Senate readies to extend FISA, allowing the NSA to remain above the law

As the days remaining in the 112th Congress dwindle, the Senate grows increasingly likely to reauthorize warrantless spying en masse by the National Security Agency (NSA). The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA) is up for renewal, after 4 years of codifying secret spying on the phone calls and emails of Americans without any basis for suspicion, as required by the US Constitution.

While the FAA would ideally expire at the end of the year, returning warrantless wiretapping to its long illegal status, it is unlikely that Congress will hold the NSA’s feet to the constitutional fire and allow the program to expire. Instead, like the USA PATRIOT Act and so many other erosions of civil liberties and civil rights in the US, FISA renewal is likely to happen quickly, without an adequate debate on whether our government should be allowed to monitor and record the communications of Americans en masse.

A narrow window of time remains for concerned Americans to demand that our Senators allow a full and open debate on the FAA, carefully considering proposed amendments to restore transparency and privacy. If time runs out for Congress to do its job, Senators should at most reauthorize the program for only a few months in order to force a full debate early in the new year.

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) has placed a hold on the bill, keeping it in the Senate Intelligence Committee until he is assured that the Senate will consider amendments to protect privacy. Wyden hopes to secure amendments that “stop the National Security Agency from storing data it intercepts on American citizens.”

Senator Jeff Merkely (D-OR) aims to offer an amendment that would declassify many opinions of the FISA court, in order to make clear how our government has used its spying powers in the past.  He recently declared that, "Citizens generally assume our government is not spying on them, [but] if they had any inkling of how this system really works, the details of which I cannot discuss, they would be profoundly appalled."

The current crisis over the FAA is especially stark when viewed in its historical context. In 1978, after the Watergate scandal, Congress passed FISA to establish the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), a secret court designed to review warrant requests for surveillance of people within the US, where the goal of the surveillance was to collect information about foreign powers.

The PATRIOT Act later extended FISA’s reach to include “terrorism suspects.”  However, in 2005, the press revealed that President Bush had ignored FISA by issuing a 2002 executive order authorizing the NSA to illegally eavesdrop within the US.  The program turned our nation’s foreign spying apparatus inward, and flouted the Fourth Amendment by collecting the communications of thousands, if not millions, of people within the US without legal process.

In response to the revelation of Bush’s secret illegal program, Congress ultimately voted in summer 2008 (in the middle of the presidential campaign season) to issue retroactive approval and immunize corporate accomplices, rather than allow courts to enforce the 30-year old law. The FISA Amendments of 2008 rubber stamped the NSA’s abuses, codifying many illegal aspects of its domestic spying program, and immunizing telephone companies for their complicity in facilitating the government’s lawless behavior.  Five years later, the state of exception that Congress carved out is set to expire.

Senators, including Wyden, Leahy (D-VT), Merkley and Tester (D-MT) stand ready to support restored protections for privacy by amending the FAA.  In order for their amendments to be considered, however, the Senate needs to debate the FAA openly with time for the public to hear its sweeping implications for privacy.  Contact your Senators now and demand that they refuse to extend the FAA until the NSA answers congressional questions, and the Senate leadership allows a full and transparent debate on the merits.

BORDC News

BORDC in the news

This month, the BORDC network has been busy working across the country to raise awareness about several pieces of federal legislation moving during the lameduck session, and working with grassroots coalitions to craft local action opportunities to ensure that civil liberties are not forgotten in the debate. Unfortunately, the Senate process on issues as vital as domestic military detention without trial, and dragnet domestic spying by the NSA, has not included much debate at all.

BORDC’s efforts to break the relative silence on these issues took many forms, including an online petition addressing the NDAA, FISA reauthorization, and ECPA reform at once. A blog post from Samantha A. Peetros, encouraging readers to call their Senators and demand that FISA reauthorization proceed only after the NSA answers congressional questions, became one of our most widely read of all time.

In a scholarly article exploring the importance of civil society and non-governmental organizations in checking abuses of executive power, Georgetown law professor (and BORDC adviser) David Cole discussed the importance of BORDC’s work, alongside that of allied organizations such as the ACLU, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and others.

