[North-NV-Greens] Fwd: ACLU Online: Significant Patriot Act Victory

Fri Jun 24 02:24:41 PDT 2005

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>  <http://www.aclu.org/> 
><http://action.aclu.org/site/Donation?ACTION=SHOW_DONATION_OPTIONS&CAMPAIGN_ID=1061&s_src=UNW050001CN0&s_subsrc=062505SUB>
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><http://www.aclu.org/FreeSpeech/FreeSpeech.cfm?ID=18564&c=50>BREAKING 
>NEWS: House passes Flag Amendment. Learn more and take action!
>
><>Patriot Act Update from Executive Director Anthony D. Romero
>
><>Science Under Siege
>
><http://action.aclu.org/site/Donation?ACTION=SHOW_DONATION_OPTIONS&CAMPAIGN_ID=1061&s_src=UNW050001CN0&s_subsrc=062505SUB>
><#story3>ACLU Calls on Congress to Reject Funding of Religious Activities
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><#story4>NEWS FEEDS: Get the latest news and action alerts from the ACLU!
>
>In the States:
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><>Peaceful Protesters Arrested in Massachusetts
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><>South Dakota Schools Discriminating Against Native American Students
>
><http://action.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=General_PatriotAct_Cartoon>
>Check out our 
><http://action.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=General_PatriotAct_Cartoon>Patriot 
>Act Editoral Cartoon Gallery and pick a card to send to your friends.
>
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>YOU CAN HELP PROTECT OUR BASIC FREEDOMS by joining with over 400,000 
>card-carrying members of the ACLU. Our rights as individuals -- the 
>very foundation of our great democracy -- depend on our willingness 
>to defend them, and as an ACLU member, you'll be doing your part.
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>
>Peaceful Protesters Arrested in Massachusetts
>
>Peaceful protesters were arrested on June 14 during an event on the 
>Cambridge Common to mark the founding of the United States Army. The 
>ACLU criticized the police for the arrest and for forcing people to 
>move into a "pen" if they were expressing views critical of U.S. 
>policies.
>
>"It is unconstitutional to force people into a protest pen simply 
>because they wish to express a message that is viewed by some 
>authorities as a protest of U.S. policy," said John Reinstein, Legal 
>Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. "We are concerned by the 
>government's increasing use of restrictions on peaceful 
>demonstrations for the purposes of presenting a one dimensional view 
>of public support for its policies, particularly when the government 
>achieves this aim by suppression of dissent."
>
>According to witnesses, people wishing to leave the pen were forced 
>by police to leave the Common. Observers said that one man who was 
>simply holding a sign was made to move, and the police also forced 
>photographers from the area if they looked like protesters.
>
><http://www.aclu.org/FreeSpeech/FreeSpeech.cfm?ID=18469&c=86>Read 
>the press release.
>
>South Dakota Schools Discriminating Against Native American Students
>
>In a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education on behalf 
>of 14 Native American families, the ACLU and the Attorney General of 
>the Rosebud Sioux Tribe charge that the public school district in 
>Winner, South Dakota discriminates against Native American children 
>in its disciplinary practices and denies Native Americans their 
>right to equal educational opportunities.
>
>According to Catherine Kim, a staff attorney with the national ACLU, 
>the problems in Winner are part of a nationwide trend of "get tough" 
>policies on school misconduct, which lead to increases in 
>suspensions for trivial conduct and the use of law enforcement to 
>handle minor school discipline. Research consistently shows that 
>students of color are far more likely than Caucasian students to 
>feel the brunt of this trend, which advocates refer to as the 
>"school-to-prison pipeline."
>
><http://www.aclu.org/RacialEquality/RacialEquality.cfm?ID=18569&c=138>Get 
>more information.
>
>
>Do you know somebody who would be interested in getting news about 
>the ACLU and what we're doing to protect civil liberties? Help us 
>spread the word about ACLU Online -- forward this newsletter to a 
>friend.
>
>June 23, 2005
>
>
>As part of a nationwide campaign, ACLU activists are hitting the 
>streets to draw attention to troubling provisions of the Patriot Act.
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>
>
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>Thanks to You, A Significant Patriot Act Victory
>
>Late last week, the House of Representatives voted 238 to 187 to 
>deny funding for FBI demands under the Patriot Act for the library 
>or book store records of innocent Americans without any reason to 
>suspect them of wrongdoing. Forty Republicans joined Democratic 
>members of Congress in support of the bill by Congressman Bernie 
>Sanders of Vermont.
>
>Go to <http://www.reformthepatriotact.org>ReformthePatriotAct.org to 
>learn about the threats to our Constitutional freedoms and find out 
>how you can get involved!
>
><http://action.aclu.org/site/Ecard?ecard_id=1461>Send your friends 
>our Talking Points and get them talking about the flaws in the 
>Patriot Act.
>
>The vote was a significant setback for the administration, which is 
>pulling out all the stops in its efforts to make the entire Patriot 
>Act permanent and even to expand the law by allowing the FBI to 
>demand personal records without any prior review by a judge. 
>Although this appropriations bill still has to clear the Senate and 
>survive a threatened presidential veto, the support it received 
>among both Republicans and Democrats means that efforts to reform 
>the Patriot Act stand an excellent chance of passing this year.
>
>It's also no coincidence that the vote happened last week. For the 
