Groups urge 11th hour rally against Patriot Act renewal
New Standard News
12/12/05
With Congress expected to renew several of the more controversial portions of the USA Patriot Act as early as this week, civil libertarians and privacy rights advocates are highlighting what they see as serious flaws in the new legislation. Their only hope is that public sentiment and political action will sway enough lawmakers to force changes to the law. ... Opponents of the reauthorizing the Patriot Act contend that the expanded surveillance provisions are overly broad and that many unconstitutionally abridge personal freedoms. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy rights advocate, Congress should let every sunsetting section die on New Year’s Eve. 'Several provisions can be used against Americans in a wide range of investigations that have nothing to do with terrorism,' the group alleged in an extensive analysis of fifteen of the provisions scheduled to expire on December 31. 'Others are too vague, jeopardizing legitimate activities protected under the First Amendment.' ... The American Civil Liberties Union largely agrees. In a statement released shortly after President Bush used his weekly radio address to urge lawmakers to quickly pass the reauthorization, ACLU Washington Director Caroline Frederickson called the joint Senate-House Conference Committee report a 'concession to the White House and a curtailment of the Constitution'...
http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2669
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
12/12/05
With Congress expected to renew several of the more controversial portions of the USA Patriot Act as early as this week, civil libertarians and privacy rights advocates are highlighting what they see as serious flaws in the new legislation. Their only hope is that public sentiment and political action will sway enough lawmakers to force changes to the law. ... Opponents of the reauthorizing the Patriot Act contend that the expanded surveillance provisions are overly broad and that many unconstitutionally abridge personal freedoms. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy rights advocate, Congress should let every sunsetting section die on New Year’s Eve. 'Several provisions can be used against Americans in a wide range of investigations that have nothing to do with terrorism,' the group alleged in an extensive analysis of fifteen of the provisions scheduled to expire on December 31. 'Others are too vague, jeopardizing legitimate activities protected under the First Amendment.' ... The American Civil Liberties Union largely agrees. In a statement released shortly after President Bush used his weekly radio address to urge lawmakers to quickly pass the reauthorization, ACLU Washington Director Caroline Frederickson called the joint Senate-House Conference Committee report a 'concession to the White House and a curtailment of the Constitution'...
http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2669
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 13. Dez, 18:17
