by Jim Duensing

The Libertarian Enterprise

07/18/04

18 Republicans, 191 Democrats, and the only Independent in Congress voted to protect our library and book store records from the prying eyes of federal agents .... The Freedom to Read Amendment failed by a vote of 210 - 210. The Republican leadership held the 15 minute vote open for an additional 23 minutes, until they could twist enough arms to vote in favor of secret federal spying on reading habits. ... This amendment did not even attack the key elements of the Patriot Act. It only sought to roll back one of the most unpopular provisions of the Patriot Act, Section 215. Yet, the pro-government extremist control freaks in Washington can't even throw the American people a bone and remove secret searches of library and bookstore records. They value their power above all else. And, they are willing to defend it against our freedom...

http://www.webleyweb.com/tle/tle280-20040718-04.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://www.infowars.com/print/patriot_act/alexs_analysis.htm


Informant: m macleod

Ashcroft touts Patriot Act; opponents unconvinced

Boston Globe

07/14/04

Attorney General John D. Ashcroft yesterday outlined dozens of cases he said provide a 'mountain of evidence' that the USA Patriot Act has prevented terrorist attacks in the United States, part of a Bush administration effort to stave off moves to repeal some of the controversial law enforcement powers granted by Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. ... But some Democrats in Congress -- including those who helped write the legislation -- said there remains too little oversight to prevent abuses of civil liberties. Others expressed concern that many of the crimes that have been uncovered via the new powers were not associated with terrorism...

http://tinyurl.com/5w8ro


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

by Joel Barkin

Published on Friday, July 9, 2004 by CommonDreams.org

Anyone watching C-SPAN on July 8th, when Congressman Bernie Sanders I-VT and a bipartisan coalition took to the floor to protect the privacy of what Americans are reading and viewing on the internet, got one hell of a civics lesson. In an extraordinary display, the usually placid floor of the United States House of Representatives erupted as the Republic majority demonstrated once again that winning is their only goal. And democracy shouldn't be allowed to stand in the way.

Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act - a law hastily passed in the wake of the horrendous 9/11 attacks - greatly expanded the government's authority to seize "business records" without any showing that the person whose records are being seized is involved in any kind of wrongdoing. These "business records" include files about what books innocent Americans are borrowing from libraries and buying from booksellers.

So, the amendment would have prevented the government from using section 215 to go to the federal secret court to get an order - which the court is essentially powerless to deny - requiring the disclosure of Americans' reading records. The amendment was supported by a broad cross section of members - from progressives like Congressman Sanders, John Conyers (D-MI) and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) to conservatives like Butch Otter (R-ID) and Ron Paul (R-TX). But the day before the vote, the White House significantly upped the ante when the Administration issued a rare veto threat against the bill in our amendment to protect readers' privacy passed. This was Bush throwing down the gauntlet and his foot soldiers in the House Republican leadership got the message. This was a must win.

When the vote finally occurred on the amendment, the typical 17 minute time limit expired and the amendment had won 219-201, with almost 30 Republicans voting for the amendment. But wait! The Republican presiding over the House didn't end the vote. Then the House Republican leaders began the process of "persuading" errant Republicans that supporting the President is more important than supporting our most fundamental Constitutional rights. A couple of votes changed. Then supporters of the amendment took to their feet demanding that the vote be closed.

Shouts of "Shame, Shame, Shame" echoed through the House Chamber as scores of angry members on the Democratic side took to their feet. But the Republicans are apparently immune to such public shaming, having become experienced at overturning fair votes in Florida and on the floor of the House last year during the Medicare vote after keeping that vote open for three hours.

Finally, after keeping the vote open twice as long as scheduled the Tom DeLay and company had threatened, cajoled, and enticed enough Republicans to tie the vote at 210-210. To the jeers of the amendments supporters the presiding Republican let the gavel fall and the amendment was defeated on a tie vote.

Ironically, the Republicans had subverted the most basic underlying principle of a democracy - that the will of the majority as evidenced by a fairly taken vote should prevail - in order to protect the Bush Administration's abridgement of American civil liberties under section 215 of the Patriot Act.

Win at any cost. What a sad civics lesson for America's children and for foreign countries who are supposed to look to America as an example of democracy.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0709-10.htm


Informant: bdpoe

http://www.commondreams.org/cgi-bin/print.cgi?file=/headlines04/0708-10.htm


Informant: DianDavies

http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=589


Informant: m macleod

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/june2004/062904ashcroftcalls.htm


Informant: m macleod

Just-released

June 22, 2004

(CHICAGO) Just-released Federal Bureau of Investigation documents indicate that the FBI sought to use Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act less than one month after Attorney General John Ashcroft told American Library Association (ALA) President Carla Hayden and the American public that this power had never been used. The records, turned over to the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) and other First Amendment organizations, do not indicate how many times the FBI has invoked Section 215 since October 2003.

"These documents demonstrate there is no validity in the Department of Justice's ongoing suggestions that librarians and other critics of PATRIOT Act provisions are 'hysterical,'" Hayden said. "The guidance memo confirms the ALA's understanding of the scope and nature of the business records authority granted by Section 215 and that the judicial review is of a lower legal standard than was previously provided in U.S. law."

The records about the government's use of the PATRIOT Act were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed in October 2003 on behalf of the FTRF, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. Five documents were released, including a guidance memorandum on Business Records Orders and an email that acknowledges that Section 215 can be used to obtain physical objects - including a person's apartment key - in addition to records. To see electronic versions of the documents, please go to

http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=15327&c=262.

A further release is expected in July.

To read more about the ALA's objections to USA PATRIOT Act, please visit

http://www.ala.org/ala/pio/mediarelations/patriotactmedia.htm.

As part of the Campaign for Reader Privacy http://www.readerprivacy.org , the ALA has helped gather more than 130,000 signatures seeking amendments to the Act.

Contact:
Larra Clark, Press Officer
312-280-5043


Informant: Michael Novick

by Wayne A. Lewis

Last year, during the 1st session of the 108th Congress, the Republican leadership slipped a provision into the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2004 (which mainly appropriates the funds to the intelligence organizations.) This was done behind closed doors. Who on the House Judiciary Committee would vote against this nonpartisan bill? This bill was needed to pass as it has every year. What wasn’t needed was a provision taken from the leaked draft of Ashcroft’s Domestic Security Enhancement Act (DSEA.) This provision expanded the already far-reaching USA PATRIOT Act by easing the FBI’s ability to acquire "financial" records with nothing more than an easily drafted National Security Letter (NSL.) It also broadened the definition of "financial institution" to include insurance companies, real estate agencies, stockbrokers, car dealerships, pawnbrokers and more. This had the effect of further eroding what was left of our civil liberties after the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act. So there it was -- Ashcroft’s dream – a portion of the ill-fated DSEA brought to fruition. Now, it is happening again....

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/June04/Lewis0614.htm