|
|
| Activist Group on Lookout for Erosion of Liberties |
|
Posted by FoM on September 14, 2001 at 08:06:48 PT By Maura Dolan and Henry Weinstein Source: Los Angeles Times 
Civil libertarians are girding for a backlash that could limit individual freedoms as a result of this week's terrorist attacks. The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California has started a telephone hotline to monitor incursions into civil liberties, particularly racial profiling."At this time of crisis, we want to make sure that civil liberties aren't violated," said Dorothy Ehrlich, executive director of the ACLU's Northern California chapter. The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights is meeting in San Francisco today to discuss the risks of repressive steps taken in the name of safety and to plan a response if needed. "It is a slippery slope when you say you want to be safer at the expense of civil liberties and civil rights," said Eva Jefferson Paterson, executive director of the San Francisco affiliate of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. "We have to be careful that we don't overreact to it." Leaders Urged to Uphold Liberty Leaders of the activist groups say they are concerned that in previous times of national crisis, civil liberties, including freedom of speech and movement, have been restricted. An ABC-Washington Post poll taken shortly after Tuesday's attacks on the East Coast found that 66% of Americans would be willing to give up some civil liberties to combat terrorism. Congressional leaders have not proposed any changes in law at this point to respond to security threats. Indeed, some, such as Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, have cautioned against acting hastily, while simultaneously condemning the terrorist attacks. "Trial by fire can refine us or it can coarsen us," Leahy said in a speech on the floor of the Senate this week. "If we hold to our ideals, then it strengthens us. . . . If we abandon our democracy to battle [terrorists], they win." Still, some groups said it is premature to worry about limitations on privacy and other rights. "We are not looking for draconian proposals that don't yet exist," said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington. "If they are presented, we will need to look at them." Other groups have couched their concerns with cautious praise of the government's initial response to the violence. 1996 Terrorism Law Raised Concerns On Wednesday, Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the national ACLU, commended "the eloquent words of President Bush" in calling the U.S. "the brightest beacon for freedom." "We will urge our leaders to continue to uphold the principles of liberty the nation holds dear as they pursue those responsible for this devastating attack on American soil," Romero said. But some civil libertarians, concerned that the past could be prologue, point to such measures as the federal 1996 anti-terrorism law as reason for concern. The act was passed in the aftermath of the federal building bombing in Oklahoma City. David D. Cole, a Georgetown law professor who has argued civil liberties cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, criticized a provision of the law that makes it a crime to provide material support for any designated foreign terrorist organization "even if the support is only for lawful activity of that group," such as providing medical supplies. "The Secretary of State has unchecked authority to designate groups as terrorists," Cole said, and a conviction for violating the law can yield a prison term of up to 10 years. So far, at least three prosecutions have been lodged under this provision--two in Los Angeles and one in North Carolina. In these cases, the accusations are more serious than providing medical supplies. Two cases are still pending trial. The Los Angeles one involves the arrest of seven people for allegedly providing funds to the Iran-based Mujahedin-E Khalq that would be used for the purchase of arms. The case in Charlotte, N.C., involves alleged support to Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon in the form of weapons. Lives Called More Important Than Liberty In the first conviction under the law, a San Fernando Valley man pleaded guilty in 1999 of providing material assistance to the Mujahedin-E-Khalq in a case involving fraudulent visa and asylum applications. Laws such as the 1996 anti-terrorism act are welcomed by security-conscious groups that support expanded police powers. "Terrorism is a real threat to our lives and liberty, and that should be our primary focus," said Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute in Marina del Rey. Brook said Americans should be more concerned about losing their lives than their civil liberties. Indeed, Brook said he hopes the current crisis spurs moves to give security agencies greater freedom to investigate suspected terrorists. "We should allow the FBI and the police to take measures to ensure that terrorism is stopped," Brook said. "I don't think they have to violate our individual rights as long as they act based on a suspicion." University of California Hastings College of the Law professor Vikram Amar said the U.S. has typically responded to foreign threats with a "crackdown on free speech." After World War I, the federal government staged raids without warrants against radicals and leftists and deported immigrants who were not citizens. During World War II, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the internment of Japanese Americans. In the midst of the anti-communist hysteria of the Cold War, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a law that made it illegal to teach communism. Years later, the court stepped back, saying that people cannot be prosecuted for their ideology without evidence they are