Yearly Archives: 2007

Perhaps the most controversial part of the PATRIOT Act is the expansion of the federal government’s power to issue what are called “National Security Letters.” A National Security Letter (NSL) is, as Wikiepdia explains, ::::::

a form of administrative subpoena used by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is a demand letter issued to a particular entity or organization to turn over various record and data pertaining to individuals. They require no probable cause or judicial oversight. They also contain a gag order, preventing the recipient of the letter from disclosing that the letter was ever issued. …::::::Once passed in 2001, section 505 of the USA PATRIOT Act greatly expanded the use of the NSL, allowing their use in scrutiny of US residents or visitors who are not suspects in any criminal investigation. It also granted the privilege to other federal agencies, presumably to allow the department of Homeland Security the same ability to use NSLs. The USA PATRIOT Act reauthorization statutes passed during the 109th Congress added specific penalties for non-compliance or disclosure.

::::::Investigating individuals without cause or warrant isn’t “a power that can be abused,” it is itself abuse. That’s why a coalition of grassroots organizations, including DownsizeDC.org, has sent its own letter to Congress calling on it to reform the FBI’s National Security Letter powers under the Patriot Act.

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::Please share with concerned friends . . .::::::Subject: Repealing the Patriot Act::::::Our call to repeal the Patriot Act generated hate mail. In between the many curse words employed by some of the angry mailers, their basic arguments reduced to this . . .::::::The burden of proof lies with us, not the government. If the government says it needs new powers in order to protect us, then we must grant those powers.

Downsize DC President Jim Babka will be on the Molson & Lee Show today (Tuesday the 10th) on 970-AM WMAY in Springfield, Illinois.

Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Please share with concerned friends . . .::::::Subject: Repeal the Patriot Act::::::Politicians excel at “the fine art of crisis creation.” Time and again they create policies that fail. Then they exploit those failures to grab more power, and then, almost inevitably, they fail again, only on a larger scale.::::::It’s a vicious cycle and a cancerous death-spiral to our liberty. ::::::9-11 and its aftermath provide a perfect example.

Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Thirteen more organizations and websites have joined the “Read the Bills Act” Coalition (plus there are a few more in process). Check out the new ones . . .

Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Please share with concerned friends . . .::::::In this issue:::::::* What Congress did last week:::* Babka is on the radio today, and you can listen, call-in, or email questions:::

Bills passed by Congress March 26th to 31st, 2007 . . .

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the EPA must justify its reasons not to regulate greenhouse gases. Never mind that the Constitution prohibits Executive Branch agencies from enacting regulations in the first place, as that is a power reserved to Congress.::::::This is further evidence that the Supreme Court can not be relied on to protect the Constitution when the politicians decide to violate it. Only the power of the people can restore the Constitution’s Separation of Powers , which is why Downsize DC drafted the Write the Laws Act.::::::Even more disturbing, “A divided Supreme Court declined Monday to consider fresh questions about the legal rights of detainees at Guantanamo Bay

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::Please share with concerned friends . . .::::::Subject: Ethnic ID::::::No one intended it to happen. It was a small thing — just a few letters printed on identity cards. Certainly no one in the Belgian colonial government of Rwanda had any idea that the words “Hutu” and “Tutsi,” printed on pieces of paper, would later enable the murder of between half a million and a million people.::::::Likewise, no one in the Department of Homeland Security intends anything bad by establishing standards for REAL ID cards that include a designation of ethnicity. In fact, this is an entirely voluntary aspect of the REAL ID program. State governments can choose to designate ethnicity, or not. ::::::No one in the federal government intends to force this on the states, or on you. ::::::And of course, what happened in Rwanda could never, ever happen here, in the United States of America. ::::::Still, it gives one pause for thought . . .

Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Subject: March Numbers::::::We didn’t quite hit our recruitment and activity numbers for March, but we still did pretty good, and we are still way ahead for the year over what we did in 2006. Here are the numbers . . .