And on December 7th, Executive Director Shahid Buttar appeared on The Bill Newman show on WHMP in Northampton, MA. The discussion addressed the erosion of civil liberties in relation to then  impending votes in the Senate on the NDAA, FISA, and ECPA.

New video showcases BORDC’s work across the nation  

Whether you've been part of the network since BORDC was founded in 2002, or whether you joined us at an event this fall, like the Connecticut statewide conference that brought together over 200 diverse grassroots activists from across New England on December 8, watch this short video to celebrate the achievements we've accomplished together!

Please take a moment today to share this video with your family and friends. In addition to celebrating the end of BORDC's 10th anniversary with us this holiday season, please also remember to invest in the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and our efforts standing for liberty when our government won't. Every contribution—whether $10 or $10,000—is tax-deductible and helps build the movement, especially with a generous matching grant adding 50% to your contribution.

 

BORDC seeks spring 2013 interns

As the New Year approaches, BORDC seeks enthusiastic interns to join our team. If you—or anyone you know—would be interested in a volunteer or academic internship focused on civil liberties, constitutional rights, and cultivating grassroots activism, please review the position description online and follow the application instructions.

Opportunities are available throughout the US, with applications welcome through January 11. While interns must agree to dedicate at least 15 hours per week to BORDC for at least three months, applicants need not be students to be considered—so please share this information with current students, as well as recent graduates, those embarking on a new career path, and anyone else seeking to expand their skills and support the struggle to restore constitutional rights.

For those interested in volunteering with BORDC with a lower level of commitment, a variety of other opportunities includes research, outreach, and writing projects. For example, writing for our blog is a great way to build your skills, gain subject matter exposure, and begin promoting work under your own byline.

Support BORDC—without opening your wallet

First, vote for BORDC on the CREDO ballot. CREDO Mobile is a cell phone service provider run off of the Sprint network, committed to supporting non-profits. BORDC is one of eight civil rights charities to which CREDO Mobile has committed a share of its 2012 profits. Because the size of our award is determined by popular vote—and anyone, whether a CREDO customer or not, can participate—please take a moment to cast your vote for BORDC on the CREDO ballot.

Second, use GoodSearch to support BORDC every time you search the web. GoodSearch is a search engine run by Yahoo, which donates 50 percent of its sponsored search revenue to charities and schools designated by its users. You can use GoodSearch exactly as you would any other search engine, while easily designating BORDC as the organization of your choice.

BORDC was recently named one of the top rated non-profits of 2012 by Great Nonprofits, a leading provider of reviews and ratings of nonprofit organizations throughout the US. Its website includes reviews of over 1.2 million organizations, all generated by individuals sharing their respective experiences. Visit BORDC's profile to see the experiences shared by grassroots organizers, volunteers and others who have worked with BORDC.

CREDO Mobile and Goodsearch each offer a way to help expand BORDC’s efforts without having to open your wallet. Please take a moment today to participate!

Read the latest news & analysis from the People’s Blog for the Constitution

Have you read BORDC’s blog lately? The People’s Blog for the Constitution has attracted a growing audience that has tripled over the past year. Featuring news & analysis beyond the headlines on a daily basis, it offers a great way to stay up to date and informed.

Highlights from the past month include:

• Call your Senators to demand privacy and transparency by Samantha A. Peetros
• How much more money will we waste violating the Constitution? by Nadia Kayyali
• All is fair in love and email: the Petraeus scandal as a case for digital privacy reform by Alok Bhatt
• BORDC welcomes Privacy & Civil Liberties Oversight Board by Michael Figura
• Supreme Court rejects appeal concerning anti-eavesdropping law by Yiqian Wang
• Detainee’s death pronounced suicide, but details remain murky by Emily Walsh
• 4 ways Congress could either protect your rights, or instead assault them by Shahid Buttar

 

Grassroots News

Patriot Award: Ana Aguayo & Jose Luis Aguayo-Herrera

Every month, BORDC honors an individual who has done outstanding work in support of civil liberties and the rule of law in his or her community. This month, the Patriot Award goes to siblings Ana Aguayo & Jose Luis Aguayo-Herrera from Arkansas for their courageous work defending civil rights and civil liberties.