inciting imminent lawlessness, Amar said. More Surveillance, Racial Profiling Likely Legal scholars say that courts in times of crisis tend to uphold government efforts to expand surveillance and limit individual freedom. "You will see judges being more willing to grant wiretap authorizations, search warrants and other types of 4th Amendment intrusions," predicted Golden Gate University Law School Dean Peter Keane. "Judges tend to be stampeded in times of danger like this," Keane said. Court decisions already give the government broad freedom for surveillance in public places, such as airports. "The law is clear: in a public place we don't have a reasonable expectation of privacy," said USC law professor Erwin Chemerinsky. Legal scholars said the law is less clear when it comes to targeting people based on certain characteristics or profiles. The U.S. Supreme Court in 1989 upheld the use of profiles for stopping suspected drug couriers because the profiles were not race-based. Chemerinsky said it would violate the Constitution's equal-protection guarantees to single out people of Arab ancestry for searches at airports or other public places. "I think racial profiling violates the Constitution in this and all circumstances, but it doesn't mean it is not going to happen," he said. He said he believes courts would approve the use of terrorist profiles that include race as long as it is not the dominant consideration in searches. Arab Americans Anticipate Suspicion Among those most concerned are Arab Americans. Hussein Ibish, communications director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Washington, said that even before this week's events, Arab Americans have been subjected to brutal searches based on their ethnicity. Ibish said he already had cautioned Arab Americans to be "patient and tolerant" in the weeks to come if people view them with suspicion. "The fact that there are security problems in this country is obvious," Ibish said. "I think any serious ideas for improving security ought to be given some hearing, but we don't want to tear up our constitution." Law: The ACLU and other organizations are concerned because of the effects of past crises on constitutional rights. Complete Title: Activist Groups on Lookout for Erosion of Civil Liberties Source: Los Angeles Times (CA) Related Articles: The Roots of Hatred A Superpower's Sorrow, Comeuppance Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
 |
| Comment #20 posted by FoM on September 14, 2001 at 12:59:45 PT |
| I wanted to ask you all if you heard about a threat with chemical agents? They have hushed it up two times that I've heard. PS: M segasta I'm glad what I said helps. If I didn't keep this way of thinking I'd go crazy and I'm not nice when I'm crazy. Just ask my husband! lol! [ Post Comment ] |
|
Comment #19 posted by kaptinemo on September 14, 2001 at 12:41:43 PT:
|
| Step back from the terrible tragedy of it all, and think. (Which is precisely what the rulers of this country don't want you to do. why do you think they play the same images, over and over? Why do you think the service is being televised? at the very real risk of seeming crass, who is going to benefit from all this? Certainly not the relatives of the victims.) The Soviets had a huge monument at Leningrad; it's still there, I believe. And constantly being played in the background of this monument to the Fallen of Leningrad is some of the most sad and beautiful chorales I've ever heard. No words, just sad voices, singing like depressed angels. Like our Viet Nam memorial, few who ever go there are unmoved. Grizzled old survivors of the battle there and in other places like the deadly meatgrinder at Kursk are moved to tears. But the entire war wouldn't have happened if the Communist government hadn't been run by effin' murderous madmen like Stalin and Beria. The terrible loss of life, the tens of millions dead...wouldn't have happened. That memorial is meant to take people's minds off of what really happened...and why. Millions suffered and died - because of criminal insanity on the part of their leaders. Do you see where this is going? Instead of a gigantic monument of a woman swinging a sword over her head, with an angelic chorus in the background...we get religious displays. And an angelic chorus in the background. All to take your mind off of the fact that were it not for actions committed by the US, those people being memorialized would still be alive. I mourn for the terrible loss of life, yes. My heart goes out to all those left behind: wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, loved ones, friends. But there is a terrible coldness in my mind. For these lives didn't have to be sacrificed. And those who have and will benefit in the future (via contracts for all the munitions that are about to be expended in retribution) will do as they always have done: sit back and smile at the eternal gullibility of the American public. Whose heartstrings are being plucked like instruments...deliberately. And whose sheeplike minds are being manipulated, being turning towards thoughts of vengeance. Very profitable vengeance. [ Post Comment ] |
|
Comment #18 posted by m segesta on September 14, 2001 at 12:30:15 PT:
|
| FoM --- I have spent a lot of time today trying to explicate my feelings, as all that is available to my conscious self lately has been a numb, dry, grating affect. I think you have parsed things out for me completely, FoM: "Many people are angry and that's ok. I just don't get very angry anymore. I get sad but not angry. Upset but not really angry. I don't expect much from life" Your statement describes how I feel now and have felt all week. It's dead on. But to read it is soooooooooooo sad....it makes me think we are but "shells", maimed but still able to "produce", if only to distract us from our feelings. :( Be well.
[ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #17 posted by FoM on September 14, 2001 at 12:19:24 PT |
| Many people are angry and that's ok. I just don't get very angry anymore. I get sad but not angry. Upset but not really angry. I don't expect much from life. I hope this makes sense. That's how I can do C News. I step back a lot and look. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #16 posted by jAHn on September 14, 2001 at 11:51:21 PT |
| ...only I express it with Loudness and not a weep. Can you feel me being abused? It doesn't matter if you do or if you don't... I feel you... [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #15 posted by jAHn on September 14, 2001 at 11:47:27 PT |
| I am witnessing people scrambling to point fingers... And knowing that i have to live with THE REALITY that I know of (and am considered good friends to) 5 people, at least, who have to go back to their "jobs" in NYCity in the VERY NEAR FUTURE. Justice Department CAN"T EVEN settle scores in a fair manner on American Soil...i.e. Mumia Abu Jamaal, Amadou Diallo, Leonard Peltier, CIA Mind-F@#CKING Games, FEDERAL Inconsistencies within solving the Threat behing Oklahoma, Votes that are just THROWN AWAY((???)), etc... Pulling together? Gee, the news has a funny way of fooling people. "Camera's got them images, the T.V.'s got them ALL" I really FEEL that the T.V. has the most to gain. And the sponsorship of businesses/economics that propagate it. I may not be the smartest person, and who REALLY can take that title in such an Unpredictably STUPID world? BUT... Why hold "Rock the Vote" campaigns? Milking the Capital... No different than Blind Citizens following some Whacked-Out, Money-Lovin' Dictator. I am Of course you don't understand, You're just a BABY Kid, toddler, infant--- with a couple of feet added to your height. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #14 posted by FoM on September 14, 2001 at 11:34:06 PT |
| I'm crying again. There singing Amazing Grace. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #13 posted by jAHn on September 14, 2001 at 11:33:40 PT |
| With my drill I'll craft one of the sweetest bongs to get by and take me along The path of the stoned's NEVER travelled alone your soul i'm honed into your words keeping me focused never heeding the words of the enemy teachers No time for the weak- the bogus. If the Feds haven't been soOOooo focused on Shooting up some Hippies with some Hot Lead, Thought you would.... [ Post Comment ] |
|
Comment #12 posted by el_toonces on September 14, 2001 at 11:26:51 PT:
|
| Damn, I just love my new word: upsidasium.....even though I don't know what it means. But thanks for this neologism, Theropinfool. But I think the "upsi" -- as we "in the know" call it -- is way too potent, since I can't even figure out what jAHN is talkin' about. It's not the lack of subjects, verbs, and objects in his text that confuses me, though, so much as the point he is trying to make, and would make, but for his brains being scrambled by the God-awful "upsidasium". Maybe it got to him as a child? Have an "upsi" day all and pax vobiscum. E (I had to flick off the service y'all are talkin' about......getting to the point where my eyes are now dry and incapable of lacrimnation at all; I just hope the draught doesn't reach my heart anytime soon). ;) [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #11 posted by FoM on September 14, 2001 at 11:25:32 PT |
| jAHn I don't understand your post but I have a hard time understanding things sometimes. I'm just proud to see how America is pulling together. I'm proud of the people who are working frantically to find just one person alive. I'm proud of the way that New Yorkers are acting. The city is bound together in a way that I never thought I'd see. These are some of the reasons I'm proud today to be an American. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #10 posted by New Mexican on September 14, 2001 at 11:20:43 PT |
| Read this and weep folks, America was a great country at one time, and its' citizens are not guilty of these crimes by their government. Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2001 11:36
By David Icke The unbelievable horror perpetrated on the cities of New York and Washington Fast as the world was being moved towards global centralised fascism, it was And, mind-numbing as these atrocities are, this is the start, not the end, To read the full article: go to:truth-vibrations@yahoogroups.com [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #9 posted by jAHn Confused on September 14, 2001 at 11:15:35 PT |
