[NV Greens] URGE SENATORS ENSIGN AND REID TO SUPPORT PATRIOT ACT FILIBUSTER!

[Bob Tregilus]

URGE SENATORS ENSIGN AND REID TO SUPPORT THE USA PATRIOT ACT 
REAUTHORIZATION FILIBUSTER - CALL TODAY!

Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of activists like you we have 
reached the point where a filibuster is possible.

It cannot be overstated how far we have come - BUT - your support today 
is vital. Whether or not you normally get involved in politics by 
calling your elected officials - now is the time to act - and to ask 
your friends to call as well!

To ensure that this filibuster can move forward, we will need to once 
again have a record number of calls from across the country, and we are 
counting not only on you, but on your family, co-workers and friends to 
keep Congress' phone lines ringing nonstop.

What to do:

Call Senators Ensign and Reid, and tell the person who answers the 
phone, that regarding the PATRIOT Act reauthorization conference report, 
you want the Senator to:

* Vote NO on "cloture" (ending debate for an immediate vote) and SUPPORT 
a filibuster.

* Vote YES for a three-month continuing resolution.

* Vote NO on the conference report (if it comes to a vote).

PLEASE CALL NOW (It only takes a minute and it means so much - PLEASE - 
this is our last chance!) - THE SENATE VOTE IS FRIDAY (12/16) - CALL NOW!

Senator Harry Reid
528 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-3542 / Fax: 202-224-7327

Senator John Ensign
356 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-6244 / Fax: 202-228-2193

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TALKING POINTS (should you choose to elaborate with the person who 
answers the phone and/or engage your friends:

* Remind Senators Ensign and Reid that anti-Patriot Act resolutions have 
been passed in the City of Elko, Elko County, Silver City, and Sparks 
and that thousands of Nevadans, including over seventy social and 
political groups, have endorsed the Nevada Campaign to Defeat the 
Patriot Act.

* The conference report to reauthorize the USA PATRIOT Act fails to 
ensure a connection between records sought and a suspected terrorist. 
The bill maintains the current, inadequate “relevancy standard” for 
records sought under section 215, which requires only that the 
government claim that the information it seeks is relevant to an 
investigation, without having to connect the target of the investigation 
to terrorism.

* The conference report to reauthorize the USA PATRIOT Act expands 
National Security Letter (NSL) powers. Any business that does not comply 
with an NSL could face criminal penalties. Furthermore, the report does 
not provide a meaningful mechanism for challenging NSLs in court, and 
does not ensure that the information gathered by these letters is 
destroyed if it is unrelated to the investigation for which it was sought.

* The conference report to reauthorize the USA PATRIOT Act creates only 
illusory rights to challenge orders for records and gag orders. 
Businesses receiving requests for records would be allowed to contact an 
attorney, but would have only limited rights to challenge orders for 
records in court. Likewise, a recipient would technically have the right 
to challenge a gag order, but the court would treat the government’s 
assertion of national security, diplomatic relations, or an ongoing 
criminal investigation, as conclusive.

Nevada Campaign to Defeat the Patriot Act
http://ncdpa.org

American Civil Liberties Union
http://aclu.org

Bill of Rights Defense Committee
http://bordc.org

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can 
change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
-- Margaret Mead