Born in Mexico to low-income working parents, Ana & Jose became acquainted with the plights of the immigrant community at a young age. They personally witnessed many injustices that immigrant communities have endured, which they observed contributing to a culture of fear. After beginning her advocacy work in high school, where she worked as a legal translator for her local community, Ana continued her work in college, where she worked on wage-theft cases.

Today, Ana & Jose work together at the non-profit Northwest Arkansas Workers' Justice Center (NWAWJC), serving lower income workers in the surrounding area. The organization focuses largely on labor-related issues, specifically focusing on abuses within the workplace, including non-payments, underpayments, insecure working conditions, harassment, and health and safety training. Their work aspires to improve working conditions, educate the working community, and challenge the myth that immigrant workers are not entitled to constitutional rights.

The NWAWJC has focused on four central campaigns; one addresses mediation between workers and their employers in recovering unpaid wages; the second encourages workers to speak up about their circumstances at work, and to fight against the use of an individual’s immigration status as a tool for oppression; third relates to health and safety, primarily to promote health and safety training to prevent injuries in the workplace; and the fourth focuses on personal development of work crew members to cultivate workers’ skill-sets, from knowledge of their fundamental rights to English language training and computer education.

This summer, Ana represented NWAWJC in a convening facilitated by BORDC's George Friday which brought together many local allies interested in a campaign to address profiling and other abuses by local and state police. To aspiring activists interested in developing their own advocacy, she suggests a simple first step: seek information to learn more about the issues. BORDC's People's Blog for the Constitution offers one great source for such information on civil liberties issues.

Efforts to champion constitutional rights in America's heartland -- like those of Ana, Jose and their colleagues at the NWAWJC --  offer an inspiring reminder of the vital role of immigrant communities in our nation's history, and the transcendence of constitutional principles beyond political party, language, or culture. BORDC salutes Ana Aguayo & & Jose Luis Aguayo-Herrera for demonstrating, everyday, what it truly means to be American.

Grassroots updates

To get involved in any of these efforts, please email the BORDC Organizing Team at organizing@bordc.org. We’re eager to hear from you and help support your activism!

Bill of Rights Day prompts grassroots actions across the country

On December 15, Bill of Rights Day, BORDC compiled information about grassroots actions organized all over the country, particularly focused on drone killings and extrajudicial assassination. In addition to those reviewed below, our compilation included a protest against drones at the CIA headquarters outside DC; a series of documentary screenings in Asheville, NC; a reading of a play in Chapel Hill, NC to dramatize drone killings; the nation’s first physical monument to the Bill of Rights, established in Phoenix, AZ; and an anti-drone protest at the Boeing headquarters in Chicago.

New Britain, CT: Diverse activists come together from across the Northeast

On Saturday, December 8, the Connecticut Coalition to Stop Indefinite Detention and BORDC organized “An Injury to One is An Injury to All: A Conference in Defense of Civil Liberties and to End Indefinite Detention.” A litany of advocacy groups and over 200 diverse grassroots activists from across the Northeast attended to learn more about violations of Americans’ civil liberties and demonstrate solidarity with affected communities and survivors.  

The conference addressed several issues such as police militarization, government aggression against dissident voices, prejudiced enforcement practices, and domestic surveillance.  In addition to featured speeches by renowned Guardian columnist Glenn Greenwald and Texas Wesleyan law professor Sahar Aziz, BORDC’s Shahid Buttar shared comments in a plenary session, and also helped facilitate a concluding panel helping attendees organize local and regional campaigns to champion civil liberties at the municipal, county and state level going forward.

Albany, NY: Center for Law and Justice calls on Governor to appoint commission on mass incarceration of people of color

In Albany, the Center for Law and Justice (CFLJ) is circulating a petition to call upon Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to immediately appoint a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission to assess the impact of mass incarceration on people of color since 1970; to employ a “truth and reconciliation” process to bring together law enforcement and the community at large to examine the impact of mass incarceration; and to produce bold, systemic recommendations to halt the practice of mass incarceration in New York State and redress the grievances of those already harmed.

The petition comes after the Center issued a series of reports examining the disparate impact of incarceration on African-Americans in Albany, and is also informed by regular meeting of community members examining the phenomenon of the "New Jim Crow." Inspired by the previous work of groups including Project Salam in prompting action by the Albany Common Council to challenge the legitimacy of counter-terror prosecutions using secret evidence, BORDC and CFLJ recently brought together a diverse audience to discuss the linkages between mass incarceration and the targeting of other communities by local and federal law enforcement and are working to continue to build a coalition around these issues.

