ACLU ONLINE
The fight to reform the Patriot Act is not over -- we need your help this September if we are to get any increased protections for civil liberties.
Tell 5 friends to take action and as a special thank-you, we'll send you a free DVD of "Beyond the Patriot Act," the premiere episode of the new TV series, The ACLU Freedom Files. Click here to urge your friends to push for Patriot Act reform.
Congress returns next week, and we expect the senators and representatives on the Patriot Act "conference committee" to quickly hash out a final bill for the president's signature.
Right now, the Senate version of the bill to renew the expiring parts of the Patriot Act, although flawed, is a marked improvement over the version passed by the House of Representatives. We cannot endorse the Senate bill, but we support the steps it takes to reform some of the most troubling parts of the act.
We are asking ACLU members and supporters to urge Congress to protect the improvements made in the Senate version. We will continue to fight for more improvements in the coming years but this bill represents the best chance for reform this year.
We are encouraged, for instance, by some of the Senate bill's reforms in Section 215 of the Patriot Act, the so-called "library records provision."
While the House bill would extend Section 215 without any meaningful changes, the Senate bill would require that there be a statement of facts about why requested personal records are relevant to a foreign intelligence investigation, and that it should provide a right to challenge an order for personal records--and the permanent secrecy of such an order--under long established standards.
The fight to reform the Patriot Act would have been over before it started without your ongoing help. Please continue to support the ACLU.
Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director
We don't usually file lawsuits under seal, but when it comes to the Patriot Act, we weren't given any choice. Here's what we can tell you right now: the ACLU is representing a member of the American Library Association in a challenge to the constitutionality of "national security letter" authority, which was expanded by the Patriot Act.
Our client, an institution that maintains records about books borrowed by library patrons and about their Internet usage, was ordered by the FBI to produce records without any judicial review. The FBI demand was disclosed in a lawsuit we filed in Connecticut, but because of a heavy FBI gag order, we are forbidden to discuss the details of the case.
As Congress approaches a vote on whether to expand the Patriot Act, the public has a right to know how it is being used. To open the discussion, we are seeking an emergency court order to lift the gag so our client can participate in the public debate. We're encouraged that the judge has ordered the hearing open to the public.
"If our client could speak, he could explain why Congress should adopt additional safeguards that would limit Patriot Act powers," said ACLU Associate Legal Director Ann Beeson, the lead lawyer in the case.
Learn more about the National Security Letters and what you can do to urge Congress to amend the Patriot Act. Go to: http://www.aclu.org/nsl
Read Anthony Romero's blog where he responds to a recent New York Times editorial about National Security Letters. Go to: http://blog.reformthepatriotact.org/
Next week, along with Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films, we are launching a new TV series titled The ACLU Freedom Files. This 10-part series premieres September 8 on Link TV with the 30-minute episode, "Beyond the Patriot Act," as the House and Senate review the renewal, expansion or changes to the Patriot Act.
Aiming to strip away the sound bytes to reveal how civil liberties affect real people every day, the series features clients and the attorneys who represent them, as well as actors, activists and comedians. It is produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Jeremy Kagan.
The series will be available on DVD and will be shown on college campuses as well as via new media, technology and grassroots networks such as video blogs, podcasts, community premieres and house parties.
For more on show topics, times and channels, visit: www.aclu.tv
Last week the federal government decided to suspend the flow of taxpayer dollars to the Silver Ring Thing, a nationwide ministry that uses abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education as a means to bring "unchurched" students to Jesus Christ.
"We are pleased that the Department of Health and Human Services today recognized that the Silver Ring Thing was blatantly misusing public dollars," said Julie Sternberg, a senior staff Attorney at the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project.
The ACLU filed a lawsuit in May challenging the misuse of more than one million dollars awarded by the federal government to the Silver Ring Thing since August 2003. Days later, silverringthing.com altered its Web site in an effort to conceal religious content.
