Bill of Rights Defense Campaign

BILL OF RIGHTS Defense Committee - Working with communities to uphold the Bill of RightsWe the People
Bookmark and Share

Dissent Is Patriotic

The Bill of Rights Defense Committee's e-mail newsletter

June 13, 2003, Vol. 2, No. 4

Newsletter topics:

  • Milestones: 127 resolutions are protecting nearly 16 million people!
  • Save the dates for Grassroots America Defends the Bill of Rights, the first national conference, October 18-19, 2003
  • Make July 4th the Day to Defend the Bill of Rights
  • Status of national legislation:
  • Libraries and bookstores: HR 1157, Freedom to Read Protection Act and S 1158, Library and Bookseller Protection Act
  • Congressional Oversight of FISA warrants: S 436, Domestic Surveillance Oversight Act and HR 2429, Surveillance Oversight and Disclosure Act
  • Emergency Response System to protest detentions and disappearances
  • Keeping up with the Justice Department and DARPA:

  • "Terrorism" Information Awareness
  • C.A.T. Eyes

More Milestones

127 resolutions protect 16 million: In the last month, two states and 21 cities, towns, and counties have passed civil liberties resolutions. New resolutions passed in that period include the states of Alaska and Vermont; Contra Costa County, California; and the cities of Baltimore, Greensboro (NC), Hartford (CT), and Philadelphia. Hundreds of other communities and states are in the process of educating their communities and working toward the passage of resolutions.

Grassroots America Defends the Bill of Rights, the first national conference

Please save the dates October 18-19, 2003, and join us in Washington, DC! The primary goal of the weekend conference is to advance the grassroots movement's impact on national policy. The movement's ultimate goals are to ensure that:

  • Civil liberties and rights outlined in the Constitution and Bill of Rights are understood, restored, observed, and protected; and
  • Proposed laws and policy changes that may impact rights and liberties are subject to rigorous, open national debate.

In the spirit of a bottom-up, grassroots, democratic movement, our procedural approach at the conference will be interactive, participatory brainstorming and mutual teaching and problem-solving.

Following the conference's two days of tactical and strategic policy workshops, there will be a day of "people's advocacy" on Capitol Hill for conferees to directly address their congressional delegations about their obligation to show leadership in restoring rights and liberties and our determination to hold them accountable. These grassroots groups will then follow up with their congressional representatives back at home in their districts at the next congressional recess, bringing the power of grassroots democracy full circle. Click here for more information about the conference and a flier (PDF).

Make July 4th the Day to Defend the Bill of Rights!

by Robert Abel, Bill of Rights Defense Committee

The Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC), Veterans for Peace, and the ACLU of Massachusetts hope to make July 4 a day for increasing public awareness about the threats posed to our liberties by the USA PATRIOT Act and other government actions since September 11. We encourage you and your committee or organization to obtain a parade permit and join in this effort.

Many community groups are already preparing for July 4 events. Click here for some ideas.

We will display a photo report of July 4 events across the United States on BORDC's web site, so please send us an email and attach a photo file of your float, skit, sign, or other July 4 event that celebrates the Bill of Rights or protests the USA PATRIOT Act.

Status of National Legislation

Bills on library and bookstore privacy and on congressional oversight of FISA warrants are currently proceeding through the House and the Senate. For current bill information, including current cosponsors, go to the Thomas Legislative Information web site and enter the bill number. BORDC's web site also contains information on the issues and bills, and suggestions and tools for demonstrating constituents' support.

Libraries and Bookstores

HR 1157, Freedom to Read Protection Act of 2003: This bill, sponsored by Vermont Congressman Bernard Sanders, now has 114 cosponsors, including 12 Republican House members. The legislation has the support of over 30 organization in the book, library, and publishing industry including: the 64,000 member American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Borders Group Inc., the Association of American Publishers, the American Association of University Professors and the California Association of Library Trustees and Commissioners.