Cleveland, OH: Nearly 20 organizations convene in the aftermath of police killings

On December 4th, over 40 Cleveland activists and community leaders representing nearly 20 organizations met to discuss a joint campaign to challenge civil rights and civil liberties abuses in Cleveland.  The ACLU hosted the meeting, which brought together people of different faiths alongside allies working for racial justice, immigrant rights, rights for the homeless, and police accountability.

Unfortunately, the convening took place in the wake of a high speed chase ending when 13 police officers used 137 bullets to kill two unarmed people.  On December 14, the NAACP hosted a community forum to promote accountability from the Mayor and Chief of police. The group plans to continue its discussions in February, and consider collaborative plans for 2013.

Chicago, IL: Proposed closure of “Supermax” prison moves forward on budget grounds, if not human rights

In October, a diverse array of community groups from around Chicago met at Loyola Law School to examine the landscape for civil rights and civil  liberties and identify opportunities for joint work.  The emerging coalition generated a dozen shared goals.

One shared goal, proposed by the Tamms Year Ten coalition, included closing prisons that subject prisoners to extensive periods of solitary confinement or other torture.  Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D) has favored closing the prison in the face of the state’s budget crisis, creating opportunities for the coalition to raise its human rights concerns when it reconvenes in January.

Other shared goals included reversing addressing local measures to suppress dissent and affirmative measures to restore privacy interests eroded by surveillance and intelligence collection.

Dallas, TX: Bill of Rights Day luncheon prompts defiance of local anti-dissent measure

On Saturday, December 15, coalition partners including the Dallas Peace Center, CODEPINK Greater Dallas, and Occupy Dallas shared a Bill of Rights Day luncheon, and planned upcoming events for the new year.  Afterwards, several individuals marched to the construction site of the George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University, set to open in the spring. They displayed a banner and signs, in defiance of a municipal ordinance that prohibits protests, or displaying anything "intended to inform" a public audience, within 75 feet of a freeway access road.

Michigan: State House unanimously approves bill to repudiate NDAA’s domestic detention provisions

On Thursday, December 6, the Michigan legislature approved a bill to stop indefinite detention within the US under the NDAA, by a unanimous vote of 107-0 uniting 63 Republicans and 47 Democrats). The bill, HB 5768, introduced by Rep. Tom Mcmillan (R) and supported by several Republicans alongside Rep. Jeff Irwin (D), will go to the State Senate in the new year.

Driven by a wave of grassroots activism sparked by a transpartisan coalition including the Tenth Amendment Center (TAC), the Michigan bill was particularly noteworthy in the context of the amendment to the 2013 NDAA crafted by Senator Feinstein, which asserted the right to due process only of citizens and lawful permanent residents. The Michigan bill explicitly defends the rights of all persons within the state.

Carl Mayer, lead plaintiffs’ counsel in Hedges v. Obama, said the bipartisan vote proves that the right to trial “isn't a left, right or center issue" and voiced his hope for "all fifty states [to] make it clear that they will not cooperate with this unconstitutional attempt to use the military within the borders of the United States….” According to TAC’s Mike Maharray:

Even if the Feinstein amendment sticks, it still expressly claims congressional power to pass legislation to detain people on U.S. soil. It is the duty of state legislatures to interpose….what can be more evil than government-sanctioned kidnapping?  

Alameda County, CA:  Hearing on drone purchase to take place in coming months

Alameda County Against Drones (ACAD), along with the ACLU of Northern California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, organized an emergency press conference in response to the Alameda County Sheriff's attempt to secretly push through approval of his drone purchase. ACAD emphasized the major civil liberties concerns raised by drones. Advocates and community members first raised the issue in October, and attended the Board of Supervisors meeting on November 6, where the matter was sent to the Public Protection Committee.  The matter was allegedly pulled off the Board of Supervisors agenda after public outcry, but was left on "inadvertently." Fortunately, advocates noticed the item on the agenda, and are mobilizing for a hearing in January or February.

