Dissent Is Patriotic
The Bill of Rights Defense Committee's e-mail newsletter
January 16, 2003, Vol. 2, No. 1
Newsletter topics:
- Resolution News: Local resolutions and one university
- Legislative News:
Total Information Awareness hits opposition on Capital Hill
Congressman Bernie Sanders to introduce a bill to protect library and bookstore information - Update on FBI and campus security
- Teachable moments: Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, July 4, a Bill of Rights in every Virginia public school
- Press clips
Resolution News
Local Resolutions: Our December issue reported 20 resolutions passed, but we'd missed one! The City Council of Detroit, Michigan, had quietly passed a resolution on December 6, becoming the 19th community to do so, making Flagstaff and Oakland the 20th and 21st. BORDC welcomes the following additional communities, which passed resolutions in January 2003:
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Fairbanks, AK, on January 6
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Fairfax, CA, on January 7
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Montpelier, VT, on January 15
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Arcata, CA, on January 15
Special thanks to The One True b!X of the Portland (OR) Bill of Rights Defense Committee, who suggested counting the populations of the communities that have passed resolutions. Resolutions are now protecting the civil liberties of 3,387,036 people! For details, including links to the text of the resolutions passed, go to our Successes page.
College/University Resolutions: At its meeting on Thursday, January 9, 2003, the Thirty-fifth Senate of Stanford University's Academic Council heard reports and took the following action: By a unanimous voice vote, the Thirty-fifth Senate on a seconded motion adopted a Resolution on Universities and Anti-terrorism legislation. Stanford's action was preceded by the University of Wisconsin in December 2001. BORDC is currently gathering information on issues of concern to students and faculty.
We are setting up a special web page especially for student civil liberties issues and resolutions. Please contact us if you are interested in passing a resolution at your school.
Legislative News
Total Information Awareness hits opposition on Capital Hill
Members of Congress have joined the growing numbers of Americans voicing opposition to the Defense Department's Total Information Awareness (TIA) program. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), the only senator to vote against the USA PATRIOT Act, today announced that he is introducing legislation that would place a moratorium on TIA's controversial "data-mining." Senators Jon Corzine (D-NJ), and Ron Widen (D-OR) are cosponsors of the Data-Mining Moratorium Act of 2003. We will post the bill number on our web site as soon as it is available and will send out an Action Alert to ask you to seek your senators' support for this important "anti-Big Brother" legislation. A press release on Senator Feingold's web site provides more information.
Correction: In the December 2002 issue of this newsletter, we erroneously reported that TIA was part of the Homeland Security Act. It predates the Homeland Security Act. However, information gathered under that program would undoubtedly be made available to the Department of Homeland Security. We apologize for our error.
Congressman Bernie Sanders to introduce a bill to protect library and bookstore information
When Burlington (VT) City Councilors Doug Dunbebin and Richard Kemp sponsored a civil liberties resolution, they asked local librarians and the Vermont Library Association (VLA) to offer testimony about USA PATRIOT Act Section 215. The VLA adopted an open letter to Vermont's Congressional delegation requesting that legislation be introduced to eliminate provisions in the Act that undermine these rights. At a December 20, 2002, press conference at Burlington's Fletcher Free Library, Vermont Congressman Bernie Sanders announced that he would sponsor such legislation. See Vermont Gives Nation a First Amendment Christmas Present in the current issue of ABA's online newsletter, Bookselling This Week.
An aide to Congressman Sanders informed BORDC last week that they are currently drafting the bill and seeking early cosponsors. We will keep you informed of the progress and how you can support the bill's passage.
Update on FBI and Campus Security
In the last issue of this newsletter, we advised readers to inquire as to whether their campus police forces had FBI liaisons. A January 9, 2003, Boston Globe article, University police help the FBI in terror fight, reveals that the UMass-Amherst campus is not alone in this distinction. The ACLU of Massachusetts has issued a Freedom of Information Act request seeking information from the FBI about its surveillance of professors and students nationwide. We will post updates as we receive them on our web site's FBI Info page.
Teachable Moments
Martin Luther King, Jr., Day
Marilyn Levin of Arlington (MA) United for Justice and Peace and
the ACLU of Massachusetts Civil Liberties Task Force suggests that
we use the opportunity of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day observances "to
educate people about how the government tried to disrupt and discredit
King and other leaders and organizations of the civil rights movement
through the FBI's COINTELPRO program and became increasingly virulent
as King publicly took an anti-Vietnam War position." Levin
suggests that we "[connect] what the current administration,
Justice Department, FBI, and CIA are trying to do to antiwar activists
and Arab/Muslim immigrants today to stifle opposition through the
USA PATRIOT Act, Homeland Security legislation, INS registration,
and federal executive orders. We should also make the point that
if Dr. King were alive today, there is no doubt that he would be
actively campaigning to stop the war in Iraq and to defend the
Bill of Rights."
For more information on the FBI's treatment of Dr. King, and a comparison to its spying activities today, read the ACLU's paper, "The Dangers of Domestic Spying by Federal Law Enforcement: A Case Study of FBI Surveillance of Dr. Martin Luther King." (PDF file)
July 4, 2003
Jon Olsen suggests that activists across the country plan events
on July 4 celebrating the Bill of Rights with films, videos, speeches,
etc., "to make every citizen aware of the value of these rights,
and of the threats" to those rights.
Virginia and the Bill of Rights
The Virginia House of Delegates is considering legislation to
require that the Bill of Rights be placed prominently in every public
school building in the state. They are seeking a free source of Bill
of Rights posters. BORDC applauds this proposal and urges other states
to consider exposing their students to the Bill of Rights.
Press Clips
As this grassroots movement grows, members of the press have been taking notice. Here are some recent stories:
Dec. 19, 2002, Wired News: Cities
Say No to Federal Snooping by Julia Scheeres
Dec. 23, 2002, New York Times: Cities
Urge Restraint in Fight Against Terror by Michael Janofsky
(Page A1!)
Jan. 9, 2003, Associated Press: Cities
Pass Civil Liberties Resolutions by Beth deFalco (Variations
of this story appear on CNN.com and in USA Today and The
Guardian.)
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 to our fiscal sponsor, the Greensboro Justice Fund. Write "BORDC" in the memo line. 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/order form.
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
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