See how the silverringthing.com changed its Web site and learn more about our involvement in full sex education for public classrooms by visiting: http://www.takeissuetakecharge.org
Hearings opened last week in our challenge to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's policy of obstructing scientific research that could lead to marijuana being approved as a prescription medicine.
Our Drug Law Reform Project is representing University of Massachusetts Professor Lyle Craker, Ph.D., in his appeal of the DEA's refusal to grant him a license to grow research-grade marijuana. Drugs like heroin and cocaine are more readily available to researchers than marijuana.
"Almost 80 percent of Americans support making medical marijuana legal, and the Supreme Court has indicated that federal regulatory agencies are the proper channel for medical marijuana patients," said Allen Hopper, a staff attorney with the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project.
The next round of hearings will take place during the last week of September. Meanwhile, learn more about Professor Craker's case and our drive to legalize medical marijuana. Go to: www.aclu.org/medicalmarijuana
The ACLU is again appearing before a federal judge this week seeking the release of 74 photographs and three videos depicting the abuse of prisoners held by the United States at Abu Ghraib. Earlier this month, the court ordered the government to reveal blacked-out portions of its legal papers arguing against the release of images.
So what didn't the government want us to see? Among other things, portions of an affidavit by Gen. Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in which he argues that "the democratic idea of public accountability is misunderstood in other parts of the world."
"Accountability isn't 'misunderstood' by the world, it's misunderstood by the Bush Administration and it hasn't happened. That's why the American public has a right to see these images for itself," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero. "Instead of hiding evidence of the military's misconduct and failure of leadership from the public, the government should appoint an independent counsel to uncover the full truth about the extent of the abuse and who is responsible."
Read documents the government did not want the public to see at: http://action.aclu.org/torturefoia/
Among politicians, journalists and entertainers, ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero was listed in Time Magazine's 25 Most Influential Hispanics in America.
The August 22 cover story features Romero as "The Champion of Civil Rights" and cites his leadership of the bipartisan fight against the Patriot Act, not only as a staunch advocate for civil liberties but for the many immigrants falling victim to the act's use since 9/11.
The complete article is available online at: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1093634,00.html
Tell 5 friends to take action and as a special thank-you, we'll send you a free DVD of "Beyond the Patriot Act," the premiere episode of the new TV series, The ACLU Freedom Files. Click here to urge your friends to push for Patriot Act reform.
Congress returns next week, and we expect the senators and representatives on the Patriot Act "conference committee" to quickly hash out a final bill for the president's signature.
Right now, the Senate version of the bill to renew the expiring parts of the Patriot Act, although flawed, is a marked improvement over the version passed by the House of Representatives. We cannot endorse the Senate bill, but we support the steps it takes to reform some of the most troubling parts of the act.
We are asking ACLU members and supporters to urge Congress to protect the improvements made in the Senate version. We will continue to fight for more improvements in the coming years but this bill represents the best chance for reform this year.
We are encouraged, for instance, by some of the Senate bill's reforms in Section 215 of the Patriot Act, the so-called "library records provision."
While the House bill would extend Section 215 without any meaningful changes, the Senate bill would require that there be a statement of facts about why requested personal records are relevant to a foreign intelligence investigation, and that it should provide a right to challenge an order for personal records--and the permanent secrecy of such an order--under long established standards.
The fight to reform the Patriot Act would have been over before it started without your ongoing help. Please continue to support the ACLU.
Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director
We don't usually file lawsuits under seal, but when it comes to the Patriot Act, we weren't given any choice. Here's what we can tell you right now: the ACLU is representing a member of the American Library Association in a challenge to the constitutionality of "national security letter" authority, which was expanded by the Patriot Act.
Our client, an institution that maintains records about books borrowed by library patrons and about their Internet usage, was ordered by the FBI to produce records without any judicial review. The FBI demand was disclosed in a lawsuit we filed in Connecticut, but because of a heavy FBI gag order, we are forbidden to discuss the details of the case.
As Congress approaches a vote on whether to expand the Patriot Act, the public has a right to know how it is being used. To open the discussion, we are seeking an emergency court order to lift the gag so our client can participate in the public debate. We're encouraged that the judge has ordered the hearing open to the public.
