![]() |
|
Tags for This Article:
Freedom (1272) Domestic Surveillance-Wiretapping (301) ACLU (180) Domestic Spying (159) FISA (87) Constitutional Crisis (63) Fourth Amendment (32) Duopoly (12)
|
Add to My Group
Our corporate-sponsored Congress further shreds the Bill of Rights by expanding the government's power to spy on us, and grants immunity to the phone companies that have been criminally cooperating with BushCo's illegal domestic spying program over the past several years. In a vote expected shortly, the FISA protections of the past 30 years will be gutted. Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU's Washington Legislative Office, reports:
The ACLU asks you call your Members of Congress immediately and lodge your objection. Word on the wire is that Senator Patrick Leahy will filibuster the vote, which provides Americans with some extra time to take action. FISA Background In a 19-page report (sans exhibits) entitled, History Repeated: The Dangers of Domestic Spying by Federal Law Enforcement, the ACLU provides a history of federal abuse of power, warning that "we have once again entered into an era of unwarranted surveillance and harassment...." Beginning with a brief comment starting with the 1950s, the report first focuses on the harassment and surveillance endured by American hero, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and describes how University of California president, Clark Kerr's career was deliberately destroyed by the FBI for exercising his First Amendment rights in a way that was critical of federal police agencies. Based on an investigation led by Senator Frank Church, the FBI's egregious assault on US citizens was cataloged, and is highlighted in this report. His report prompted Congress to enact protections and guidelines soon to be overturned in Congress' new gutless FISA bill. History Repeated also provides a legislative history, revealing how John Ashcroft, serving as Attorney General in 2002, gutted the 1976 Guidelines on General Crimes, Racketeering Enterprise and Terrorism Enterprise Investigation. The monetary history is also detailed, showing that BushCo doubled the funding for domestic spying from 2001 to 2006, while the annual number of terrorist prosecutions declined by two-thirds since 2002. It notes that all prosecutions have declined since 2001. Instead of worrying about terrorism or high crimes by this administration, the FBI has focused in recent years on peace groups, environmental and animal rights activities (lions and tigers and bears, oh my!), feminists, and feeding-the-homeless activists who suggest our government spend its funds on "Food Not Bombs."
In 2004, Rady Ananda joined the growing community of citizen journalists. Focused mainly on elections, her blogs also address religious, gender, sexual and racial equality, as well as environmental issues; and are sprinkled with book and film reviews on various topics. She spent most of her working life as a legal investigator for private lawyers, and five years as an editor. She currently serves as a senior editor at OpEdNews. All material offered here is the property of Rady Ananda, copyright 2006, 2007, 2008. Permission is granted to repost, with proper attribution including the original link. In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. Tell the truth anyway. Sign this petition: http://www.electiondefensealliance.org/ny_levers_petition
Copyright © OpEdNews, 2002-2008 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||