| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"" |
| Date: |
08 Oct 2004 10:46:13 PM |
| Object: |
Losing Liberty |
http://www.detnews.com/2003/specialreport/0306/24/a19-198799.htm
Sunday, June 22, 2003
Losing Liberty: Privacy
Citizens need to protect the Bill of Rights
States, counties and cities are putting a check on federal
government's overzealousness by passing resolutions promising to
prohibit state laws that infringe on civil liberties
By Kary L. Moss / Special to The Detroit News
It is a challenge to assess whether a given civil liberties problem is
a one-time violation or indicates a larger attack on the Bill of
Rights. We do not want to cry wolf, but we also do not want to miss
the boat.
There have certainly been times in history -- the internment of
Japanese Americans comes readily to mind -- where many succumbed to a
situation of war by quiet submission to governmental policies that
have, in hindsight, caused great regret. There have been times when,
despite the best intentions of our leaders, that law enforcement has
gone too far. The abuses of the FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover are a key
example.
Our country has never before experienced the type of attack that it
did on Sept. 11, 2001. This tragedy has led to fear and legitimate
concern. It has also led to an opportunistic response from the
Department of Justice, which has used public fear to make a play for
expanded executive powers that have not been seen for many years.
The first power grab began shortly after Sept. 11 when Congress
quickly passed the USA Patriot Act (Patriot I), expanding the powers
of the government to spy on individuals, reduce the oversight of such
activities and ultimately increase the secrecy with which the Justice
Department operates. Many aspects of the law legitimately fix certain
problems within the government, but there are many more that cause
tremendous concern.
An ever-widening veil of secrecy is gradually taking over. Attorney
General John Ashcroft has attempted to expand his authority so he can
close immigration hearings to the press and public. He has refused to
abide by a court order requiring his department to release the names
of those held in detention. He has advocated outrageous programs --
such as the infamous Total Information Awareness program that would
have recruited one million volunteers to spy on their neighbors.
At every turn, Ashcroft has pushed for more secrecy. This was made
especially apparent several months ago when a Department of Justice
employee released, without authorization, a bill that the department
had been drafting in secret. The bill, called the Domestic Security
Enhancement Act of 2003, dubbed "Patriot II," proposed a multitude of
new and sweeping law enforcement and intelligence gathering powers. It
included a severe diminishment of basic checks and balances on the
power of the executive branch and continued a love affair with
untested and likely ineffective security measures.
For example, the proposal would allow the government to strip
citizenship from any American who supports a group designated by the
federal government as a "terrorist organization," which is so broadly
defined in Patriot II that it would include domestic protest
organizations such as Operation Rescue or People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals.
The proposal also would permit -- without court order and at the sole
discretion of the attorney general -- wiretapping of Americans for 15
days without a declaration of war by Congress, if the executive branch
decides unilaterally that an attack has created an emergency. While
the Justice Department would have to check in with a judge after the
15 days, the information gleaned during that period could still be
retained and used against innocent Americans.
Other contentious ideas included authority for secret detentions, the
termination of court-approved limits on police spying and applying the
death penalty to offenses that, because of the redefinition of
domestic terrorism in the USA Patriot Act, could sweep in protest
tactics that "involve violent acts or acts dangerous to human life."
The draft bill immediately drew opposition from many right-leaning
advocates. Conservative columnist William Safire called the Patriot II
proposal an "abomination" and warned, "Justice's aim is to avoid
judicial or congressional control." Sixty-seven organizations --
ranging from the American Conservative Union, Americans for Tax Reform
and the Gun Owners of America to the ACLU, the NAACP and the National
Council of La Raza -- expressed their concerns in a letter sent to
every member of Congress.
Watchdog organizations like the ACLU can challenge blatantly
unconstitutional laws or Justice Department policies in court. But the
most important action that can be taken now is for the public to
strongly tell our elected officials that the Bill of Rights matters.
A grass-roots movement of cities, counties and states have passed
resolutions that affirm their commitment to the Bill of Rights and
prohibit policies at the state level that infringe on civil liberties.
More than 114 cities, counties or states have now passed resolutions
that protect more than 13 million Americans.
Within the past month, in fact, Alaska passed the second statewide
resolution 37-1 with strong bipartisan support. It explicitly
prohibits state agencies from engaging in racial profiling; using
state resources or institutions for enforcing federal immigration
matters; creating intelligence dossiers on the political, religious
and social views of individuals and organizations, unless the
information directly relates to an investigation of criminal
activities; and participating in investigations, detentions and
surveillance as well as seizure of personal library, medical,
financial, student and sales records, even when authorized by the
Patriot Act.
In times of crisis, it is tempting to defer to the government, police
and "experts." But it is dangerous when any one branch of government
becomes too powerful. It is dangerous when we, the people,
unquestionably accept governmental policies and laws without any
scrutiny. It is simply a matter of good citizenship to take a stand.
Kary L. Moss is executive director of the American Civil Liberties
Union of Michigan and a member of The Detroit News' editorial page
advisory panel. Write letters to letters@detnews.com.
--
Contempt of Congress meter reading-offscale.
Vote for Bush. Why vote for the lesser of two evils?
No matter the candidates the superstition industry wins.
'Jesus' is a sock-puppet Christians utilize to add 'authority' to
whatever action they intend on taking. -Stoney
.
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
