The USA Patriot ACT must be repealed

The first answer and poorly designed response to the september 11tth 2001 attacks was the USA Patriot ACT. The USA patriot ACT attempts to preserve our way of life by removing many of the very freedoms and rights that make our country worth living in. You can not save America if you ignore fundimental American ideas and values. We must not allow our elected law makers to sacrifice our freedoms in the name of "safety"! We really can not be safe if they continue to erode on our personal rights. The FBI is already abusing the new powers they have been granted under this new law. Many parts of Patriot ACT remove checks on law enforcement and are a grave threat to the very rights that we have under the United States Constitution and it's Ammendments (The Bill of Rights). For example, without a warrant and without probable cause, the FBI now has the power to access your most private medical records, your library records, and your student records. They can conceal the fact it was done and prevent anyone from telling you it was done. This is wrong.

We *ARE* the government ans should have access to this information. People that have commited no crimes are having thier property searched and seized. The FBI does this and does not press any charges in many cases. Untill charges are pressed the citizens who have had this happen have no legal re-course to re-gain their property or clear their name. Their isnt "due" process for somebody that isnt charged.

"In the urgent push to pass the Patriot Act, she says, "never... did the FBI say we needed additional tools to keep this nation safe from strip-club operators.""

This link is where the above quote is from:
http://villagenews.weblogger.com/stories/storyReader$9932

I was under the mistaken impression that the patriot act was designed to combat terrorism, not common criminals. Aparently the FBI sees fit to use it to bypass due process. Even if the people were or were not guilty of what they were charged with, this was not a case of terrorism and they did have their civil rights violated.

What is to stop the FBI from doing the same thing to you purely on suspicion?

I have received many responses from people under the mistaken impression that they wont be accussed of anything via the patriot act because they have done nothing wrong and they believe their past to be clear.

Wrong! Only those that have something that can be mis-understood have something to fear. ALL of us have at least one association, past action or affiliation with somebody or something that somebody in the government may dis-approve of. When officials go on a hunt into peoples personal lives they tend to find trouble where their is none. History proves that people don't just use laws and rules like the patriot act for the public good. Have you forgotten Senator McCarthy? Have you forgoten the Salem witch trials?

Wake up People! If all you want to do is go through the motions of living without freedom all in the name of "Safety" why are you in the United States! There are many places in the world that employ "USA Patriot ACT" style laws. They are not free republics. People in these countiries are at the complete mercy of whoever is holding the power of their governments. You have a say here, don't let scared fools change that for you!

John

http://www.independent.org/tii/news/040802Watkins.html


Informant: kevcross5

Even before the Patriot Act, and even before 9-11-01, our rights were under attack. The so-called 'war on drugs' has made all the safe guards on searchs, null and void. If you get pulled over by any Police Officer for any traffic offence or other, and he asks to search your car/truck, and you say no. The standard actions are: 1) "You got something to hide?" 2) We'll wait on the drug dog.

I won't consent to any search. And too many people shed their life's blood for me to give up 'any' of my rights.

I don't recall who said it, or the exact quotation. But..."When people give up their freedoms for security, they lose both."


John Beaulieu wrote:

" In the urgent push to pass the Patriot Act, she says, "never... did the FBI say we needed additional tools to keep this nation safe from strip-club operators."

http://www.villagenews.weblogger.com/stories/storyReader$9932

I was under the mistaken impression that the patriot act was designed to combat terrorism, not common criminals. Aparently the FBI sees fit to use it to bypass due process. Even if the people were or were not guilty of what they were charged with, this was not a case of terrorism and they did have their civil rights violated. What is to stop the FBI from doing the same thing to you purely on suspicion?

http://www.counterpunch.org/edmonds07092004.html


Informant: Friends

by Jonathan David Morris

Strike the Root

07/21/04

Thank God Congress is there to protect us by renewing the Patriot Act. Thank God they have the guts to pass the WELOVEOURCOUNTRY and VOTEFORUS Acts as well. Soon the Department of Homeland Security issues a call for National ID cards, in compliance with WELOVEOURCOUNTRY. An 11-year-old submits the winning design. It's yellow and shaped like a star, and it weighs your thoughts like a mood ring. It turns orange and red if you're a threat to America. You wear it like a badge on your chest. Americans say, 'Let's give up some civil liberties, so we can live to enjoy the ones we keep....

http://www.strike-the-root.com/4/morris/morris20.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Earlier this month, Republican leaders in the House violated their own rules to ensure a slim defeat for a measure that would have protected your privacy in bookstores and libraries. Your Representative needs to be thanked for voting the right way -- or spanked for voting against this important measure.

The proposed measure addressed the powers granted by the infamous Section 215 of the Patriot Act which allow government agents to demand -- without an ordinary criminal subpoena, search warrant or probable cause -- your personal records from bookstores and libraries.

When it became clear that the amendment would pass, Republican leaders kept the vote open for more than 30 minutes –- twice the allotted time –- so they could persuade 11 members to switch their votes. The amendment then failed on a vote of 210 to 210.

TAKE ACTION! Give your Representative feedback on his or her vote: “thanks” for voting the right way or “spanks” for voting against this important amendment.

You can click here to get more information, see how your Representative voted and take action!

http://www.aclu.org/NationalSecurity/NationalSecurity.cfm?ID=16128&c=24


From: Matt Howes, National Internet Organizer, ACLU

http://prisonplanet.tv/articles/july2004/200704cancelelections.htm


Informant: dragon downstairs

Here at the ACLU we aren't renowned for our sense of humor, but I think you'll appreciate this hilarious depiction of a pizza order gone terribly wrong. Click here to see what we mean:
http://www.aclu.org/pizza/index.html?orgid=EA071904&MX=1414&H=1

There are some ACLU staffers who don’t think messing with their late-night pizza orders is a laughing matter, but one thing we all take seriously is our work to stop the steady erosion of your right to privacy.

The fact is that new technologies and new government policies are eroding our personal privacy and creating a 24-hour total surveillance society.

You and I must take action if we want to stop this massive erosion of our personal privacy.

Chances are, you don’t think twice about the electronic trail you leave with each credit card purchase. But you should know that under provisions of the USA Patriot Act, government agents now have the power to access those records without your knowledge. Astonishingly, if he deemed it necessary, Attorney General Ashcroft could get authorization from a secret court to place wiretaps on your phones without probable cause. He can demand records of your reading habits from bookstores and libraries; he can even make and keep a copy of the key to your house.

You and I must take action if we want to stop this massive erosion of our personal privacy. Educating others about what is at stake is the first step and starts by each of us talking to our friends and family about the facts. That's why I'm asking you to do two things:

1. View the video. When you are done, share it with your friends:
http://www.aclu.org/pizza/index.html?orgid=EA071904&MX=1414&H=1

2. Send an e-mail to your member of Congress and demand that privacy violating programs are de-funded:
http://www.aclu.org/Privacy/Privacy.cfm?orgid=EA071904&ID=16021&c=39&MX=1414&H=1

We can't win without your support and activism. Thank you for being a part of the ACLU.


Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director

Dr. L. R. Gillam of the Southeastern Christian & Charity Rehabilitation Association in Houston Texas is holding a protest march regarding the Patriot Act in Houston, Texas on July 30th 2004.

Informant: Carolyn Price

http://tinyurl.com/4cpda