[iwar] ACLU Online: Until Fixes are Made, ACLU Urges Members of Congress to Oppose Administration's Proposed Terrorism Legislation (fwd)

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2001-09-30 06:19:42
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Subject: [iwar] ACLU Online: Until Fixes are Made, ACLU Urges Members of Congress to Oppose Administration's Proposed Terrorism Legislation (fwd)
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ACLU Online:  September 30, 2001
The e-newsletter of the American Civil Liberties Union

You can unsubscribe from ACLU Online -- or opt to receive a different version of the newsletter -- at any time by clicking on the link below:

*********************************

IN THIS ISSUE:

-- Until Fixes are Made, ACLU Urges Members of Congress to Oppose
Administration's Proposed Terrorism Legislation

-- Ten Point Statement: In Defense of Freedom at a Time of Crisis

-- The 2001 Supreme Court Term: A Preview

-- What YOU Can Do to Protect Our Freedoms

*********************************

UNTIL FIXES ARE MADE, ACLU URGES MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO OPPOSE
ADMINISTRATION'S PROPOSED TERRORISM LEGISLATION

The ACLU is urging its members and activists to urge their members of
Congress to oppose the Administration's proposed terrorism legislation
as long as it includes provisions that unreasonably restrict civil
liberties and go beyond the powers necessary to fight terrorism in the
United States. 

Take Action!

Urge your members of Congress to carefully consider this legislation so
that our civil liberties are not trampled in the fight against
terrorism.  Click below now to send a FREE fax:

http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15545a42951a80483590a2

In a briefing for members of the House Judiciary Committee, the ACLU
said that the some of the Administration's proposed measures were
non-objectionable, including those that would prohibit the harboring of
terrorists and knowingly providing support for terrorism by rendering
expert advice and assistance. 

However, the ACLU added that in addition to reasonable measures to give
law enforcement authorities the necessary tools to investigate
terrorism, the legislation also includes provisions that go far beyond
addressing the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington. 

Among them are measures that would deny meaningful hearings to
non-citizens, minimize judicial supervision of electronic surveillance
by law enforcement authorities and vastly expand the government's
ability to conduct secret searches. 

"Congress must take every reasonable step it can to protect our nation
against future attacks," said Rachel King, an ACLU Legislative Counsel
who participated in the briefing.  "But it is a mistake to assume that
many of the expanded police powers sought in the bill are going to make
us safer."

Take Action!

Urge Congress to make sure that the guarantees in the Bill of Rights do
not become the next victims of terrorism.  Click below now to send a
FREE fax to your members of Congress:

http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15545a42951a80483590a2

To find the latest information about the investigation and its impact on
our civil liberties, please see our special feature at:

http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15545a42951a80483590a6

********************************

TEN POINT STATEMENT: IN DEFENSE OF FREEDOM AT A TIME OF CRISIS

The ACLU -- along with many other American social, political and
religious organizations -- has endorsed the following ten points in
reaction to the terrorist attacks upon our soil:

On September 11, 2001 thousands of people lost their lives in a brutal
assault on the American people and the American form of government.  We
mourn the loss of these innocent lives and insist that those who
perpetrated these acts be held accountable. 

This tragedy requires all Americans to examine carefully the steps our
country may now take to reduce the risk of future terrorist attacks. 

3.  We need to consider proposals calmly and deliberately with a
determination not to erode the liberties and freedoms that are at the
core of the American way of life. 

4.  We need to ensure that actions by our government uphold the
principles of a democratic society, accountable government and
international law, and that all decisions are taken in a manner
consistent with the Constitution. 

5.  We can, as we have in the past, in times of war and of peace,
reconcile the requirements of security with the demands of liberty. 

6.  We should resist the temptation to enact proposals in the mistaken
belief that anything that may be called anti-terrorist will necessarily
provide greater security. 

7.  We should resist efforts to target people because of their race,
religion, ethnic background or appearance, including immigrants in
general, Arab Americans and Muslims. 

8.  We affirm the right of peaceful dissent, protected by the First
Amendment, now, when it is most at risk. 

9.  We should applaud our political leaders in the days ahead who have
the courage to say that our freedoms should not be limited. 

10.  We must have faith in our democratic system and our Constitution,
and in our ability to protect at the same time both the freedom and the
security of all Americans. 

To see the full list of organizations that have endorsed these ten
principles, please click below:
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15545a42951a80483590a7

To see the statement of ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero at the
news conference about the coalition effort, please click below:
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15545a42951a80483590a5

********************************

THE 2001 SUPREME COURT TERM: A PREVIEW

After a summer in which many had predicted at least one retirement, the
Supreme Court returns on Monday, October 1 with its membership intact
and a series of familiar issues on its docket, including affirmative
action, the death penalty and speech on the Internet.

The Court's decision to review the constitutionality of Cleveland's
school voucher program and the federal government's zero tolerance
program for public housing tenants assures that the Court will once
again be immersed in some of the most vexing legal, social, and
political controversies of the day. 

It had been widely agreed that the Supreme Court would take a voucher
case sooner or later, and the Court has obviously decided that now is
the time.  The Supreme Court has never approved such a massive program
of public aid for religious instruction.  And it could not do so now
without dramatically reforming our modern understanding of the
constitutional prohibition against government entanglement with
religion. 

On the question of Internet censorship, the American Civil Liberties
Union has asked the Supreme Court to reject Congress' second attempt to
censor free speech on the Internet, saying that flaws in the law are
identical to the problems that led all nine Justices to void a similar
law in a landmark 1997 ruling. 

"The government's only argument is that this law should be upheld
because it is not quite as censorious as the law that the Supreme Court
struck down in 1997," said Ann Beeson, lead counsel in ACLU v. 
Ashcroft.  "But a law banning books does not become constitutional
because it is re-written to remove only every other book on the
shelves."

The issue of affirmative action arises in Adarand Constructors, Inc.  v. 
Mineta, where the Court will once again consider the constitutionality
of a program intended to increase minority participation in federal
highway construction, an industry that has historically discriminated
against racial minorities. 

In Brown v.  Oneonta, the Court will have an opportunity to consider
racial profiling -- a highly charged issue that has become even more
important as the nation struggles to deal with the aftermath of the
September 11th tragedy. 

This term also has the potential to be a watershed year for the death
penalty.  In Atkins v.  Virginia, the Court will have an opportunity to
finally hold that the execution of persons with mental retardation
violates the Eighth Amendment, belatedly bringing the United States in
line with the rest of the world. 

The Court will also consider other important issues, including the
rights of sex offenders, the war on drugs as it relates to public
housing and student drug testing, and several worker's rights cases. 

For more information on the 2001 Supreme Court term, please visit us at:
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15545a42951a80483590a8

********************************

YOU CAN HELP PROTECT OUR BASIC FREEDOMS by joining with nearly 300,000
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.  Click
below to safeguard our Bill of Rights by becoming an ACLU member:
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15545a42951a80483590a0

********************************

American Civil Liberties Union
125 Broad Street, 18th Floor
New York, New York 10004-2400 
http://www.aclu.org

Phil Gutis, Editor

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