Dissent Is Patriotic
The Bill of Rights Defense Committee's e-mail newsletter
September 23, 2003, Vol. 2, No. 6
Newsletter Articles:
- Stop Attorney General Ashcroft's Stealth Tour; Demand Open Debate
- Grassroots Conference Reminder: October 18-19, 2003
- Expansion of Patriot Act
- Taking the Offensive: How Do We Make Democracy Work?
In Brief:
- Pass a resolution on your college campus
- Grassroots Movement Update
- BORDC Speakers Bureau
- Ideas for Commemorating Second Anniversary of Patriot Act
- Contest: Rename the USA PATRIOT Act
Stop Attorney General Ashcroft's Stealth Tour; Demand Open Debate
From August 19 through September 9, Attorney General John Ashcroft gave nearly identical speeches to specially selected groups of law enforcement in 16 cities. Despite short notice of those speeches, Ashcroft was greeted at each stop by large groups of the Act's critics, building to a climax of more than 1200 demonstrators outside Boston's Faneuil Hall and more than 2500 demonstrators near New York City's Federal Hall.
On September 18 Ashcroft embarked on a "stealth tour," giving the public less than a day's notice of his appearances, which BORDC interprets as a tactic to avoid public opposition. For clever satire, read the story 10,000 Milwaukeeans to Protest John Ashcroft in Secret. Far from winning the PR war on the Patriot Act, Mr. Ashcroft's extended tour is scoring points for the Patriot Act's detractors. In the month since Ashcroft's tour began, 21 cities with a combined population of over 3 million have passed resolutions against the Patriot Act.
Last week Ashcroft's behavior toward the Patriot Act's detractors turned abusive when he labeled librarians as "hysterical," then attempted to eliminate their legitimate objections to Section 215 by allowing FBI head Robert Mueller to declassify the number of times the section has been used to obtain records: Zero. Many people are now asking why Section 215 is needed at all.
That is one of many questions that Mr. Ashcroft needs to address through open debate with Congress and the American people. Please ask your House member and Senators to demand that Attorney General Ashcroft abandon his taxpayer-funded, politically motivated tour (which can no longer be labeled a "charm offensive") and engage in productive dialogue with Congress and others to fix the Patriot Act and other regulations enacted since September 11, 2003. See the letter to the GAO (PDF) from Rep. John Conyers Jr. and Sen. Patrick Leahy, ranking members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, respectively. To help fix the Patriot Act, starting with its name, see "Contest" in this newsletter.
Grassroots Conference Reminder: October 18-19, 2003
Conference plans are coming together, and your participation is needed to make sure that the Grassroots America Defends the Bill of Rights conference next month in Silver Spring, MD, is a success. The conference's goals include broadening and expanding the movement, building on its success, and developing strategies and goals for the future. Our procedural approach at the conference will be interactive, participatory brainstorming and mutual teaching and problem-solving. Please visit www.grassroots-america.org for more details about the conference program and to register.
Confirmed speakers and panelists include Laura Murphy and Damon Moglen (ACLU), Ralph Neas (People for the American Way), Nancy Chang (Center for Constitutional Rights), Grover Norquist (Americans for Tax Reform), Mahdi Bray (Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation), Kit Gage (National Coalition for Political Freedom), Hilary Shelton (NAACP), Wade Henderson (Leadership Conference on Civil Rights), Chellie Pingree (Common Cause), Jeanne Herrick-Stare and Joe Volk (Friends Committee on National Legislation), Actor Alec Baldwin, Lynne Bradley and Patrice McDermott (American Library Association), James X. Dempsey (Center for Democracy and Technology), David Sobel (Electronic Privacy Information Center), Nancy Talanian, Martha Nathan, and Irvine Sobelman (BORDC), David Meserve (Arcata, CA, City Councilor), Hope Marston (Lane County BORDC) and dozens of grassroots heroes who have made this a movement!