Los Angeles, CA: Coalition holds successful rally against fusion centers

The Coalition to Stop LAPD Spying held a successful rally in front of the Norwalk Fusion Center on December 13.  When approximately 100 activists attempted to enter the building, they were surrounded by law enforcement and threatened with arrest, as were reporters from KPFA news.

The innovative action called attention to the Joint Regional Intelligence Center, outside of Los Angeles. Although fusion centers have received attention recently, most people remain unaware of their locations and their role in coordinating domestic spying. Hamid Khan from Stop LAPD Spying called for "an end to the assault on our privacy, violation of our civil liberties, and a waste of our public resources." The Coalition continues to expose these centers, and is conducting a People's Audit of suspicious activity reporting.

Law and Policy

Congress approves 2013 NDAA without any due process provisions

On December 21, Congress passed the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), after removing provisions aiming to restore due process that attracted broad support in the Senate. The bill is now on the President's desk, while the White House has threatened a veto because the bill infringes on presidential powers.

With respect to domestic detention, the bicameral conference report reportedly omits Senate language aimed to ensure due process for some Americans, instead including only redundant and ultimately meaningless (and potentially even counter-productive) language from the House reiterating the availability of habeas corpus to detainees apprehended within the US. 

Senate provisions removed from the conference report included a bipartisan amendment sponsored by Senator Feinstein (D-CA) overwhelmingly approved by Senators on November 29th. While the Feinstein amendment was praised by some for protecting civil liberties, it left gaping holes and drew criticism from human rights and civil liberties groups (including BORDC) before ultimately falling victim to conflicting views among Senators about what, exactly, it implied.

While the domestic military detention provisions continue to spark outrage across the US, the more controversial issue on Capitol Hill related to restrictions on the President's authority to transfer Guantanamo detainees cleared for release. In the face of a veto threat from the White House, the conference committee approved extending the transfer restrictions for a single year.

Finally, despite the congressional clamor about budget austerity, the conference committee included congressional insistence on expensive weapon and surveillance systems that the Air Force said it does not need or even want.

While the NDAA of 2013 will substantially leave in place the dangerous provisions that sparked widespread outrage with the 2012 NDAA, the good news is that (unlike other bills like the PATRIOT Act and FISA) the NDAA is reauthorized each year, offering another chance to restore due process for all Americans in 2013.  In the meantime, although real change remains necessary at the federal level, it is still possible to advocate for due process at the local level. A growing number of local and state jurisdictions have already passed anti-NDAA resolutions, with more poised to follow in 2013.

BORDC coordinates amicus briefs in Obama v. Hedges before the Second Circuit

Earlier this month, parties and amici (friend of the court) filed briefs in Hedges v. Obama, a lawsuit pending before the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. BORDC coordinated the filing of three amicus briefs to expand the range of voices and arguments before the court.

The case was brought by journalists challenging the constitutionality of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2012 and its provisions that could allow indefinite military detention within the US. Earlier this year, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in their favor, issuing a permanent injunction to prevent those provisions from coming into effect until the Second Circuit lifted the injunction in October.

Briefs coordinated by BORDC buttress the constitutional challenge by providing additional arguments and perspectives to inform the court's decision. One brief, filed by Arnold & Porter on behalf of BORDC, explains that when our military has previously detained Americans domestically, the executive branch has taken extreme steps to evade the oversight of federal courts, making it especially important for the Second Circuit to decide the constitutionality of the NDAA now, before the government’s predictable later attempts to avoid judicial review.

Other briefs that BORDC helped make possible were filed on behalf of the Government Accountability Project, which defends government employees who risk their careers to expose fraud and waste to the public, and the Korematsu Center for Law and Equality at Seattle University School of Law, which seeks to combat discrimination and to support communities in advocating for themselves.

The court will hear oral argument in New York City in January. Updates on the case can be found on BORDC's blog and at StopNDAA.org. You can also find others organizing across the country against the NDAA on BORDC's national map of anti-NDAA movements.

Ninth Circuit holds military accountable for violating First Amendment rights of civilians

On Monday, December 17, the US Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit ruled that a group of peace activists may proceed with a lawsuit against the Defense Department for spying on their peaceful, First Amendment protected activities. The decision, allowing a claim litigated by National Lawyers Guild attorney Larry Hildes to proceed, sets a new legal precedent while also addressing a convoluted set of facts offering a compelling revelation of the national security and surveillance state.