"If our client could speak, he could explain why Congress should adopt additional safeguards that would limit Patriot Act powers," said ACLU Associate Legal Director Ann Beeson, the lead lawyer in the case.
Learn more about the National Security Letters and what you can do to urge Congress to amend the Patriot Act. Go to: http://www.aclu.org/nsl
Read Anthony Romero's blog where he responds to a recent New York Times editorial about National Security Letters. Go to: http://blog.reformthepatriotact.org/
Next week, along with Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films, we are launching a new TV series titled The ACLU Freedom Files. This 10-part series premieres September 8 on Link TV with the 30-minute episode, "Beyond the Patriot Act," as the House and Senate review the renewal, expansion or changes to the Patriot Act.
Aiming to strip away the sound bytes to reveal how civil liberties affect real people every day, the series features clients and the attorneys who represent them, as well as actors, activists and comedians. It is produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Jeremy Kagan.
The series will be available on DVD and will be shown on college campuses as well as via new media, technology and grassroots networks such as video blogs, podcasts, community premieres and house parties.
For more on show topics, times and channels, visit: www.aclu.tv
Last week the federal government decided to suspend the flow of taxpayer dollars to the Silver Ring Thing, a nationwide ministry that uses abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education as a means to bring "unchurched" students to Jesus Christ.
"We are pleased that the Department of Health and Human Services today recognized that the Silver Ring Thing was blatantly misusing public dollars," said Julie Sternberg, a senior staff Attorney at the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project.
The ACLU filed a lawsuit in May challenging the misuse of more than one million dollars awarded by the federal government to the Silver Ring Thing since August 2003. Days later, silverringthing.com altered its Web site in an effort to conceal religious content.
See how the silverringthing.com changed its Web site and learn more about our involvement in full sex education for public classrooms by visiting: http://www.takeissuetakecharge.org
Hearings opened last week in our challenge to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's policy of obstructing scientific research that could lead to marijuana being approved as a prescription medicine.
Our Drug Law Reform Project is representing University of Massachusetts Professor Lyle Craker, Ph.D., in his appeal of the DEA's refusal to grant him a license to grow research-grade marijuana. Drugs like heroin and cocaine are more readily available to researchers than marijuana.
"Almost 80 percent of Americans support making medical marijuana legal, and the Supreme Court has indicated that federal regulatory agencies are the proper channel for medical marijuana patients," said Allen Hopper, a staff attorney with the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project.
The next round of hearings will take place during the last week of September. Meanwhile, learn more about Professor Craker's case and our drive to legalize medical marijuana. Go to: www.aclu.org/medicalmarijuana
The ACLU is again appearing before a federal judge this week seeking the release of 74 photographs and three videos depicting the abuse of prisoners held by the United States at Abu Ghraib. Earlier this month, the court ordered the government to reveal blacked-out portions of its legal papers arguing against the release of images.
So what didn't the government want us to see? Among other things, portions of an affidavit by Gen. Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in which he argues that "the democratic idea of public accountability is misunderstood in other parts of the world."
"Accountability isn't 'misunderstood' by the world, it's misunderstood by the Bush Administration and it hasn't happened. That's why the American public has a right to see these images for itself," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero. "Instead of hiding evidence of the military's misconduct and failure of leadership from the public, the government should appoint an independent counsel to uncover the full truth about the extent of the abuse and who is responsible."
Read documents the government did not want the public to see at: http://action.aclu.org/torturefoia/
Among politicians, journalists and entertainers, ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero was listed in Time Magazine's 25 Most Influential Hispanics in America.
The August 22 cover story features Romero as "The Champion of Civil Rights" and cites his leadership of the bipartisan fight against the Patriot Act, not only as a staunch advocate for civil liberties but for the many immigrants falling victim to the act's use since 9/11.
The complete article is available online at: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1093634,00.html
posted by T. Scott Brineman at 9:51 AM
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