| ...an american REALLY represents? I'm 24 and I've lived in america (so-titled) all of my living days. In Kindegarten, being American was just, simply, making it to school aside all worries which loom at home-life. 6th grade through 8th grade: being american meant keeping strong on the track i felt would make my life...just being. The environment that's administered (to most, at a guess) is completey chaotic when you start 6th-8th grade...Teachers tell me i can't read "Pet Sematary" because of content. I'm told not to talk out loud because it can grow a tendency of drowning out the "teachers'" inability of being audibly inclined.(and mentally, i add as a personal note). All the while, other 6th-8th graders are getting away with the self-freedom of Bitching about other students' haircuts, the clothes they can afford, the friends they choose and how they're "nerds, geeks, dweebs, dorks, weird-os, Faggots ((how overused is it??)), the list goes on (I'm being redundant, in a way). High School, being american was about Finding a job through all of the reports of "Unemployment at all-time low", "Workers Treated like Garbage", "Many Ph-D possessors work at Wal-Mart", and MANY other "current events" that have come and gone-- worried and forgotten, as if NOTHING relied on these "facts." You can't see? GO to a doctor... If you believe that he/she is NOT part of the problem ((chances ARE and HAVE BEEN stacked against PEOPLE LIKE ME for a LoooOOOng time, now)) For some reason, You will Fall ((I didn't even get into the College Story, for sake I might mess up what i already have...although, I dropped outta HighSchool, I got my "Good Enough Diploma" and attended the community centre, where I'm currently ((well, i got a year off to gather myself {and my culturistic creeds, collectively)) studying Tv-Production, Script-Writing, and All of the other stuff that's in the 3-Dimensionally-Oriented Computer Animation Field of work...where I learn about all of the little tricks of "reeling in the consumer, YOU, and how to get ya coming back- aGAIN, and aGAIN..." I've been a part-time musician, too, having started with Saxophone in 4th grade and scoring gigs in the school talent shows, until i was in 6th grade. I would also do some performance art with some other students, as like, little comedy gigs for the fun of performing. I dropped the Sax 'cause WHOEVER would've guessed that schools lead me down the path of the "rich and supreme" with that pricey-ass Saxophone??? Electric Guitars are MUCH MORE VERSATILE, anyway. Acoustics vary like leaves blowing in the wind the midst of fall... Damn... LIFE IS CONFUSING...!!! when your vote doesn't count, and NEVER has. when figuring out WHO voted for WHO... when listening to the Intercoms scream, all aboard.... anyone? N.Y.City? no place is safe this is a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY... I hope your happy that "everything around my neighborhood" is O.K, dandy, peachy and qUEEn...just f@#cking SWELL. see you in hell... [ Post Comment ] |
|
Comment #8 posted by el_toonces on September 14, 2001 at 10:53:05 PT:
|
| I think that the proof-reading destroying "upsidasium" of which you complain is about 1,000% times more potent than the old 20% (by weight) "upsidasium" of our youth in the 1960's (I mean, just look at what it's done to my math skills; can something be ten times (1,000%) a weight concentration of 20%, i.e., can any substance be twice (200%) its own weight without gaining volume? [Not unless it's in black hole or in the mind of an anti speaking about the strength of today's pot, I think?]. Anyway, you better check the strength of your dose of "upsidasium", as it seems to have made you obsessed with pronoun confusion, even to the arguable detriment of meaning. Or, in my MJ crazed and obsessed quest for meaning, I have missed something in reading the other part of the post you wanted to correct? I can figure out the pronouns on my own, but what is with "The most beautiful planet on the face of the earth is a different place"? How many planets are on the face of the earth? And of those, how does a devoted aesthete determine which is the most beautiful? I am trying so damn to hard to smile, to find some humor -- with no Letterman, no Modern Humorist online, no new writing in The Onion, no Daily Show any of the past few days -- that I am trying, apparently with little success, to find humor in the "black hole" thinking of anti's math and the "upsidasium" induced grammatical and semiotic crises in a C-News post! Or is it "Cuz I Got High"? Trying to find something to smile about, I remain, Yours in "upsidasium", El-Toonces [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by FoM on September 14, 2001 at 10:18:55 PT |
