Monday, February 28, 2005
Reform advocates oppose ID measure
"Immigration-reform advocates should mount a campaign to stop the recently passed U.S. House of Representatives' Real ID Border Protection Act, while supporting a soon-to-be-unveiled alternative measure co-sponsored by senators John McCain, R-Ariz. and Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights in Los Angeles." SGCTribune.com has this article.
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Driver's License Bill Concerns Groups
"A proposal to stop potential terrorists from getting a U.S. driver's license may turn the licenses into a national ID card or help the government track gun purchases, opponents fear. Conservatives, civil libertarians, gun owners and others share such concerns about a House-passed bill that broadly rewrites the rules for licenses and is portrayed as an anti-terrorism tool." AP reports here.
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Privacy advocates call security board skewed
"Privacy advocates say a committee set up recently to advise the Homeland Security Department on privacy issues amounts to little more than a fox guarding a chicken coop." AP reports here.
Friday, February 25, 2005
PATRIOT ACT: Court ruling on key section is long overdue
"Nearly 15 months have passed since U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood promised a prompt ruling on whether an important challenge to part of the USA Patriot Act should proceed." The Detroit Free Press issued has this editorial.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Protesters on orange alert over Patriot Act
Chicago's Daily Herald reports: "An anti-war group is rallying like-minded residents to help pressure Naperville City Council to pass a resolution condemning portions of the federal Patriot Act."
Patrons want warning signs posted in library
"Bettendorf public library director Faye Clow faced what she called a 'terrible choice' recently when asked by the Quad-City chapter of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union to put up warning signs near library materials. Specifically, the signs would warn about provisions of the USAPatriot Act that would allow records of books and other materials borrowed by patrons to be obtained by federal agents and forbidding librarians from informing the borrowers if their records were being monitored." The Quad-City Times reports here.
Civil Liberties in peril with Act
"Driving along Route 2 there is plenty to read these days; the election last November made for pretty interesting copy. I'm referring, of course, to bumper stickers. Last week I saw a bumper sticker that stayed with me long after the car it was on had sped past me on the way to Boston. It read, 'IT'S OKAY, I WASN'T USING MY CIVIL LIBERTIES ANYWAY.' I knew immediately to what this sticker referred: since the passing of the USA PATRIOT Act in October 2001 our civil liberties are being eroded every day." The Littleton Independent has this commentary.
Civil Libertarians Question Proposed Patriot Act
WTOL.com reports: "A proposed 'Patriot Act' for Ohio has been placed on the fast track in the state Legislature but civil libertarians think some of the restrictions go too far."
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Correcting the balance between freedom and security
"Two hundred and fifteen years ago, with the experience of King George's tyranny fresh in mind, our Founding Fathers (sorry, no political mothers back then) struck a balance between freedom and security by building a bulwark of freedom into the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, a bulwark incorporated in Article 1, Section 9 of the Oregon Constitution 75 years later." The Oregonian has this op-ed.
Kin Defend Suspect in Alleged Bush Plot
"ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- Family and friends who packed a Virginia courtroom to support Ahmed Omar Abu Ali laughed out loud when prosecutors alleged that the former high school valedictorian had plotted to assassinate President Bush. Abu Ali, 23, a U.S. citizen who grew up in Falls Church, was charged Tuesday with conspiring with al-Qaida to kill the president in a plan that prosecutors said was hatched while the man studied in Saudi Arabia in 2002 and 2003." AP reports here.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Patriot Act's wording irks Teaneck
NorthJersey.com reports: "The Teaneck Peace and Justice Coalition recently collected 400 signatures in two days for a petition urging the Township Council to pass a resolution opposing part of the Patriot Act. The petitions, which were collected in front of the public library, and months of lobbying may soon pay off for the coalition."
Sunday, February 20, 2005
They're Watching You . . .
"We live in an ever more convenient society. We use credit cards, buy books on Amazon, reserve plane tickets on Expedia, bid for antiques on eBay, get cash at ATMs and find jobs on Monster. We use key cards to open hotel rooms, EZ-Pass to pay tolls and GPS to get directions. We send e-mail, fill prescriptions and sexual needs on the Internet, and pay bills electronically." The Washington Post has this review of Robert O' Harrow Jr.'s No Place to Hide.
Tortured Logic
"Despite the funereal events of Sept. 11 and their aftermath, there has been little serious thinking about how U.S. legal institutions should respond to the war on terror. Academics and think tanks have let us down, content to engage in sloganeering and caricatures of the other side's arguments. The sad result has been a politicized debate often devoid of fresh, sober thinking." The Washington Post has this book review.
