Dissent Is Patriotic
The Bill of Rights Defense Committee's e-mail newsletter
June 22, 2004, Vol. 3, No. 5
Newsletter Articles:
Editor's Note
New Resources
for Organizers
- Defend the Bill of Rights on the 4th of July!
- New resources on bordc.org for teachers, voter education, and resolution drafters
- Community education materials: two new documentaries
Legislative Updates
In the Courts and Tribunals
Highlights of Next
Issue
Support the Work of
the BORDC
The passage of 329 resolutions in 41 states upholding the Bill of Rights has encouraged many members of Congress to call for amending parts of the USA PATRIOT Act and other antiterrorism laws and policies that don't work and that harm innocent people. Nevertheless, some powerful members of Congress want to give U.S. intelligence agencies new, unchecked surveillance powers. As if to demonstrate the secrecy by which these new laws would work, the members sometimes secretly attach them to larger bills in order to escape public sentiment and Congress's scrutiny. This means we must all remain vigilant and do our best to educate our communities and our legislators about the need for change. The next section describes new resources that BORDC and documentary filmmakers have developed to help you with education and outreach.
During this election year, legislators will be spending more times in their districts. Use that time to organize meetings between your legislators and community members who are concerned about threats to civil rights and civil liberties and who seek the legislators' commitment and leadership for change. If more than one community in your House member or Senators' district have passed legislation, consider organizing a joint meeting. In this election year, continue to educate your community about their rights, threats to their rights, and what they can do to protect them. July 4th observances are an excellent time to celebrate the Bill of Rights and Constitution. BORDC is launching new web resources to help you educate and take action to hold our government accountable for its actions. Read on for more ways to protect your rights and liberties.
Defend the Bill of Rights on the 4th of July!
The 4th of July is a good time to increase public awareness about the threats posed to our liberties by the USA PATRIOT Act and other government actions since September 11. We encourage you and your committee or organization to take part in the various activities surrounding this national holiday by passing out literature, obtaining a permit to participate in your local parade, or otherwise educating your community. For additional ideas on what you can do, visit our 4th of July webpage. See our fliers page for samples of literature to hand out.
New resources on bordc.org
For K-12 teachers. BORDC is pleased to announce our new webpage of resources for K-12 teachers. The page contains links to lesson plans and other resources for teaching about the Bill of Rights and current threats to civil liberties, including the USA PATRIOT Act. It also contains information on teaching students how to recognize and counter stereotypes and discrimination against Arab Americans. BORDC thanks Judith Solsken for researching and compiling these resources.
For voter education. To help community groups educate voters about where candidates stand on civil liberties and civil rights issues, BORDC is developing instructions and sample questions for candidate questionnaires. The materials will be available on our web site in early July.
For drafting a resolution. BORDC is pleased to announce the availability of a new online tool to help community organizers write and pass resolutions against the USA PATRIOT Act. The tool includes a model resolution, tips for drafting your resolution, and a library of resolution clauses from previously passed resolutions, organized by objective. You can access the resolution from our Tools section at http://www.bordc.org/Tools-resolution.htm. As with all our tools and materials, we welcome your feedback.
Community education materials: two new documentaries
State Secrets: 9-11 and Civil Liberties - a documentary by Matt Ehling highlighting civil libertarian concerns regarding the PATRIOT Act, changes to FBI investigative guidelines, the Bush administration's "enemy combatant" policy, and other post 9-11 security policies - is now available for community education efforts. The program provides a succinct analysis of these controversial powers, and reveals the historical back-story to these initiatives. Interviewees include Nancy Chang and Michael Ratner (Center for Constitutional Law), Jonathan Turley (George Washington University), Tim Lynch (the CATO Institute), Elisa Massimino (Human Rights Now), Nat Hentoff (the Village Voice) and others. A transcript of this program, as well as more information, is available at www.etspictures.com. To purchase your own copy ($10), or borrow a copy ($4), send a check or money order to ETS Pictures, 2395 University Avenue West, Suite 312, St. Paul, Minnesota 55114.
Iowa Public Television and The Duncan Group are also currently working on THE COST OF FREEDOM – Civil Liberties, Security and the USA PATRIOT Act, a one-hour public television documentary that looks at the history of civil liberties in America as well as the controversial USA PATRIOT Act. It is expected to air nationwide this September and October. Full transcripts of many of the program interviews as well as additional program information are available on DuncanEntertainment.com. For more information, contact Alison Rostankowski at alison@DuncanEntertainment.com or call (414) 223-1060
Civil Liberties Restoration Act. On Wednesday, June 16th, the long-awaited Civil Liberties Restoration Act was introduced in the Senate (S. 2528) by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Jon Corzine (D-NJ), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Russ Feingold (D-WI), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and in the House (H.R. 4591) by Congressmen Howard Berman (D-CA) and William Delahunt (D-MA). David Cole's Washington Post op-ed explains why the bill is needed.