Thank you to all of you who have called, written or visited your representative on behalf of this bill. More bipartisan support is needed to obtain a House Judiciary Committee hearing and vote and ultimately to obtain a vote of the full House. Here are a few suggestions:

  • If your representative is not yet a cosponsor, consider hosting a postcard table: preprint postcards and ask visitors to your table to add their return address, signature, and a personal note if desired.
  • If your community has passed a Civil Liberties Safe Zone ordinance or resolution, be sure to mention it in your postcard, letter, call, or office visit.
  • If your representative is already a cosponsor, please send a letter that (1) thanks the House member for his or her cosponsorship and (2) asks him or her to request that House Judiciary Committee Chair James Sensenbrenner hold a hearing on HR 1157, the Freedom to Read Protection Act. You may cross-copy (cc:) Congressman Sensenbrenner at the following address:

The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
2138 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515

  • If Congressman Sensenbrenner is your congressman, please call or write to him as a constituent and ask that he hold a Judiciary Committee hearing on the bill.

Our web page on this bill lists links to helpful information sources and current cosponsors by state. It will soon have a link to a sample postcard you can adapt to your local campaign.

S 1158, Library and Bookseller Protection Act of 2003: California Senator Barbara Boxer introduced this companion bill to HR 1157 on May 23. Please ask your Senators to cosponsor it.

Congressional Oversight of FISA warrants

S 436, Domestic Surveillance Oversight Act of 2003: Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced this bill on February 25 with two other members of that committee: Iowa Senator Charles E. Grassley and Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter. The bill currently has six cosponsors. If your Senators are not among the cosponsors, please ask them to support the bill.

HR 2429, Surveillance Oversight and Disclosure Act of 2003: On June 11, Pennsylvania Congressman James Hoeffel, who voted for the USA PATRIOT Act, introduced this bill, which is similar to the S 436. It currently has 17 cosponsors. Please ask your Congressperson to become a cosponsor. Read the Pennlive article about its introduction.

Emergency Response System to protest detentions and disappearances

by Flavia Alaya, New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee

Editors Note: The Justice Department's own Inspector General has confirmed what many feared: that hundreds of men from targeted racial and ethnic groups were rounded up after September 11, 2001, on the basis of minor immigration violations unrelated to terrorism, detained for long periods without knowing the charges against them or having access to lawyers, treated harshly while in prison, and deported or released. During their detention, their friends and relatives typically could not to find out whether and where they were being held. In other words, they were America's "disappeared."

The New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee wanted to direct its energies to protesting the many detentions of Middle Eastern and South Asian immigrants in their region. Northern New Jersey has one of the largest such populations in the country. They collaborated with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) of New Jersey to develop a "human shield" program in New Jersey to help prevent more detentions and disappearances. The resulting Emergency Response System is designed on the principle that government agents can't become a Secret Service if what they're doing isn't secret.

NJCRDC has provided a statement of their goals and techniques, which is available from the BORDC web site. They are currently providing essential legal training to their volunteers, and they encourage others to establish similar systems in other parts of the country.

Keeping up with DARPA and the Justice Department

"Terrorism" Information Awareness

Remember former Rear Admiral John Poindexter's "Total Information Awareness"? The 'data mining' project received mixed reviews from Congress and the public. The program is still alive, but to improve public relations, the DoD's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has renamed the program "Terrorism Information Awareness." For DARPA's classic answer to the question, "Why did you change the name?" and other questions that may be on your mind, refer to the TIA program Guide to the Report to Congress.

C.A.T. Eyes

Congressman Dick Armey deleted the Terrorism Information and Prevention System (TIPS) from an appropriations bill in the last Congress, but it's back as a nonprofit initiative, the Community Anti-Terrorism Training Institute (C.A.T. Eyes), which the Justice Department supports. The plan is to develop "an educated National Neighborhood Block Watch" of 100 million people. The official web site urges you to "become a CAT Eye and start helping the nation watch for Terrorism!" Visit the web site for an overview, program needs and goals, registration form, and form to report suspicious activity to the FBI. If you would like to learn more about the program, consider attending the training in your area.

Make a Gift in Defense of Civil Liberties

If you would like to support the work of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, consider making a tax-deductible contribution online or via check or money order. Your purchase of bumper stickers, buttons, booklets, and Bill of Rights get well cards also help us to cover our expenses. Click here for our catalog.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
- Margaret Mead

Editor: Nancy Talanian, Codirector
Bill of Rights Defense Committee
8 Bridge St., Suite A
Northampton, MA 01060

Email: info@bordc.org
Web: www.bordc.org
 Telephone: 413-582-0110

We apologize if you have received this newsletter in error.

To unsubscribe, send a reply to this message and type "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the Subject line.

To subscribe, go to the Bill of Rights Defense Committee's web site and click on the Subscribe button on the left.