A network of peace activists, including a BORDC chapter in Tacoma, obtained evidence through a public records request that revealed Pentagon infiltration of several peaceful advocacy groups by John Towery, a military informant and member of the Force Protection Service at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. According to Brendan Maslauskas Dunn, one of the activists about whom the paid military informant unconstitutionally collected records:

[John Towery] admitted that, yes, he did in fact spy on us. He did in fact infiltrate us. He admitted that he did pass on information to an intelligence network…composed of dozens of law enforcement agencies, ranging from municipal to county to state to regional, and several federal agencies, including Immigration Customs Enforcement, Joint Terrorism Task Force, FBI, Homeland Security, the Army in Fort Lewis.

Apologists for COINTELPRO 2.0 often argue that contemporary domestic surveillance has yet to reach the level of pervasive domestic spying conducted under the infamous reign of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Between the NSA’s dragnet communications monitoring, however, and the military infiltration of advocacy groups demonstrated in the Towery case, that claim grows increasingly implausible.

ECPA clears Senate Judiciary Committee with bi-partisan support

As Congress nears the end of its lame duck session, at least some civil liberties concerns have found support in the narrow context of government surveillance of electronic communications outside the national security arena. In particular, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s bipartisan approval of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) offers a promising indication of potential reforms in the new year. 

On the one hand, modernizing digital privacy standards might represent a self-interested response by national leaders who, in the wake of the Petraeus email scandal, realize their own vulnerability. On the other hand, ECPA reform would at least protect digital communications from searches by most law enforcement agencies unless they secure a judicial warrant.

As previously reported, on November 29, the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) approved amendments to reinforce electronic privacy under ECPA.  SJC Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who also helped craft the first ECPA law in 1986, authored updates to prohibit nearly unlimited government access to even our most personal documents stored online. 

 

Leahy’s updates to obsolete electronic privacy protections include prohibiting telecommunications companies from voluntarily disclosing consumer data.  Under the original ECPA, the government needs merely an administrative subpoena to access email messages stored for over 180 days.  Before cloud computing, which lends permanence to digital correspondence, electronic messages were as disposable as holiday cards.  But the prominence of email today for personal and professional communication signifies the necessity for greater protection.  A message no longer ‘depreciates’ after 180 days; a reasonable expectation of privacy persists, which our laws must reflect and protect.  Leahy’s warrant requirement for electronic content affords such protection in some cases, though agencies can still evade the warrant requirement by claiming a national security purpose. 

Congressional initiatives to improve privacy set an important example opposing the broader federal trend of increasingly encroaching upon it.  While ECPA’s approval by a Senate committee offers an incremental victory and some promise for the future, digital privacy remains under a broader assault by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and corporate complicity in dragnet surveillance. 

Are zombies chasing us over the edge of the fiscal cliff?

While a zombie invasion might seem more apt for science fiction authors than military and police agencies, the national security industrial complex managed to squander the time of “hundreds of Marines, Navy special operations forces, soldiers, police, firefighters and others” recently in San Diego. In October, Halo Corporation included a detailed zombie attack as part of a counterterrorism summit attended by law enforcement and military agencies.

Better yet, despite resounding calls for fiscal austerity, the Department of Homeland Security approved the use of Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) funds to pay the $1,000 admission fee for many of the attendees.

Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) released a report on December 5, “Safety at Any Price,” examining and questioning whether such spending is as necessary as its proponents claim.  Senator was also the principal spokesperson for a bipartisan, and highly critical, Senate report on fusion centers released in October by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Echoing concerns about wasteful spending at fusion centers, Senator Coburn criticizes the waste he found in the UASI program. The report notes:

Significant evidence suggests the program is struggling to demonstrate how it is making U.S. cities less vulnerable to attack and more prepared if one were to occur- despite receiving $7.1 billion in federal funding since 2003.

UASI is ostensibly a federal grants program for:

…high-threat, high-density urban areas, and assists them in building an enhanced and sustainable capacity to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism.