| In times like this I am proud to be an American. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by Patrick on September 14, 2001 at 10:13:09 PT |
| It is ok. I am crying too. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by FoM on September 14, 2001 at 10:11:14 PT |
| Darn it I'm crying again. They are singing Glory Glory Hallelujah. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by theropinfool on September 14, 2001 at 09:43:49 PT |
| 'give there all' to give their all. Must be the 'upsidaisium'. [ Post Comment ] |
|
Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on September 14, 2001 at 09:19:05 PT:
|
| People at CNews have been warning of this, even before the present crisis. (And stop and think about that phrase: 'the present crisis'. They just seem to pop out of nowhere, but some of these have been years in the planning...by our own government.) Think back to the very legitimate worries many of us had about Y2K. About the possibility of the USG beginning a power grab with a possible computer crisis as an excuse? They had their plans, all right. I refer all and sundry to Executive Order 11490, Tricky Dick's own personal wet dream to take over the country, abolish State Government and consolidate The Nation into 10 Federal regions... Then there was Ronnies favorite plan, drawn up by Ol' Ollie North, himself: I VERY STRONGLY URGE YOU TO READ THIS ONE EXECUTIVE ORDERS:Bonfire of the Constitution It's still on the books. Then there's Klintons attempt to do the same thing...without even a crisis to justify it: Clinton Executive Order "REVOKES" 10th Amendment These are landmines in the road of a free people. Step on them by giving in to the temptation of 'increasing security' or other such nonesense, and we are all doomed. Those of us who've had a taste of how 'concerned' our(?) government is for our 'welfare' - by making us prisoners, tearing apart our families, destroying our livelihoods, and involving us in foreign civil wars - know all too well the dangers of granting government too much power. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by theropinfool on September 14, 2001 at 09:18:14 PT |
| The modern model of 'freedom and demockrazy' is not in any form to protect you or me. What has the gougerment done over the past 30 years or so? It has passed mandate after mandate furthering unnecessary intrusion into our lives. If it is not something that we put into our bodies, it is something that we say. If it is not something we say, it is something we do. If it is not something we do, it is something we think. Even smiles are illegal. Now, when there is big trouble on the horizon, who do all of the lawmakers beseechingly appeal? Osama bin Laden is not a model citizen by any means, and he has brutally awakened everybody on the earth. The most beautiful planet on the face of the earth is a different place. I hope the fools on the Hill can wake up, too. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. No foolin' from.... theropinfool [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by jAHn PISSED on September 14, 2001 at 08:32:21 PT |
| ...that this is some action this Nation takes when its' tampered with. It's just Amazing, simply Amazing, that "American Security" seems like a word that only applies to protecting Anti-Druggies. In situations like these, how come these "Lawmakers" can't pass some Legislation to begin some Tight-Ass Surveilance? Oh, they save that for the Terrorists who poison children with pot, i bet would be an answer i'd HONESTLY get, if in fact, anyone in AmeriKKKa WERE honest...far cry!!! If this was someone buying a dime bag of pot, But...
This is just completely D E R A N G E D, you hear me? The day that people are required to have little-to-no experience for flying planes, yet can purchase if you have enough dough ( + stupidity ). In my little Opinion. [ Post Comment ] |
| Post Comment |  |
 |  |