Friday, February 18, 2005
Legislature Kills Va. Red Light Programs
The Washington Post reports: "A Virginia House committee defeated bills Friday that would have let some Virginia localities continue using surveillance cameras to catch red-light runners, effectively ending the state's experiment with the technology in the Washington suburbs as of July 1."
Teen Columnist: Censorship violates American Bill of Rights
"What is it that makes the United States of America the greatest nation on earth? Is it our national anthem? Do we have the best military? Hmm. Perhaps our flag looks the coolest. These are all very nice things, but none of them constitutes American greatness. The right to free speech is what makes this country unique." The Tucson Citizen has this column.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
No Defense
Andrew P. Napolitano writes: "The conviction of Lynne F. Stewart for providing material aid to terrorism and for lying to the government is another perverse victory in the Justice Department's assault on the Constitution."
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Minnesota lawmakers urge Bush to appoint Rowley to privacy board
"Seven members of the Minnesota congressional delegation are urging President Bush to appoint former FBI whistle-blower Coleen Rowley to an anti-terrorism oversight board. The members want Rowley to get a spot on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. The board was created last year to ensure that government actions in the war on terror do not infringe on people's rights." AP reports here.
Officials weigh in on Patriot Act
The Daily Item reports: "Local lawmakers say they have reservations but do not outwardly oppose the Patriot Act, which President Bush on Monday called on Congress to renew. Lynn area public safety officials, on the other hand, enthusiastically support its renewal."
Officials weigh in on Patriot Act
The Daily Item reports: "Local lawmakers say they have reservations but do not outwardly oppose the Patriot Act, which President Bush on Monday called on Congress to renew. Lynn area public safety officials, on the other hand, enthusiastically support its renewal."
Chertoff becomes nation's anti-terror czar
The Star-Ledger reports: "New Jersey's Michael Chertoff, the federal appeals court judge and former U.S. attorney, was sworn in last night as the second director of the Department of Homeland Security."
Why torture issue hasn’t had political traction
"Why have the allegations of torture and abuse of prisoners at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison, at the Guantanamo Bay Navy base and in Afghanistan not damaged the Bush administration in purely political terms more than they have? The torture charges fueled Democrats’ efforts to defeat President Bush’s nomination of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general." MSNBC has this article.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Senate Expected to OK Chertoff Nomination
The AP reports: "Senators predicted Michael Chertoff would be easily approved as the nation's next Homeland Security secretary even as they jousted Monday over whether he had any connection to a secret FBI memo that discussed the treatment of terror suspects."
Monday, February 14, 2005
The Lynne Stewart Guilty Verdict: Stretching the Definition of "Terrorism" To Its Limits
"On February 10, after thirteen days of deliberations, a federal jury in New York City returned a guilty verdict in the case of 65-year-old attorney Lynne Stewart. The jury found Stewart guilty on five counts of defrauding the government, conspiracy, and providing support for terrorism. Stewart will be sentenced on July 15. She may serve up to thirty years in prison. Appeals are expected to consume years. In the meantime, Stewart will lose her right to practice law and face hard prison time. The eavesdropping on attorney-client communications that led to this prosecution would have been unimaginable before September 11. I will argue that this eavesdropping has a serious cost in inhibiting defense attorney's ability to zealously represent their clients." Findlaw.com has this commentary.
What we can’t know hurts us
"'The first casualty when war comes is truth,' thundered Hiram Johnson, senator from California, on the floor of the Senate in 1917. But the essential component of truth, information, is so heavily guarded these days that truth, if not a casualty in the war on terrorism, certainly goes missing in action all too often." The First Amendment Center has this essay.
Friday, February 11, 2005
House approves electronic ID cards
"The U.S. House of Representatives approved on Thursday a sweeping set of rules aimed at forcing states to issue all adults federally approved electronic ID cards, including driver's licenses." CNET News.com reports here.
No Place to Hide: Award-Winning Journalist Robert O'Harrow Goes Behind the Scenes of Our Emerging Surveillance Society
"O'Harrow explores how the government is teaming up with private companies to collect massive amounts of data on citizens and how, he writes, "More than ever before, the details about our lives are no longer our own. They belong to the companies that collect them, and the government agencies that buy or demand them in the name of keeping us safe." Democracy Now has this interview.
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Parents and Civil Liberties Groups Urge Northern California School District to Terminate Use of Tracking Devices
"Parents in a northern California public school district and civil liberties groups are urging the district to terminate the use of Radio Frequency Identification tags (RFIDs) in mandatory ID badges that track students’ movements." The ACLU issued this press release.
Bill Prompts New National ID Card Fears
"Congress is considering legislation that conservatives and libertarians warn will create a national ID card system, calling it a backdoor attempt to remove privacy protections gained in a law passed only last year. The Real ID Act of 2005 (H.R. 418), introduced Jan. 26 by House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), would eliminate existing privacy protections and give the secretary of Homeland Security expanded powers to control states' driver's licenses and ID cards, and the data collected while issuing them." Cybercast News Service has this article.