UASI funds a range of programs, from training to weapons purchases. While this may seem like a good idea in theory, much of the spending is ominous, while some is merely ridiculous. For example, the police department of Berkeley, CA, wanted to purchase an armored vehicle with UASI funds, in a jurisdiction whose civil disturbances are mostly related to dissent, and without the civilian review long required under local law.  Similarly, Pittsburg, PA spent $80,000 on long range acoustic devices to suppress dissent by being:

…mounted on a truck and emit[ting] an ear-splitting sound. Local officials used it to disperse G-20 protestors, giving one bystander permanent hearing loss, but which they called ‘a kinder and gentler way to get people to leave.’

On the ridiculous side, of course, are zombies. Another example of such questionable spending is the $11,700 in UASI funds used to purchase sno-cone machines for 13 counties in Michigan. As Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert notes:

These soft-on-terror-crats are mischaracterizing these machines as a frivolous waste of tax money…but if anything it is time to make more of these purchases. There’s no reason fighting terror can’t be fun!

The machines were touted as being useful for creating ice packs, and for use as an attraction at public events.

UASI funds were originally intended for high-profile areas like New York. However, they have since been spread across the US as smaller cities, unlikely to be strategic targets for acts of terrorism, compete for UASI grants. As the Senator’s report makes clear, these grants have not only outlived their usefulness, they are also assisting local law enforcement in violating civil liberties.  His report comes while the President and Speaker of the House Jon Boehner are heatedly negotiating over the impending fiscal cliff. 

Fortunately, like other problematic federal policies, activists locally can address these problematic funds. Local law enforcement often applies for UASI grants with little oversight from elected officials. However, in Berkeley, CA, the Coalition for a Safe Berkeley both prevented the purchase of the armored vehicle that the Berkeley Police Department wanted to purchase, and also successfully lobbied for a city policy that will require all future grant requests to be reviewed by the city council. Similarly, in Alameda County, CA, a  grassroots coalition has formed to ensure that the Sheriff does not purchase a drone with UASI funds with no oversight. Contact organizing@bordc.org for help forming a similar coalition in your area.

New Resources and Opportunities

BORDC seeks spring 2013 interns

As the New Year approaches, BORDC seeks enthusiastic interns to join our team. If you—or anyone you know—would be interested in a volunteer or academic internship focused on civil liberties, constitutional rights, and cultivating grassroots activism, please review the position description online and follow the application instructions.

Opportunities are available throughout the US, with applications welcome through January 11. While interns must agree to dedicate at least 15 hours per week to BORDC for at least three months, applicants need not be students to be considered—so please share this information with current students, as well as recent graduates, those embarking on a new career path, and anyone else seeking to expand their skills and support the struggle to restore constitutional rights.

For those interested in volunteering with BORDC with a lower level of commitment, a variety of other opportunities includes research, outreach, and writing projects. For example, writing for our blog is a great way to build your skills, gain subject matter exposure, and begin promoting work under your own byline.

Resources for Teachers

BORDC has updated our materials for teachers and we are excited to share them with you. If you teach in a classroom, run an after school program, are a parent, or otherwise have young people in your life, these resources may prove helpful. Feel free to pass them along to colleagues and friends!

From our blog:

• Read inspiring stories about students and teachers who have worked in creative ways to protect our Constitution.
• Read about struggles in high schools and on college campuses to protect students’ most fundamental rights, and how they are being particularly eroded on the high school level
• Are your students learning about the Civil Rights Movement? FBI surveillance of African-Americans has a long legacy and is still continued today. Our blog post includes links to current and historical sources that explain this history.

From our website:

• Our K-12 resource page includes lesson plans about specific moments in constitutional history as well as resources for teaching about a variety of current events relating to civil rights and liberties
• Or, if you’re looking for a fun, educational game to play with your class, try our Civil Rights Trivia game

Feel free to use any of these resources at any point, and also take advantage of our BORDC speaker’s bureau. BORDC currently has knowledgeable and engaging speakers willing to speak in or near the following locations:

• Washington, DC
• San Francisco, CA
• New York, NY and the tri-state area
• Chicago, IL
• Massachusetts
• North Carolina

Let us know if you’re interested in bringing a BORDC guest speaker into your classroom.

Thank you for all the inspiring work you do with your students every day.