[Peace] Less than 72 hours to stop two bad bills (fwd)

[C. G. Estabrook]

[The following is from the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, but there 
are probably less then 24 hours for us to act.  This is serious.  These 
bills bear comparison to authority granted to executives in totalitarian 
states.  They are manifestly unconstitutional, but that seems not be 
worrying anyone in Congress.  A senator who votes for either bill has 
betrayed his oath to uphold the constitution, because they violate the 
Bill of Rights, but that too seems not to be bothering anyone.  The 
Democrats who are not filibustering these abominations are utterly 
lacking in integrity. --CGE]


New "Compromise" Bills Actually Expand Warrantless Spying, Torture, and 
Detention Powers

Dear Supporter:

Your commitment to defend the rule of law can make the difference in 
stopping two dangerous bills: Senator Specter's bill to legalize 
warrantless wiretapping (S. 2453) and the military commissions bill (S. 
3930). Republican Senators who have negotiated with the White House for 
"improvements" to the bills have actually made both bills worse. It's 
now up to us, the people, to tell our Senators loudly and forcefully 
that both bills must be stopped. The House has already passed the 
detainee bill. Only if we all spend a few minutes on the phone to Senate 
offices right now can we hope to have something to celebrate next week.

Updates on the bills:

     * Rumors that Senator Specter's bill S. 2453 (see 
http://thomas.loc.gov/) to legalize warrantless surveillance is dead are 
premature. The White House wants a bill before Congress leaves to 
campaign, so Senator Specter's bill may be tucked into another bill and 
voted on before Congress leaves Washington this Saturday.

     * The detainee bill S. 3930 (see http://thomas.loc.gov/) now 
contains an expanded definition of "enemy combatants," which could apply 
to U.S. persons who provide "material support" for terrorism. This 
change could mean that attorneys who represent Guantanamo detainees 
could themselves be detained. The current bill is no longer the 
bipartisan bill that the Senate Armed Services Committee passed, nor 
does it address the concerns voiced by several current and retired Judge 
Advocate Generals nor the shortcomings in the president's plan for 
military commissions that led to the administration's Supreme Court 
defeat in Hamdan. Senator Carl Levin's amendment to address some of the 
problems has already been defeated, and other amendments being 
introduced are unlikely to pass. A vote on the bill is expected on 
Thursday, 9/28.

Telephone your senators: Dial the Capitol Switchboard at 202 224-3121 
(24 hours) and ask the operator to connect you, or go to 
http://www.senate.gov to look up your senators’ direct numbers.

Suggested message: Tell the person who answers the phone that you have 
problems with bills to legalize the President’s warrantless domestic 
wiretapping program and detainee policy. Ask Senator __________ to:

     * Do everything possible to block the NSA bill (S. 2453) from 
legalizing the president's warrantless wiretapping program. No president 
should be allowed to monitor Americans' private telephone calls and 
emails without court warrants. Please block any attempt to add the bill 
to another one. Any bill that would abridge our Fourth Amendment rights 
must be considered carefully and must not be rushed through.

     * Vote against the military commissions bill (S. 3930). The U.S. 
cannot be made safer by denying detainees being held rightly or wrongly 
the fundamental writ of habeas corpus or the basic human right not to be 
convicted on the basis of coerced testimony or hearsay evidence. While 
the Specter-Levin amendment would address one of those concerns, it 
falls far short of what is needed.

Find more BORDC talking points and helpful links on warrantless 
wiretapping at http://www.bordc.org/threats/spy-points.php
Find BORDC talking points and links on military commissions at 
http://www.bordc.org/threats/military.php

Nancy Talanian, Director
Bill of Rights Defense Committee
____________________________

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