BORDC congratulates the Rights Working Group, which saw the need for the bill and worked with members of Congress toward its introduction. Here is an excerpt from the analysis of CLRA, which is available from the Rights Working Group's web site:
The Civil Liberties Restoration Act of 2004 (CLRA) seeks, in measured fashion, to restore essential protections and basic freedoms without compromising our nation's safety. The CLRA aims to reverse policies that weaken our constitutional commitment to due process before the law; restore public confidence in the government; repair our relations with other nations whose assistance we need in the fight against terrorism; deploy more effectively the funds appropriated for counterterrorism efforts; and increase the government's access to information that may be critical to preventing future terrorist attacks.
Hundreds of organizations signed on to a letter of support for the bill sponsors. Among these were BORDC and the Bill of Rights Defense Committees of Bastrop County (TX), Benton County (OR), Port Orford (OR), Conway (MA), Durham (NC), and Guilderland (NY); American Muslim Voice; Idaho Patriots (Boise, ID); Peace Action WI; Rocky Mountain Peace & Justice Center (Boulder, CO); and Save Our Rights Coalition of the Tri-Valley (CA).
Now it's your turn. Please contact your House member and Senators and ask them to cosponsor this bill. For talking points and other helpful information about the bill, please visit the web site of the Rights Working Group.
H.R. 3179 update. In our last newsletter and subsequent Action Alert, we warned that the House Judiciary Committee had held a hearing on H.R. 3179, which includes several sections of the Justice Department draft bill known as "Patriot II," and that the House Intelligence Committee was expected to consider attaching the bill to the Intelligence Authorization bill for 2005 at its June 16 markup meeting. Many of our readers contacted their House members, and more than a hundred organizations signed a letter to the bill's sponsor, Rep. James Sensenbrenner, and cosponsor, Rep. Porter Goss, urging them to postpone consideration of this bill expanding surveillance powers until after Congress has "conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the Patriot Act authorities."
The Intelligence Committee did not attach H.R. 3179 to the authorization bill, nor did it consider adding a section requested by the Department of Defense to exempt U.S. Army Intelligence from the Privacy Act. Such a provision has been included in the Senate Intelligence Authorization Bill (S. 2386, Section 502). Thank you to everyone who took action to stop the attachment of H.R. 3179 to the House Intelligence Appropriations bill. We will keep you informed about the future progress of both of these bills.
However, the House Intelligence Authorization bill is going to the Rules Committee on Tuesday, June 22, and could be on the House floor as early as Wednesday. It's important that Chairman Dreier and others on the Rules Committee hear from as many of us as possible today asking them to ensure that H.R. 3179 is not allowed as an amendment to the Intelligence bill. If your House member is on the Rules Committee (see list below), please contact him or her.
- Dreier
- Goss
- Linder
- Pryce
- Diaz-Balart
- Hastings
- Myrick
- Sessions
- Reynolds
- Frost
- Slaughter
- McGovern
- Hastings
Section 215 update. Last fall Attorney General Ashcroft responded to critics of USA PATRIOT Act Section 215 by calling librarians "hysterics," declassifying the number of times the section had been used, and announcing that the number of times was "zero." Without missing a beat, the critics continued calling for amending or repealing the unused section. Organizations that had requested information on its use under the Freedom of Information Act asked for an unredacted version of the newly declassified information and followed their unfulfilled request with a lawsuit.
Last week a federal appeals court judge for the District found in the plaintiffs' favor and ordered the agency to release documents showing how the law has been used. According to the Washington Post, among the 383 documents released, many with information redacted, was a one-paragraph memo from the FBI asking FISA to approve a search using Section 215. Despite continued concern about the use of Section 215, the House Judiciary Committee has yet to schedule a hearing on H.R. 1157, the Freedom to Read Protection Act, which would restore constitutional standards to searches of library and bookstore records. The bill has 145 cosponsors.
Idaho Student Acquitted of Terrorism Charges
On June 11th, Sami Omar Al-Hussayen, a 34-year-old Ph.D. candidate in computer science at the University of Idaho, was acquitted of charges under Sec. 805(a)(2)(B) of the USA PATRIOT Act, which prohibits the provision of material support, including "expert advice or assistance" to a designated foreign terrorist organization. For information, visit: http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040612/NEWS01/406120332. Al-Hussayen remains in jail awaiting deportation or a retrial.
