!! Contact your Representative or Senator here:

https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=221&s_src=ACLUOnline

This could be the single most important Congressional vote in our life time. Call Congress today. You can look up your Representative's and Senators' direct numbers by clicking the link below, or you can call the
Capitol Switchboard at [phone].

http://action.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AS_CongressLookup


:bounce:

[swag]

1. More info from Anthony Romero, ACLU

"This week, a Senate committee in secret session approved new Patriot Act provisions that are nothing less than an end-run around the Constitution. The proposed new government powers would allow the FBI to issue search orders without prior judicial approval and to seize personal records from medical facilities, libraries, hotels, gun dealers, banks and other businesses without any specific suspicion of criminal activity, or any specific facts connecting the records sought to an agent of a foreign government."

[Spectral]

3. Yes, there was a French news article about this

:donut:

[swag]

4. Amazingly, there has even been some US coverage

including this opinion piece:

It's patriotic to question Patriot Act
By Carol Rose and Nancy Murray
Thursday, June 9, 2005 - Updated: 12:34 AM EST

Behind closed doors in Washington, the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee this week voted to expand the USA Patriot Act. Meanwhile, Americans are calling for the act to be brought in line with the U.S. Constitution.

The act was passed in haste following 9/11, with few members of Congress reading it. As a result, lawmakers added sunset provisions so that key provisions could be reconsidered at a calmer time.

The future is now here. But the White House is not only blocking the sun-setting of these provisions, it also is making a grab for even greater police power without judicial review.

What Bush administration officials fail to say, however, is that law enforcement powers necessary to fight terrorism long preceded the Patriot Act.According to a Syracuse University study, there were more successful prosecutions for international terrorism in the two years prior to 9/11 than in the two years afterward.

Consider the Bush administration's justification for Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which permits the government to secretly seize your library, financial, educational and medical records - even your DNA - without probable cause of wrongdoing. Justice Department officials justify this by pointing to the case of the Unabomber, who was prosecuted using evidence from library records. What the Justice Department story conveniently omits is that a court ordered release of those records six years before the Patriot Act passed.

. . . more

http://news.bostonherald.com/opinion/view.bg?articleid=88631

[Spectral]

5. Wow. BTW, Recommended

:donut:

[Wilms]

2. Done. Kick. n/t

[lady lib]

6. Yes, call Congress. Thanks for posting this.

I just gave you vote #3.

[hootinholler]

7. There's no link to the intelligence committee on senate.gov

Ubuhleebabill!

I went looking for intelligence in the senate and...

Seriously, it ain't there. Mikulski's on it, and I wanted to know if she voted this onto the floor.

-Hoot

[Spectral]

13. Did you ever find the link?

:donut:

[hootinholler]

21. No, I think the committee is hiding out.

If you find it let me know!

-Hoot

[Spectral]

22. O man, like I'm gonna find these guys

Maybe if I leave a trail of donuts...
:donut: :donut: :donut: :donut:

[DearAbby]

8. Extremely important...DU This

:kick:

[Spectral]

9. Donut

:donut:

[burrowowl]

10. Did so

and posted this in another post!
Call, e-mail, get everyone you know to do so!

[genius]

11. Why should they when many Dems here don't care how they vote?

I've seen so many attacks on groups that are keeping score on the votes instead of on those who vote for what we hate. If we want our leaders to support our point of view, it's important to show that votes on such matters as the expansion of the Patriot Act will determine whether we will support them in the future. 100 Senators voted for a bill that, by it's very wording, could be used to legalize death camps in the U.S. Does anyone care? Should someone that incompetent be considered for the Presidency?

[Spectral]

12. Re: Death Camps. Remember the militias?

In the 90s, the Montana militias were running around saying how there would be concentration camps in the US and how the Constitution was being dismantled. They focused in on Clinton so we kind of ignored them. And they were running around establishing their own courts and stuff, so we thought they were nuts.

Sometimes, I think they saw it coming, but were infiltrated and misled so their credibility was destroyed.

OK, conspiracy post over.

(The truth is out there....)

[Viva_La_Revolution]

14. Done..here's mine

Jun 9, 2005

Representative Earl Blumenauer
United States House of Representatives
2446 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Blumenauer,

As your constituent, I urge you to oppose expansion of the Patriot
Act. The PATRIOT Act is an attack on fundamental American values. It
needs to be reformed, not expanded.

We've seen this before...

#3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The
people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to
eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or
religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists,
etc.

#7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational
tool by the government over the masses.

#12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the
police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people
are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil
liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police
force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

The full 14 rules of fascism can be found here-->
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm

Sincerely,

XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX

[Spectral]

15. Excellent letter

Can I borrow it?

[stickdog]

16. Kick for the Bill of Rights (nt)

[Spectral]

17. Interesting cartoon

And it does point out the insanity of *'s behavior.

[Spectral]

18. kick

:kick:

[Daphne08]

19. I joined the ACLU since they are probably the only hope we have.

:kick:

This is a constitutional republic and they (Congress, President, et al.) are supposed to be working FOR us, not AGAINST us. We pay their salaries!

[Spectral]

20. I need to renew. Thanks for reminding me

We need to fight these usurpers

[acmavm]

23. Done and thank you.

.