>past several months, the ACLU and our allies have been ramping up 
>the pressure on Patriot Act reform around the country. We've been 
>lobbying on Capitol Hill and working in local communities to get out 
>the message: America can be both safe and free -- the Patriot Act 
>should be reformed with common sense protections that are consistent 
>with our Constitution's system of checks and balances that preserve 
>our legacy of liberty.
>
>The only way that the ACLU has been able to stand up to the Bush 
>Goliath is through each and every one of you. Our membership has 
>always been our secret weapon in defense of the Constitution. 
>Believe it or not, members of Congress respond to the concerns of 
>their constituents. They listen when you send a letter or call their 
>office.
>
>Your continuing help is absolutely essential in winning the next 
>vote on Patriot Act reform. We could see a final vote on the 
>president's plan to make the whole Patriot Act permanent and to 
>expand the law as early as July. The time for taking action is now. 
>We can win this one, but we can't do it without you. 
><https://secure.aclu.org/site/SSurvey?SURVEY_ID=1740&ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&s_src=ACLUOnline>Make 
>your voice heard - tell your elected representative that the time to 
>take a stand for freedom is now.
>
>Call Congress today. You can look up your Representative's and 
>Senators' direct numbers by clicking the link below, or you can call 
>the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. For talking points, or to 
>tell us how the call went, 
><https://secure.aclu.org/site/SSurvey?SURVEY_ID=1740&ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&s_src=ACLUOnline>please 
>click here.
>
>Anthony D. Romero
>Executive Director
>
>
>
>
>A new report from the ACLU shows that government policies and 
>practices have hampered academic freedom and scientific inquiry 
>since September 11, 2001. The report, Science Under Siege, released 
>by the ACLU this week sheds light on how these policies curtail 
>basic rights and put all Americans at risk.
>
><http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=18548&c=206> 
>The report connects the dots between several different areas where 
>misguided government policies are affecting science. Among the
>abuses the ACLU examines in the report are:
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>moves to overclassify information and designate whole areas of 
>research as "sensitive but unclassified;"
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>outright censorship and prescreening of scientific articles before 
>publication;
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>exclusion of foreign students from access to research projects;
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>suppression of environmental and public health information;
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>and increased restrictions on materials and technology commonly used 
>in basic scientific research.
>"Attacks on scientific freedom have the same effect on our democracy 
>as attacks on political freedom," said Anthony D. Romero, Executive 
>Director of the ACLU. "Curtailing scientific freedom in the name of 
>national security is bad for science, bad for freedom and simply not 
>effective in increasing the safety of America."
>
><http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=18548&c=206>Learn 
>more and read the report.
>
>
>
>
>The House Government Reform Subcommittee on Federalism and the 
>Census met today to consider the relationship between government and 
>faith-based organizations that provide social services. Unable to 
>gain the support of Congress for its plan, the Bush Administration 
>has advanced its government funded religion plan through executive 
>orders and regulatory changes.
>
>Under the guidelines promoted by the Bush Administration, 
>faith-based social service providers would be given the right to 
>discriminate in their hiring for federally funded jobs, preach to 
>service recipients, and generally play by a different set of rules 
>than their secular counterparts. Under the Bush plan, the neediest 
>among us could find themselves offered salvation and not treatment.
>
>At today's hearing, witnesses in support of the faith-based 
>initiative offered truly startling policy suggestions regarding 
>pre-emption of state and local civil rights laws. The vast majority 
>of federal funding for social service programs is administered 
>through state and local governments, many of which offer greater 
>civil rights protections. Lawmakers heard suggestions that such 
>locally enacted protections be cast aside. Also suggested was an 
>exemption for faith-based providers from the standard licensing and 
>certification requirements in substance abuse and other treatment 
>programs.
>
>The ACLU noted that if the President's push for government funded 
>religion succeeds, social workers, psychologists, counselors and 
>others seeking work in social service programs could be denied jobs 
>solely because of their faith, gender, marital status or sexual 
>orientation.
>
>"The greatest irony here is that the current civil rights 
>protections against discrimination in many federal programs date 
>back to federal job-training legislation adopted 23 years ago - 
>passed by a Republican Senate and signed by a Republican president," 
>said Terri Ann Schroeder, Senior Lobbyist with the ACLU Washington 
>Legislative Office. "Congress must not reverse our long-held belief 
>that faith-based groups that receive federal funds must abide by 
>non-discrimination laws."
>
><http://www.aclu.org/ReligiousLiberty/ReligiousLibertylist.cfm?c=37>Find 
>out more.
>
>
>
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Paul Etxeberri

"Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow"   ---Chateaubriand
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