Next week, the Judiciary Committee shall examine a bill written by PA-Sen. Arlen Spector, which is a deliberate and direct attack on our First and Fourth Amendment rights.
The bill is designed to do two specific things. First, it is designed to weaken the role of the Judiciary as a check on the Administrative branch of government. Because of the deliberate failure of Congress to fulfill their own duty to check the Bush Administration, the judiciary is our last bastion of hope against institutions who wish to snatch our civil liberties away from us.
Secondly, this bill is designed to expand the power of the President, who has clearly shown his propensity to abuse his power, to "spy" on anyone he sees fit in the United States.
The original plan was to bring Bush's illegal warrentless spying program into compliance with the FISA, where a judicial review would accompany every single act of "surveillance" within a 72 hour timeframe, thus creating both a timely record and a central point of accountability for the business at hand. Spector's bill would expand the warrant's expiration period to a full year. Worse, the President would have expanded power to institute "program-wide" surveillance, which is in my opinion the definition of Big Brother governmental policy.
Spector, a former prosecutor himself, is in my opinion inherently non-objective and firmly on the side of injustice in reference to the Constitutional rights of ordinary citizens. Further, it is my opinion that his bill seeks to nullify the gross miscarriage of justice perpetuated by the President, Vice President, and various government entities such as the National Security Agency. Spector, himself gave a stark glimpse into his complete ignorance of our Constitutional rights when stating that judicial review of wiretapping is merely "tradition" rather than obligation.::via RawStory::
I long for the day when ordinary people see their own stake and responsibilities within our Constitutionally mandated government. Sadly, I fear that Senators like Arlen Spector enjoy an abundance of inactive or ignorant constituents who will likely remain either silent or unaware until they learn first hand that the rights they have taken for granted for so long have at last been taken away from them. But until then, I'll remain affixed to my fellow and beloved Kossacks to complete the work that the entire American constituency should be doing.
Please send some angry words over to the Senate Judiciary Committee:
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
224 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-5225
Fax: (202) 224-9102
Also, write or call Arlen Spector personally:
Main Office:
711 Hart Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: 202-224-4254
::Email (form)::
Thanks for your time. Please keep in mind that the Republicans are going to push everything they can forward in Congress before November because they are facing their last days in power.
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UPDATE: Terminus Est has written a nice diary on this subject. Please read and recommend it.
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