Fwd: Something bad is about to happen

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Downsizer Dispatch <downsizer-dispatch

Sep 25, 2006 8:39 AM

Something bad is about to happen

alobar

 

Something bad is about to happen. Only you can stop it, and the clock

is ticking.

 

We hate to sound apocalyptic. We loathe the politics of fear (even if

it works!). So we're not looking to scare you. But you need to know

that the end is near for " archaic " ideas like . . .

 

* the right to security in your home and papers

* the right to be free from unreasonable searches

* the safety net of judicial warrant requirements

* the right to a trial by a jury of your peers in a system of due process

* reasonable bail and recourse for false arrest

* protection from cruel and unusual punishment

 

Those were great ideals for " dead white men, " but apparently your

children won't need them anymore. Because, you know, the politicians

need to protect you and your children from terrorism.

 

But the politicians need to get a grip, and a sense of proportion. You

don't turn the country upside down for light and transient causes.

You're more likely to die in your car, or be struck by lightening,

than be harmed by terrorism. We don't fret about such risks, so why

are destroying American freedom in the name of an even smaller risk?

 

A bill is about to pass the House. It permits unlimited spying on your

internet usage and telecommunications, the Fourth Amendment be damned.

For brevity, I'll call it the " Spying on Americans Act, " or SPA for

short.

 

The SPA is likely to pass the Senate too, but there we have a chance

to stop it.

 

Under SPA . . .

 

* The President can spy on you without a warrant

* You'll never learn that his spys have done so, until they use the

information against you (legally or not)

* Your phone and internet providers can't refuse to provide

information about you

* Or tell you they've done so after the fact

 

The result will be more warrantless searches than in all of U.S.

history. And if that history is any guide, it's only a matter of time

before this power is used for reasons other than " national security. "

 

The House may vote any minute. The Senate will likely vote Tuesday.

THIS IS URGENT. I'll tell you what to do in a moment, but first,

there's more bad news.

 

Congress also has a plan for non-citizen residents and ANYONE on foreign soil.

 

Senator Bill Frist wants to be your President, so he's pandering to

the " my country right or wrong " crowd. He wants to leave the Senate

with a bang. He thinks he can do this by combining the

Tribunal/Torture bill with the Spying on Americans Act.

 

And the news on the Tribunal/Torture bill just got worse. There was a

" lesser evil " version of this bill from Senators Warner and McCain,

but Warner and McCain just rolled over. The new bill will . . .

 

* Allow the President to detain people indefinitely without charges,

* Deny detainees access to courts to challenge their detention or

their treatment.

* Create special military tribunals with reduced standards of due process

* Deny detainees the protection of the Geneva Convention's Common Article 3

* Allow the President to define torture

 

But you may not hear it reported this way in the media, because the

politicians are playing clever games with words. Take note: The

protections of Common Article 3 aren't defined in the legislation, so

Congress can claim they've left these protections in place. But it

isn't true, because now only the President decides what those

protections actually are, and no accused person can even claim the

protection of Common Article 3 before the special tribunals this

legislation creates.

 

Nice trick. The protections are still there, but the President decides

what they are, and no on e can use them.

 

Do you want this President to have this power? Do you want future

presidents to have it? Do you want to risk that these powers won't be

applied to citizens as well, as soon as the politicians have the

slightest excuse for doing so?

 

So here's what the Senate will face Tuesday . . .

 

* A bill permitting spying on Americans without a warrant.

* Another bill creating special tribunals and permitting torture.

* A proposal to combine these bills.

 

None of these bills will be read, and none of us will have a chance to

review them before the vote happens. But they are likely to pass,

because the Republicans control both chambers and their President is

in big trouble. He's broken existing laws in a number of ways, and now

he needs new legislation to cover his butt after the fact.

 

This shouldn't be possible in our system, but a court decision on the

President's illegal spying op ened the door for Congress to do this.

We have no checks. We have no balances. The courts have failed to do

their duty and the Republican Congress is a rubber stamp for a lawless

Republican President.

 

Are we exaggerating? Are we being partisan? We aren't telling you the

half of it. This President has violated so many laws in so many ways

it would take a book to catalog them. And we aren't being partisan

because plenty of Republicans in Congress agree with us, they just

need public encouragement to develop a little backbone.

 

This is your role.

 

These bills will pass in the House, but we need to have as many votes

against them as we can muster. This will help us in the Senate. Senate

rules make it possible for us to stop these bills in that chamber. YOU

need to make a BIG NOISE. And know this . . .

 

You won't be alone. We're working with more than a dozen national

organizations to make this BIG NOISE.

 

We n eed to pull out all the stops. Please, PLEASE, pay close

attention to these instructions. DO ALL FOUR OF THE FOLLOWING THINGS

AS SOON AS YOU CAN!!!

 

1) Go to the DownsizeDC.org campaign opposing warrantless spying: " No

Warrant? No Search. "

http://action.downsizedc.org/wyc.php?cid=53

Send a message to your Senators and your Representative. Tell them to

resist in every way they can the combination of this bill with the

Tribunals bill. Urge them to do everything in their power to block,

stop, and/or filibusters this bill. And if it still comes up for a

vote, tell them to vote NO, and that you'll be watching. The message

to Congress for this campaign has been reconfigured to make this easy

for you.

 

2) Go to the DownsizeDC.org campaign opposing the new tribunals: " No

Torture! No " Star Chamber Courts! "

http://action.downsizedc.org/wyc.php?cid=56

Send a message to your Senators and your Representative. T ell them

torture is un-American, useless, and counter-productive. Urge them to

keep the warrantless spying bill separate. Implore them to do

everything they can to block, stop, and/or filibuster this bill. And

if it still comes up for a vote, tell them to vote NO, and that you'll

be watching. The message to Congress for this campaign has been

reconfigured to make this easy for you.

 

3) We have a targeted list of Senators. If your Senator is on the

list, it's urgent that you call and leave a message ASAP. Remember,

this vote is scheduled for Tuesday. Tell them you're a constituent.

Keep it short, simple, and polite. Make notes before you call. Make

the points already made in #1 and #2 above. Here's the list . . .

 

Idaho - Larry Craig 202-224-2752

Rhode Island - Lincoln Chaffee 202-224-2921

South Dakota - Tim Johnson 202-224-5842

Louisiana - Mary Landrieu 202-224-5824

Michigan - Carl Levin & nb sp; 202-224-6221

Arkansas - Blanche Lincoln 202-224-4843

New Jersey - Robert Menendez 202-224-4744

Alaska - Lisa Murkowski 202-224-6665

Florida - Bill Nelson 202-224-5274

Nebraska - Ben Nelson 202-224-6551

Nevada - Harry Reid 202-224-3542

Maine - Olympia Snowe 202-224-5344

New Hampshire - John Sununu 202-224-2841

 

Remember, this is urgent. We're about to lose precious rights. We need

extraordinary effort. So I want to ask you to do one more thing . . .

 

4) Tell everyone you know to do the same thing. Pass this message to

friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and customers. Maybe they'll

think you're un-patriotic for opposing torture and for mistrusting

politicians with such great powers. SO WHAT! And if you received this

message from a friend, and it's not Wednesday, September 27, 2006 yet,

there's still time. Act fast and then pass this message to everyone

you know.

 

Keep in mind, you're not alone. And we can still win by blocking this

in the Senate. The Senate is eager to get back home and campaign. Most

observers believe they'll pack up and head home Saturday. Delay the

vote and we may stop the danger.

 

DC Downsizers, rise up and take a stand for the 4th and 8th

Amendments. Do your part. We're counting on YOU.

 

Jim Babka

President

DownsizeDC.org, Inc.