Positive Universe Abstracts

Most Honorable Senator (h) :

PLEASE GO FURTHER TO CHANGE THE PATRIOT ACT: REMOVE TROUBLING ITEMS AND RESTORE CIVIL RIGHTS.

Hello and best of greetings! Your work is never-ending and there simply is so little time for you to read thoroughly the material related to each new piece of legislation. I want you to know many of us appreciate your challenging work and thoughtful effort!

I am from a long line of compassionate white Christian Republicans. My husband and I are white and we have adopted children of various hue. We also have friends of various colors, religions and national backgrounds.

We are connected through several educator-friends to a marvelous international school where people speak at least 20 different languages and come from just as many countries. We have neighbors, fellow church members and staff who are mostly NOT white.

I fear deeply that our neighbors, associates and loved ones could be detained without cause–profiled recipients of undue treatment because of the Patriot Act. This “land of the free,home of the brave” is arresting and detaining more and more people without proper charge and without fair jury trials for long lenghts of time. Whole families’ lives are being ruined! Quaker groups and law students/professors are the victims of unwarranted spying.

There are other items that concern me with the Patriot Act during this time of Black History: What would happen to Martin Luther King should he be tried for civil disobedience today? Would he be one of those put in prison for 10 years by the Patriot Act with the Sununu amendment and no other amendment?

Will some of my friends be put in Federal prison for a long time or maybe even executed without charge? I have friends–Quakers and others from peace churches–who may, because of their Christian consciences, be in prison for 10 years if these undue provisions go into effect.

Please read the following and take special note.

Thanks for listening!

Connie L. Nash
newlease7@yahoo.com
PO Box 1267
Brevard, NC 28712
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With the most recent amendment to the Patriot Act:

Demonstrators can be charged with a felony, with penalties of up to 10 years in prison. (This amendment was added to the conference report without any hearings or discussion.)

The amendment being considered also has ESTABLISHED NEW DEATH PENALTY CRIMES.

The PATRIOT Act reauthorization bill contains terrible new provisions that your senators and representative may not be aware of, and the Sununu amendments (S. 2271) contain superficial changes that do not protect our civil liberties.
( www.bordc.org )

…New Provisions…:

Establish a new uniformed police force for “special events of national significance,” and expands the authority of the Secret Service by allowing them to arrest demonstrators at such events if they believe there has been a breach of a security perimeter. Demonstrators can be charged with a felony, with penalties of up to 10 years in prison. (This amendment was added to the conference report without any hearings or discussion.)(New provisions also) Establish new death penalty crimes.

…S. 2271 (the Sununu amendments), negotiated with the White House,..makes no substantive fixes to the reauthorization bill. The House will consider S. 2271 as early as this Thursday.

…S. 2271 falls short of protecting civil liberties. After waiting more than four years, we demand and deserve real reform, not cosmetics. For example…

THIS AMENDMENT (As is):

Requires businesses, medical professionals, and libraries that are served National Security Letters (NSLs) to wait 1 year before appealing the automatic, permanent “gag order.” This deal does not provide meaningful judicial review of the gag orders.
Then, after a year has passed–appealing would only be successful if the recipient proves that the government has acted in bad faith. THE DEAL IGNORES THE SERIOUS FIRST AMENDMENT PROBLEM with the gag rule under current law.

Does not fix the problem of penalties imposed on businesses that do not cooperate with requests, or the impossible hurdle on those who appeal NSLs to prove that the government acted in bad faith. Does NOT exempt libraries from National Security Letters if they act as Internet service providers. It exempts only libraries who simply give people access to the Internet.

Senate Amendment (SA) 2891 would add a four-year sunset on PATRIOT Act section 505, National Security Letters.

Prevention of a “fishing expedition” at the library–SA 2892–could perhaps be more clear and thorough re. Section 215 (“Library and Business Recordsâ€?)

Has every stone been turned over so that this deal will actually prevent prevent the government from obtaining the library, medical, internet servers and other sensitive business records of people with no link to suspected terrorists?

Will you strongly consider keeping the debate going on the reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act by voting against cloture?

Will you please take out the new provisions of the PATRIOT Act which harm civil rights?

Will you please ask that the Sununu-led amendments undergo some more work?

Thanks for all you do!

Connie L. Nash

PS:

Much of this material is from:
Bill of Rights Defense Committee:
See more points related to present US Patriot Act at:
www.bordc.org
www.bordc.org/threats/legislation/3199reauth.php (See here at bordc.org why California, our most populous state, is now on board to oppose the Patriot Act unless the changes are much more in keeping with Civil Rights.)
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See below some headlines that indicate all is not well in our land and show a government which is not good for our reputation as Americans. A better Patriot Act may help our standing in the world and with our own citizens.

See all of Democracy Now for February 27th and February 28th. www.democracynow.org

See Positive Universe February 28th:
www.positiveuniverse.com for the following headlines:

OregonLive.com, OR: White House rejects special counsel 02/28/06

Editor & Publisher: ‘NY Times’ Sues Defense Dept. Over Spy Program Records 02/28/06

Swissinfo, Switzerland: Afghan prison siege enters 4th day 02/28/06

Guardian Unlimited, UK: Paper Sues Gov’t Over Surveillance Records 02/28/06

Thanks so much for your time! I sure am looking forward to more and more bipartisan efforts and the work on the Patriot Act could be a perfect leader-example for this–please don’t let this bipartisan model for future work drop now!

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