[Peace-discuss] Fwd: {Spam?} FCNL: SUPPORT THE FREEDOM TO READ PROTECTION ACT

Thu Mar 27 16:32:11 CST 2003

>Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 16:36:07 -0500 (EST)
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>Subject: {Spam?} FCNL: SUPPORT THE FREEDOM TO READ PROTECTION ACT
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>FCNL LEGISLATIVE ACTION MESSAGE -3/27/03
>
>The following action items from the Friends Committee on National
>Legislation (FCNL) focus on federal policy issues currently before
>Congress or the Administration.
>
>TOPICS:         ORGANIZE DISTRICT MEETINGS NOW FOR UPCOMING
>CONGRESSIONAL RECESS
>                 SUPPORT THE FREEDOM TO READ PROTECTION ACT
>
>ORGANIZE DISTRICT MEETINGS NOW FOR UPCOMING CONGRESSIONAL RECESS.
>Congress will be on recess April 12 -28.  Many members of Congress will
>be back in their districts and states for town meetings and to meet with
>constituents.  Organize now.  Assemble a diverse delegation and schedule
>a meeting or community forum with your members of Congress.  Find out
>from your members' local offices if there are any town meetings
>scheduled.  Organize a group to attend and ask questions about the war
>in Iraq.
>
>Let your members know that you oppose the war in Iraq, that you want
>U.S. troops brought home now, and that you want Congress to provide
>generous humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Iraq and
>Afghanistan.  The war in Iraq must not spread further.  No more freedoms
>at home should be sacrificed to the "war on terror."  Restore
>constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties that have been compromised
>by the USA PATRIOT Act.
>
>**********
>
>SUPPORT THE FREEDOM TO READ PROTECTION ACT.   Members of the House of
>Representatives have opened the path to restore an important element of
>civil liberty diminished by the USA PATRIOT Act.  HR1157, the "Freedom
>to Read Protection Act of 2003," would remove threats created by the USA
>PATRIOT Act to the privacy of bookstore and library records and would
>restore congressional oversight of the FBI's use of secret surveillance
>warrants.  HR1157 has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee and
>the House Select Committee on Intelligence.
>
>ACTION:  Please call your representative's office or check the
>Legislative Action Center on FCNL's web site to find out whether your
>member has become a co-sponsor of HR1157, the Freedom to Read Protection
>Act of 2003.  If your representative is not a co-sponsor, please urge
>her or him to join this bill and help restore civil liberties eroded by
>the USA PATRIOT Act.  If your representative is already on board for
>this legislation, please send a thank you to let her or him know that
>you care about restoring civil liberties.
>
>MAKE LETTER WRITING EASIER: Start with the sample letter posted in our
>Legislative Action Center, personalize the language, then send your
>message as an email directly from our site or print it out and mail it.
>To view the sample letter, click on the link below, then
>click on the bill.  Enter your zip code and click <Go> in the <Take
>Action Now> box.  If your member is already a sponsor, this will bring
>up a sample thank-you letter.  If your member is not a cosponsor, this
>will bring up a sample letter urging her or his cosponsorship.  Here is
>the link http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/bills/?bill=1786696.
>
>BACKGROUND:  Under the USA PATRIOT Act, the FBI can initiate secret
>surveillance of a library or bookstore's public computers and can demand
>library circulation records and bookstore business records.  In order to
>get a warrant for this surveillance, the FBI must apply to the secret
>Foreign Intelligence Security Act (FISA) court.  To obtain a FISA
>warrant, the FBI does not have to show probable cause of criminal
>activity or show that the individual under surveillance is connected to
>a foreign power.  It is much easier to get a FISA warrant than a wiretap
>warrant under criminal law.  The FBI just has to certify to the FISA
>court that an individual is linked to "terrorism" or a "terrorist
>organization," terms with very flexible definitions.  Initial
>surveillance of a library or bookstore's public Internet usage and
>circulation or business records can be initiated when the individual
>under surveillance uses the library.  However, after the initial
>intercept, the warrant attaches to the library or bookstore's computer
>and location in addition to remaining with the individual under
>surveillance.  Then the FBI can monitor use of that facility by not only
>the individual under surveillance, but by anyone using the computer,
>including innocent citizens.  Under the USA PATRIOT Act, the librarian
>or bookstore owner served with a FISA warrant is subject to criminal
>prosecution if he or she refuses to obey the FISA warrant or if he or
>she shares the existence of the secret warrant with anyone other than
>the library or bookstore employee who will actually respond to that
>warrant.
>
>Under HR1157, the Freedom to Read Protection Act, the FBI can still keep
>tabs on dangerous individuals at libraries and bookstores, using
>procedures in place before the USA PATRIOT Act was enacted.
>
>In addition to eroding civil liberties, the USA PATRIOT Act has
>destabilized the balance of power between the branches of federal
>government.  The Justice Department has decided that the only
>appropriate congressional oversight of USA PATRIOT Act authority is a
>periodic reporting of the number of FISA warrants obtained (not how many
>were served, where the warrants were served, or whether the FBI has been
>successful in reducing terrorism by serving the warrants).  The
>reporting requirements of HR1157, the Freedom to Read Protection Act,
>will restore appropriate congressional oversight, while preserving any
>confidentiality necessary for effective anti-terrorism investigations.
>
>HR1157, the Freedom to Read Protection Act, has the support of numerous
>organizations that support and protect our freedom to read, including
>the American Library Association and the American Booksellers Foundation
>for Freedom of Expression.  The bill has attracted wide support in the
>House of Representatives, including bi-partisan co-sponsor support.
>
>For further information about the USA PATRIOT Act and other aspects of
>the post-9/11 erosion of civil liberties in the United States, click
>here: http://www.fcnl.org/issues/immigrant/civil-rights_indx.htm .
>
>
>Order WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER Bumper Stickers and Yard Signs!
>* Online: Here are the links for the order forms.
>Bumper stickers: http://www.fcnl.org/iraq_bumstker_info.php
>Yard signs: http://www.fcnl.org/iraq_yardsign_info.php
>* Email: Send a message to field at fcnl.org with your name, complete
>mailing address, and the number of bumper stickers or yard signs needed.
>* Phone: Call Valerie Fox at 800-630-1330, ext. 142 or leave a message
>with mailing information and number of stickers or signs requested.
>FCNL will not rent, sell, or trade your name to any other organization.
>We appreciate contributions for bulk orders of bumper stickers.  The
>suggested donation for peace signs is $5 each.
>If you have comments or questions regarding this message or other
>issues, please contact FCNL.
>
>CONTACTING LEGISLATORS
>
>Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 800-839-5276
>
>Sen. ________
>U.S. Senate
>Washington, DC 20510
>
>Rep. ________
>U.S. House of Representatives
>Washington, DC 20515
>
>Information on your members is available on FCNL's web site:
>http://capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/directory/directory.dbq
>
>CONTACTING THE ADMINISTRATION
>
>White House Comment Desk: 202-456-1111
>FAX: 202-456-2461
>E-MAIL: president at whitehouse.gov
>WEB PAGE: http://www.whitehouse.gov
>President George W. Bush
>The White House
>Washington, DC 20500
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>
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>We seek a society with equity and justice for all
>We seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled
>We seek an earth restored...