About 'georgetown bookstores'|...to agree with her. Maybe going down to Georgetown and getting her picture taken...the line. Politics and Prose is the best bookstore in the world. I have never seen that...
Secret police, library record surveillance, wiretapping and forced detention, all done in secrecy, seems like a horror reserved for other countries, like Hitler¹s Germany, rather than something that is practiced in the "land of the free" USA. Perhaps it is the tendency that we have of being blind to what is directly in front of us, or maybe it is because we, as a people, are kept preoccupied and busy that many of us do not realize that with the passing of the Patriot Act on October 26, 2001, our government is doing just that. Now, with a bill dubbed the Patriot Act II, more Big Brother monitoring and control may be on its way. The Patriot Act was hurriedly passed in the aftermath of 9-11. The word "patriot" in the Patriot Act is an acronym that spells out "Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism". While the premise of this act may seem justifiable, especially immediately after a tragedy that was categorized as an act of terrorism, this legislation slowly consumes many civil liberties that this country has prided itself on since its conception. This act gives law enforcement officials broader authority to conduct electronic surveillance and wiretaps. It also gives the president the authority to confiscate any and all property within US jurisdiction of anyone who is believed to be engaging in terrorism when the country is "under attack". The Act also affects financial activities and Immigration. The bill was passed by a vote of 357-66 by the House of Representatives and 98-1 by the Senate. "Today, we take an essential step in defeating terrorism while protecting the constitutional rights of all Americans," George W. Bush said during the signing ceremony. While Bush¹s rhetoric may have been convincing to the general public, the Act, in reality, infringes on our Constitutional Rights. Patriot Act I "These new and unchecked powers could be used against American citizens who are not under criminal investigation, immigrants who are here within our borders legally and also against those whose First Amendment activities are deemed to be threats to national security by the Attorney General," Gregory T. Nojeim, Associate Director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington Office stated. Critics of the Patriot Act complain that it funnels excessive power to the Executive branch of the government while limiting the Congress and Judicial branch, thus eliminating some of the "checks and balances" that were designed to keep our government accountable. Surveillance The Patriot Act provides federal agencies with more surveillance options and less judicial supervision. "Roving wiretaps" are one example of the new legalized powers of the government with the passing of the Patriot Act. It allows a roving wiretap that allows a person's conversations to be intercepted on multiple phones, including cell phones and other phones a target uses (possibly in someone else's home). This can now be done without probable cause. These roving wiretaps are, of course, authorized secretly. Before the Act, the government could order a telephone company to turn over a list of the numbers being dialed to and from a particular telephone on an order from a judge. The Patriot Act forces a judge to grant the order if the government certifies that the information sought is "relevant to ongoing criminal investigation", regardless of whether or not the judge agrees. It also allows the government access to dialing, routing and signaling information in connection with computers. This means that the government lawfully has access to emails sent and received and a list of websites visited on a computer. After obtaining a warrant, feds will be able to track all websites people visit from a public library and obtain all the email addresses involved in any correspondence, without the library being able to tell its patrons that surveillance is taking place. Feds will also be monitoring library use, and instead of being required to show probable cause to get a search warrant for library records, patron registration information and internet use records, now an agent must only explain why he/she thinks that records may be related to terrorism or intelligence investigations. Under the Act, librarians will be under a gag order preventing them from telling library users that their records were turned over to the feds for ongoing monitoring. It¹s not only libraries that are affected - bookstores are under the same microscope. Warrants can be obtained quite easily that allow agents to collect "any tangible things" in a bookstore (or library). This would include customer records and personal information, book circulation records, disks and computers. "We now know that bookstores and libraries have received such subpoenas asking for the purchase or lending records of their patrons. It is a truly frightening day in America when bookstores are considering destroying their records so when the government comes knocking at the door to find out what their customers have been reading they will have nothing to turn over," Senator Russ Feingold (Democrat, Wisconsin) said. Immigration The Patriot Act enables the Attorney General to certify that he has "reasonable grounds to believe" that a non-citizen endangers national security. He can detain and deport non-citizens with little or no judicial review. The Attorney General and the Secretary of State now have the authority to designate domestic groups as terrorist organizations, and can deport any non-citizen who is a part of them. "If you overstay your visas even by one day, we will arrest you. If you violate a local law - we will hope that you will, and work to make sure that you are put in jail and be kept in custody as long as possible," John Ashcroft vowed to "suspected terrorists". Other Powers The Attorney General announced that he intends to eavesdrop on inmates¹ attorney-client conversations. "I¹ve heard discussion of it on some of the talk shows in our state..." Maria Canwell (Washington Senator) said. "Attorneys [were] calling in and saying that information, their private conversations between them and their client, were being gathered." The Attorney General has said that he intends to have state and local law enforcement help question 5000 people who appear to have been selected based on ethnicity or religion. The President issued an Executive order declaring that he will decide when trials will take place before military commissions rather than in normal courts. Freedom of the press means very little if one cannot read books freely. Our freedom to gather means virtually nothing if a group or organization can be deemed a terrorist group at the sole