[Peace-discuss] The Attack on Freedom: MoveOn Bulletin (fwd)

Sat May 31 21:36:48 CDT 2003

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 30 May 2003 10:37:12 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Wes Boyd, MoveOn.Org" <moveon-help at list.moveon.org>
To: Paul Patton <ppatton at uiuc.edu>
Subject: The Attack on Freedom: MoveOn Bulletin

THE ATTACK ON FREEDOM
MoveOn Bulletin
Friday, May 30, 2003
Co-Editors: Tai Moses and Rachel Neumann, AlterNet

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CONTENTS:
1. Wes Boyd: Freedom is Our Strength
2. Rachel Neumann: Your Rights and Liberties: Use Them or Lose Them
3. Matt Welch: Get Ready for Patriot II
4. Tram Nguyen: Immigrant Families Condemn Racial Targeting
5. Jason Halperin: Patriot Raid
6. Farai Chideya: Getting Ashcrofted
7. Kari Lydersen: Selling Civil Liberties
8. Karen Charman: Environmentalists = Terrorists
9. Nat Hentoff: Liberty Vanishes While the Press Sleeps
10. Annalee Newitz: Surveillance 101
11. Jim Hightower: Shredding Ashcroft

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FREEDOM IS OUR STRENGTH
MoveOn Bulletin Op-Ed
by Wes Boyd

In 1814, the British marched on Washington and burned down the White
House.  In World War II, the United States fought a virulent fascism
that took tens of millions of lives.  During the cold war, we faced
down tens of thousands of nuclear-tipped missiles pointed directly at
our cities.  These conflicts struck at the very heart of our survival
as a nation.

Although there have always been men who call for dictatorial powers in
times of crisis, our Bill of Rights survived these threats intact
because our leaders knew that these freedoms are the foundation of our
strength as a nation and must be protected.

Today we hear from the Bush administration that freedom must be traded
for security -- that unless we cede our rights as citizens to the
proper authorities, we will never be safe.  Showing no historical
perspective, callow pundits claim that the threats we face today are
overwhelming compared to anything in the past.

Luckily, Americans are made of sterner stuff.  We'll continue to
protect freedom, and it will make us strong.

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YOUR RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES: USE THEM OR LOSE THEM
Rachel Neumann, AlterNet
The administration's attack on civil liberties is so overblown as to
seem surreal. And if that weren't enough, currently proposed
legislation would increase the PATRIOT Act's powers. Our right to
think and speak for ourselves, without fear of spying neighbors,
surveillance cameras or retaliation, is gravely threatened and only
our collective and coordinated resistance will stop that threat.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16014

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GET READY FOR PATRIOT II
Matt Welch, AlterNet
The first USA PATRIOT Act was written, passed and signed into law
within seven weeks of 9/11. As a result, the government gained new
power to wiretap phones, confiscate property of suspected terrorists,
spy on its own citizens without judicial review, conduct secret
searches and snoop on the reading habits of library users. Now
Attorney General John Ashcroft wants to finish the job.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15541

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IMMIGRANT FAMILIES CONDEMN RACIAL TARGETING
Tram Nguyen, ColorLines RaceWire
A series of "Public Truth" forums planned around the country highlight
the impact of the war on terrorism and national security on the lives
of immigrants, refugees and communities of color. Despite widespread
fear in their communities, participants are outspoken in condemning
the policies and practices that have unjustly targeted them.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15943

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PATRIOT RAID
Jason Halperin, AlterNet
Loaded guns pointed in faces, people made to crawl on their hands and
knees, police officers kicking in doors, keeping their fingers on the
trigger even after the situation was under control. All a mistake.
And, according to the ACLU a perfectly legal one, thanks to the
PATRIOT Act. People who thought these laws would never affect them,
who thought that the PATRIOT Act only applied to the guilty, should
heed this story as a wake-up call.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15770

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GETTING ASHCROFTED
Farai Chideya, AlterNet
Everybody wants to cash in on the marketability of biometrics, the
technology of identifying people based on biological traits.
Biometrics extends far beyond electronic fingerprinting to retinal
scans and, perhaps most controversial, face recognition from video
surveillance. Let's face it: the biometrics industry is fast becoming
Big Brother, Inc.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15781

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SELLING CIVIL LIBERTIES
Kari Lydersen, AlterNet
Americans are used to being bombarded with ads for everything from
shampoo and SUVs to dating services and weight loss regimens. But now
they are also seeing paid ads selling them on an issue that many
previously either took for granted or didn't think about much at all:
the importance of our civil liberties. The campaign represents the
first time in its 80-year history that the ACLU has run paid TV ads.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15757

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ENVIRONMENTALISTS = TERRORISTS
Karen Charman, TomPaine.com
If legislation crafted by the ultra-conservative American Legislative
Exchange Council becomes law, some fundamental rights of American
citizenship -- like signing a Sierra Club petition or publicly
protesting for animal rights -- could become illegal.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/7748

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LIBERTY VANISHES WHILE THE PRESS SLEEPS
Nat Hentoff, Village Voice
The media, with few exceptions, are failing to report consistently and
in depth precisely how Bush and Ashcroft are undermining our
fundamental individual liberties. For instance, how many Americans
know that if PATRIOT II is passed (and Bush certainly won't veto it),
they can be stripped of their citizenship if charged with giving
"material support" to a group designated by the government as
"terrorist"?
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15630

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SURVEILLANCE 101
Annalee Newitz, AlterNet
Is New York City a laboratory for a "future surveillance state"? U.S.
privacy laws allow public surveillance because, their proponents say,
you have no reasonable expectation of privacy on the street. But some
activists think New York's mechanical eyes violate human dignity,
converting our anonymous public lives into somebody's private video
collection.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15587

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SHREDDING ASHCROFT
Jim Hightower, AlterNet
One of the most inspiring -- and unexpected -- sources of resistance
to Ashcroft's wild schemes are America's librarians. These gutsy
defenders of liberty are distributing information and joining public
discussion groups to tell us about the freedom-busting legislation
that Ashcroft cynically titled the "USA PATRIOT Act."
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15843

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