HR 418- A National ID Bill Masquerading as Immigration Reform
"Mr. Speaker: I rise in strong opposition to HR 418, the REAL ID Act. This bill purports to make us safer from terrorists who may sneak into the United States, and from other illegal immigrants. While I agree that these issues are of vital importance, this bill will do very little to make us more secure. It will not address our real vulnerabilities. It will, however, make us much less free. In reality, this bill is a Trojan horse. It pretends to offer desperately needed border control in order to stampede Americans into sacrificing what is uniquely American: our constitutionally protected liberty." Hon. Ron Paul gave this address.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Chertoff's nomination remains at standstill
"The Senate did not take up Michael Chertoff's nomination as head of the Department of Homeland Security yesterday, as a Michigan senator sought answers about a Justice Department memo dealing with the interrogation of terror suspects." The Star Ledger contains this article.
Legislators ask Patriot Act limits
The Arizona Republic reports: "An unusual alliance of conservative and liberal state lawmakers wants Congress to limit the federal government's eavesdropping, saying some of the tactics related to the war on terrorism overstep civil liberties. In a resolution to Congress, six Republicans and 14 Democrats argue that the Patriot Act, signed in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks, infringes upon the rights and civil liberties of Arizonans."
Elmira Becomes A Civil Liberties Safe Zone
WENY.com reports: "Monday night the city of Elmira joined hundreds of communities across the country as a civil liberties safe zone. The city council unanimously approved the resolution that asks state lawmakers to evaluate any laws that would violate personal freedoms in response to the USA Patriot Act."
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Homeland Security Nominee Approved by Senate Committee; ACLU Calls for Special Counsel to Investigate Torture Policies
"The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee today approved, by voice vote, the nomination of Michael Chertoff -- the force behind the detention of hundreds of Arab, South Asian and Muslim men after 9/11 -- to serve as the secretary of Homeland Security. The full Senate is expected to vote on his nomination later this week. 'Chertoff’s record does not match his rhetoric,' said Christopher E. Anders, an ACLU Legislative Counsel." The ACLU issued this press release.
Monday, February 07, 2005
Flight teacher didn't violate Patriot Act
The Arizona Republic reports: "Arizona's director of Homeland Security said his office is no longer investigating a Phoenix flight instructor who dropped bags of flour over the Tonto National Forest Sunday."
Why is this man attorney general?
Nat Hentoff writes: "By a 10-8 party-line vote on Jan. 26, the Senate Judiciary CommitteeconfirmedAlberto Gonzales to be the attorney general of the United States — a nation whose commitment to liberty, based on the rule of law, will, the president hopes, help freedom spread through more of the world. Mr. Gonzales was confirmed by the full Senate last week. But the record of Mr. Gonzales shows to the world that he does not embody the rule of law."
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Gonzales' fingerprints all over un-American behavior
"President Bush this week gets the attorney general he wanted for his Cabinet, Alberto Gonzales, a longtime Texas friend and his White House counsel during his first term. Although a president is given wide latitude in choosing his own Cabinet no matter which party controls the Senate, the time may come when the question is asked: Did Republican senators do George Bush any favor when they voted to confirm Gonzales as the nation's chief of law enforcement?" Knight Ridder has this essay.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Chertoff Pledges to Weigh Civil Liberties
"Senate Democrats peppered Homeland Security secretary nominee Michael Chertoff on Wednesday about his tenure as a top Justice Department prosecutor, focusing on whether he had a role in approving cruel and improper interrogation methods used on terror suspects." The AP reports here.
White House: Chertoff didn't OK CIA tactics
"The White House denied on Tuesday a report that Michael Chertoff, its pick to be Homeland Security secretary, once advised the CIA on how far interrogators could go in questioning terrorism suspects without violating federal anti-torture statutes." USA Today has this article.
Gonzales Will Not Be Blocked
The Washington Post reports: "Senate Democrats angrily denounced White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales yesterday as an advocate of prisoner torture but said they would not block his confirmation as attorney general."
Ashcroft delivers parting shot to foes on sentencing, Patriot Act
"In a stinging parting shot at administration critics, Attorney General John Ashcroft on Tuesday warned of serious threats to public safety and security if Congress fails to restore stiff sentencing guidelines and does not renew portions of the Patriot Act." CNN has this report.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Canada to counter US Patriot Act data reporting
ABC News reports: "The Canadian Government says it intends to change laws to thwart the US Patriot Act. The changes would prevent subsidiaries of US corporations such as EDS - which manages Canadian health care records and Australian tax information - from divulging sensitive information about Canadians."