To make this conference as affordable as possible, we have relied on volunteer organizers, unpaid speakers, and endorsements. Registration of $150 covers attendance, conference book, one breakfast and two lunches. Please register today!
Expansion of Patriot Act
On September 9, Rep. Tom Feeney introduced H.R. 3037, the Antiterrorism Tools Enhancement Act. If it is passed in its present form, the Act would authorize the administration to issue subpoenas without having to show probable cause. The Act requires only that the information sought by the administrative subpoenas is relevant to an ongoing investigation. It also contains a provision for the Attorney General to issue a gag order that forbids the person served the subpoena from disclosing its existence.
President Bush has endorsed H.R. 3037 and two other new measures:
- Denial of bail for anyone the Administration names a terrorism suspect.
- Imposing the death penalty for so-called terrorist crimes.
The proposals for administrative subpoenas and denial of bail would further upset the balance of power by expanding the Administration's powers and reducing those of the judiciary and the grand jury. Imposing the death penalty would virtually guarantee that countries without a death penalty would refuse to extradite suspected terrorists to the United States.
Please use public forums, op-eds, letters to the editor, and other educational means to inform the public about the dangers of these measures.
Taking the Offensive: How do We Make Democracy Work?
By Ward Morehouse, Co-Founder, Program
on Corporations, Law and Democracy (POCLAD)
Activists engaged in resisting the Bush-Ashcroft-Clinton assault
on civil liberties are essentially on the defensive. Our adversaries
have been defining our agendas for resistance as they issue executive
orders and submit proposed legislation to Congress in the name of
fighting terrorism. Consider the Bush speech earlier this month asking
for additional authority for the government in issuing subpoenas
and taking other actions that trample long established human rights
and protections by government abuse of power.
Patriot Act 1 was bad enough. We now have to mobilize our friends
in Congress--and even those who may not be so friendly--to defeat
this legislation known informally as Patriot Act 2. This effort is
a diversion from struggles to make democracy real.
I assume that most of those of us who are involved in resistance
to the Clinton-Bush-Ashcroft attacks on our civil rights aspire to
build a real democracy characterized by self-governance of, by and
for the people and by the practice of social equality. We must, of
course, continue to resist these attacks, but is it not time to begin
to lay the groundwork for action agendas which we define and which
will begin to move us ever closer to achieving a truly democratic
society?
We might begin by looking at how we as a nation measure up to the
standards set forth in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Of course, no country has achieved
all of the rights set forth in the 30 articles that make up the Universal
Declaration for all of its citizens. They should be seen as normative
goals or standards towards which all countries are expected to aspire.
The United States may be seen to do better than some countries on
some rights, but there are plenty of articles in the Declaration
where we lag far behind other countries. Take Article 4, which prohibits "servitude".
When U.S. workers cross the factory gate, they lose their First Amendment
rights of free speech and assembly to their corporate employers.
Or Article 5, which prohibits "cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment" characteristic
of maximum secrurity prisons in the U.S.
What about Article 25 ("everyone has the right to a standard
of living adequate for the health and well being of himself and of
his family") or Article 23 (the right to work with equal pay
and "just remuneration"--i.e., a living wage) or Article
21 (the will of the people--not some but all the people--is "the
basis of the authority of government")?
I could go on, but I think the basic point is clear. If we were to
go back to the status quo before Clinton signed his anti-terrorism
legislation, followed by what the current Administration has done,
we would find a constitution, with a seriously flawed bill of rights,
and a body of legislation and judicial opinion that challenge, if
not violate, many of the international standards for human rights
set forth in the Universal Declaration and other international human
rights conventions and agreements.
We live, alas, in a plutocracy--rule by the rich. Democracy remains,
in my view, an unfulfilled aspiration. But what better time than
now to launch a serious democracy movement built upon all of the
political energy that has surfaced in more than 170 municipalities
and three states that have taken actions opposing the Bush-Ashcroft
terrorism policies--and the stirring of protest in dozens more cities
and towns soon to follow with their own acts of resistance.