discretion of the Attorney General or Secretary of State. Due process of law is extinct if the government is allowed to detain people based not on evidence, but on their "belief" that they are involved in"terrorist" activity, keep them in secret locations, and refuse to share their locations, conditions, state of well-being or reasons for detaining them. Some members of Congress have become worried. Those who are conscious enough have asked the Justice Department to show how it is using its new powers. They have received little to no information, however. In fact, most of the information regarding libraries and bookstores have been classified as ³confidential² and has not been released to Congress. National organizations filing a request under the Freedom of Information Act have not been able to obtain information regarding how many times the government has used its new wiretap authorities. Meanwhile, an informal survey done by the University of Illinois found that 83 libraries across the country have been visited by authorities since the Sept. 11 incident. Under the Patriot Act, the government has the legal authority to watch and monitor anyone¹s activities, phone conversations, internet usage and reading habits. They can read your email. And they can take action without warning, legally and secretly. Patriot Act II As if the original Patriot Act wasn't adequate to discourage the public from freely voicing their opinions, reading what they wish, and feeling free in the country that sees itself as the defender of freedom and democracy, a new bill dubbed the Patriot Act II that is secretly in the works will reduce our privacy even more. The Center for PUblic Integrity obtained a draft of the new legislation that was dated January 9, 2003, and has published it on the internet. This unreleased draft proves that, although they have denied such a bill, the government is planning a new legislation that further empowers the government. After the Center published the story and the draft of the bill, the government, who had previously denied any knowledge of such a proposal, changed its story. Barbara Cromstock, the director of public affairs for the Justice Department, released a statement saying, "Department staff have not presented any final proposals to either the Attorney General or the White House. It would be premature to speculate on any future decisions, particularly ideas or proposals that are still being discussed at staff levels." Meanwhile, the PBS program ³"Now with Bill Boyers" obtained an Office of Legislative Affairs control sheet indicating that a copy of the bill was sent to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and Vice President Richard Cheney on January 10, 2003. "Attached for your review and comment is a draft legislative proposal entitled the ŒDomestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003¹." the memo said that was sent from the Office of Legal Policy. Perhaps it is because of the severity of this bill¹s provisions that it is surrounded by lies and dishonesty. Section 201 of Patriot Act II, Prohibition of Disclosure of Terrorism Investigation Detainee Information, enhances the Freedom of Information Information Act officers ability to deny releasing material on suspected terrorists in government custody. In other words, if the government detains someone for suspected terrorism, they do not have to release any information on that person. Section 202, Distribution of ŒWorst Case Scenario¹ Information, restricts the public¹s information to private company¹s "worst case scenario" mandatory reports. Companies using potentially dangerous chemicals must produce these reports, which include the effect that the release of the controlled substances would have on the surrounding community. If these reports are kept confidential, our communities may be infiltrated with more companies using dangerous chemicals without our knowledge, and our health may be put at risk. Section 301-306,Terrorist Identification Database, authorize a DNA database to be created on "suspected terrorists". The definition of a suspected terrorist is expanded to include association with suspected terrorist groups and noncitizens suspected of certain crimes. Section 312. Appropriate Remedies with Respect to Law Enforcement Surveillance Activities, terminates state law enforcement consent decrees before September 11, 2001 that limit agencies from gathering information about individuals or organizations. It also places restriction on court injunctions. Section 405 , Presumption for Pretrial Detention in Cases Involving Terrorism, allows those suspected of terrorism to be held before their trial. Section 501 Expatriation of Terrorists allows an American citizen to be expatriated if his intent to relinquish citizenship is "inferred from conduct". This would allow citizens to be expatriated for engaging in lawful activities of a group designated as a terrorist organization by the Attorney General. Dr. David Cole, Georgetown University Law professor, reviewed the draft legislation and said that it "raises a lot of serious concerns" because the proposed law would "radically expand law enforcement and intelligence gathering authorities, reduce or eliminate judicial oversight over surveillance, authorize secret arrests, create a DNA database based on unchecked executive Œsuspicion¹, create new death penalties, and even seek to take American citizenship away from persons who belonged to disfavored political groups." Patriot Act II allows the government to: secretly detain citizens deport aliens, including those with green cards, who are convicted of drug possession or an aggravated felony access credit reports without a subpoena abolish federal court consent decrees that limit police surveillance of non- criminal organizations and events ease restrictions on the use of secret evidence collect DNA from suspected terrorists or any individual whose DNA might be able to assist investigations Some of the provisions of these acts may seem allowable in the mission to combat terrorist activity. The question is, what is the definition of a terrorist? Because these acts allow "terrorist individuals or groups" to be determined by the discretion of an individual, anyone who has views outside of what the government deems acceptable may be considered a terrorist. Will anti-war protesters be seen as terrorists or national security threats? Will your neighbor who checks out a book be deemed a terrorist? The Attorney General and the Executive Branch of the government are receiving huge amounts of power that will be unchecked by the other governmental branches. Opponents to political power and other "threats" are at risk of being squashed, detained or dubbed terrorists. Our democracy may slowly be heading down the path of totalitarianism. |
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