Buffalo Artist under Grand Jury Investigation
Grand Jury investigations against Buffalo, NY, artist Steve Kurtz started Tuesday, June 15th. The artist used harmless biological materials in his Mass MOCA art installation. The grand jury will decide whether to indict Kurtz using Sec. 817 of the PATRIOT Act. This section expands the US Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 and prohibits the possession of "any biological agent, toxin, or delivery system" without the justification of "prophylactic, protective, bona fide research, or other peaceful purpose." At least five of Kurtz's fellow artists and professors have refused to testify, invoking 5th Amendment privileges because the government would not tell them whether they would later be investigated based on what they would say. For more information, visit: http://www.caedefensefund.org/overview.html or http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20040617/1016741.asp.
Maryland Man Sentenced to Life In Prison
On June 15th, Masoud Khan and two other men were sentenced on charges that they participated in terrorism-related activities (paintball exercises in the Virginia woods for "jihad"). Khan was sentenced to life in prison, while Seifullah Chapman was sentenced to 85 years and Hammad Abdur-Raheem was sentenced to eight years. The long sentences for Khan and Chapman were largely the result of minimum sentencing laws for firearms convictions relating to conspiracy. The three men were found guilty in March on a number of terrorism-related charges, including providing material support to terrorist organizations (Sec. 805 of the USA PATRIOT Act). See U.S. v. Khan, 309 F. Supp. 2d 789. For more information on the sentencing, see http://broadband.msnbc.com/id/5218311/.
Ohio Man Indicted on Terrorism Charges
A Grand Jury in Ohio indicted Nuradin Abdi on conspiracy to detonate a bomb at a shopping mall, although the plot was very vague (a mall had yet to be identified). On June 16th, a federal magistrate transferred Abdi to a federal psychiatric facility to determine if he is mentally competent to stand trial. For more information, visit: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/14/terror/main622950.shtml.
CIA Contractor Faces Assault Charges for Beating an Afghan Detainee
On June 17th, David Passaro, a civilian contractor with the CIA, was charged with assaulting Abdul Wali in an Afghanistan detention facility. Wali later died. In order to have jurisdiction over Passaro's crime, the DOJ used Sec. 804 of the USA PATRIOT Act, which expanded U.S. law enforcement jurisdiction to include "offenses by or against" US nationals on lands or facilities designated for use by the US. For more information, visit: http://www.constitutioncenter.org/explore/ConstitutionNewswire/5248.shtml or http://news.findlaw.com/ap_stories/a/w/1152/6-18-2004/20040618140017_34.html.
In the Tribunals
Recently the government has issued charges against three individuals held at Guantanamo Bay, including David Hicks of Australia, who was formally charged this month after pressure from the Australian government. A military tribunal, authorized in the Military Order of November 13, 2001, will try these three individuals, and presumably all others held at Guantanamo. For more information, visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31404-2004Jun10.html.
Coming Soon
Later this month, the Supreme Court will decide, unless they dismiss the Padilla and Hamdi cases on jurisdictional grounds, whether the Executive Branch has the power to label citizens as enemy combatants and detain them indefinitely without giving them access to judicial processes. For information on the cases, visit: http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/04/28/enemy.combatants/. We will send out information on the Court's upcoming ruling as soon as it becomes available.
- Effective Collaborations: BORDC's series on effective collaborations among committees and organizations defending civil rights, civil liberties, and immigrants rights will kick off with a story highlighting the collaborations between BORDC Tacoma (WA) and Hate Free Zone Washington. We welcome readers' suggestions for future stories.
- Total Information Awareness and Beyond: An exposé on how data mining programs continue despite Congress's vote to de-fund the Department of Defense's Total/Terrorism Information Awareness Program
- Material Support: Nearly all of the DOJ's prosecutions under the USA PATRIOT Act have relied on Section 805: "Material Support for Terrorism." We will explore how the DOJ is using this controversial and sometimes unconstitutional section to convict people without having to prove they knowingly contributed to terrorist acts or plans for such acts.
If you value our work, please help support it with a tax-deductible contribution to the Bill of Rights Defense Committee online or via check or money order.
Your purchase of bumper stickers, buttons, booklets, and Bill of Rights get well cards also help us to cover our expenses. Click here for our catalog, which includes our new button: The Patriot Act? That's SO 1984.
Editor: Nancy Talanian, Director
Managing Editor: Jessie Baugher
Contributing Writer: Shannon Anderson
Bill of Rights Defense Committee, Inc.
8 Bridge St., Suite A
Northampton, MA 01060
Web: http://www.bordc.org/
Email: info@bordc.org
Telephone: 413-582-0110
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