In Brief:
Pass a resolution on your college campus
The Bill of Rights Defense Committee has started working with some
national student organizations to kick off a national campaign to
resist the Patriot Act on college campuses. If you are a student,
faculty or staff member at a college or university and would like
to start working to put pressure on your campus' administration not
to comply with the Patriot Act, please see our campus
page, or contact us.
Grassroots Movement Update
As of September 22, 2003, 172 cities and towns representing nearly 20 million people in 31 states have passed resolutions creating Civil Liberties Safe Zones. These resolutions are having an impact: John Ashcroft continues his stealth tour to defend the Patriot Act, and legislators in Congress have proposed measures aimed at rolling back the law. Some communities working on these efforts have come up with creative ways to get their local governments on board with the resolution effort. The Greenbelt, Maryland Bill of Rights Defense Coalition has organized a teach-in to educate community members and city councilors about the Patriot Act, and the Boise (ID) Patriots created a flyer titled Police Opposition to Local Enforcement of Immigration Law As Allowed by USA Patriot Act that contains quotes from police officers who are concerned about the Patriot Act. Also see the Bill of Rights Defense Committee's Tools Page for more helpful information on passing resolutions.
BORDC Speakers Bureau
Do you know of skilled speakers who are able to speak about the Patriot Act and other antiterrorism measures and how they infringe on civil liberties? We are creating a database of people who are willing to be on the Bill of Rights Defense Committee's Speakers Bureau. People on the speakers bureau will travel locally or regionally to talk with audiences about how the Patriot Act infringes on rights, and why it is important to pass a local resolution expressing support for civil liberties and/or non-compliance with the Patriot Act. If you know of someone you think would be good for the Bill of Rights Defense Committee's Speakers Bureau, please write us with their contact information and how far they are willing to travel. Because this is a grassroots movement, we are most interested in speakers who can volunteer their time.
Your ideas for observing the Patriot Act's second anniversary
On October 26, 2003, the Patriot Act will be two years old. In response to our request for observance ideas, we received the following terrific suggestions:
-
The Pioneer Valley (MA) Interfaith Coalition is hosting a series of forums the week of October 26 to educate people about the Patriot Act and what they can do to resist and repeal it.
-
The National Council of Churches is holding a Witness for Civil Liberties Weekend October 24-26. See their website for more information: http://www.witnessforcivilliberties.org.Tom Plaut of Amherst, Massachusetts, suggested a Rename the USA PATRIOT Act Contest. (See details below.)
Other ideas: Hold a press conference and invite speakers to talk to the press about the dangres of the Patriot Act and related laws; Perform in the streets! Hold a funeral for the Bill of Rights.
Contest: Rename the USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act needs an overhaul, starting with the name its acronym represents. Few would argue that it is "Uniting and Strengthening America," for instance.
Tom Plaut of Amherst suggested a "rename the USA PATRIOT Act" contest. To observe the Act's second anniversary this October, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee invites you to create a more appropriate (or amusing) name using words that spell out the USA PATRIOT acronym. To enter, send us up to three entries via post to the address below. Entries must be postmarked by October 15, 2003. Include your name, address, email address, and daytime phone number. We will announce the three winners on Friday, October 24, and we will publish the winning entries on our web site and in a press release.
The First Prize winner will receive $50 worth of her/his choice of BORDC merchandise (buttons, bumper stickers, USA PATRIOT Act and Homeland Security Act booklets, and Bill of Rights get well cards); Second Prize is $25 worth of merchandise; and Third Prize is $10 worth of merchandise.
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. If you don't need a tax deduction, you may contribute directly to the Bill of Rights Defense Committee via check to the address below. 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, Director
Managing Editor: Vanessa Bliss
Bill of Rights Defense Committee, Inc.
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