ashcroft - The Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003

[spookz]

* Americans could have their citizenship revoked, if found to have contributed "material support" to organizations deemed by the government, even retroactively, to be "terrorist." As Hentoff wrote in the Feb. 28 Village Voice: "Until now, in our law, an American could only lose his or her citizenship by declaring a clear intent to abandon it. But – and read this carefully from the new bill – 'the intent to relinquish nationality need not be manifested in words, but can be inferred from conduct.'" (Italics Hentoff's.)

* Legal permanent residents (like, say, my French wife), could be deported instantaneously, without a criminal charge or even evidence, if the Attorney General considers them a threat to national security. If they commit minor, non-terrorist offenses, they can still be booted out, without so much as a day in court, because the law would exempt habeas corpus review in some cases. As the American Civil Liberties Union stated in its long brief against the DSEA, "Congress has not exempted any person from habeas corpus – a protection guaranteed by the Constitution – since the Civil War."

* The government would be instructed to build a mammoth database of citizen DNA information, aimed at "detecting, investigating, prosecuting, preventing or responding to terrorist activities." Samples could be collected without a court order; one need only be suspected of wrongdoing by a law enforcement officer. Those refusing the cheek-swab could be fined $200,000 and jailed for a year. "Because no federal genetic privacy law regulates DNA databases, privacy advocates fear that the data they contain could be misused," Wired News reported March 31. "People with 'flawed' DNA have already suffered genetic discrimination at the hands of employers, insurance companies and the government."

* Authorities could wiretap anybody for 15 days, and snoop on anyone's Internet usage (including chat and email), all without obtaining a warrant.

* The government would be specifically instructed not to release any information about detainees held on suspicion of terrorist activities, until they are actually charged with a crime. Or, as Hentoff put it, "for the first time in U.S. history, secret arrests will be specifically permitted."

* Businesses that rat on their customers to the Feds – even if the information violates privacy agreements, or is, in fact, dead wrong – would be granted immunity. "Such immunity," the ACLU contended, "could provide an incentive for neighbor to spy on neighbor and pose problems similar to those inherent in Attorney General Ashcroft's Operation TIPS."

* Police officers carrying out illegal searches would also be granted legal immunity if they were just carrying out orders.

* Federal "consent decrees" limiting local law enforcement agencies' abilities to spy on citizens in their jurisdiction would be rolled back. As Howard Simon, executive director of Florida's ACLU, noted in a March 19 column in the Sarasota Herald Tribune: "The restrictions on political surveillance were hard-fought victories for civil liberties during the 1970s."

* American citizens could be subject to secret surveillance by their own government on behalf of foreign countries, including dictatorships.

* The death penalty would be expanded to cover 15 new offenses.

* And many of PATRIOT I's "sunset provisions" – stipulating that the expanded new enforcement powers would be rescinded in 2005 – would be erased from the books, cementing Ashcroft's rushed legislation in the law books. As UPI noted March 10, "These sunset provisions were a concession to critics of the bill in Congress."


http://www.publicintegrity.org/dtaweb/downloads/Story_01_020703_Doc_1.pdf

 

[Mystech]

Proof once more that Ashcroft is indeed Hitler reborn, the man is a lunatic bent on turning America into a poliece state.

 

[goofyfish]

John Ashcroft’s proposed legislation to make Patriot I even more undemocratic, unAmerican, and unconstitutional. Here’s a useful introduction to it. Author Matt Welch has provided plenty of links for further investigation.

Originally posted by spookz
Authorities could wiretap anybody for 15 days, and snoop on anyone's Internet usage (including chat and email), all without obtaining a warrant.

One among many appalling provisions. Ask a former bureaucrat (like me) how this is certain to work out in practice. Cop has it in for you. Taps you for fifteen days ending at close of business, 5:00 p.m., Tuesday. At 5:01 p.m. Tuesday, cop puts earphones on again.

Repeat as desired.

:m: Peace.

 

[machaon]

America

Yes , I could go on and on about the rape of the bill of rights. But I think the time has come that it is no real secret that the United States of America exist in name only. At this point, we should not be dissenting as much as debating whether or not to rename the country.

 

[spookz]

taking a stand in new mexico

HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 40
46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2003
_INTRODUCED BY
_Max Coll

_A JOINT MEMORIAL
AFFIRMING CIVIL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES; DECLARING OPPOSITION TO FEDERAL MEASURES THAT INFRINGE ON CIVIL LIBERTIES.

_WHEREAS, the state of New Mexico is proud of its long and distinguished tradition of protecting the civil rights and liberties of its residents; and

_WHEREAS, New Mexico has a diverse population, including immigrants and students, whose contributions to the community are vital to its economy, culture and civic character; and

_WHEREAS, the preservation of civil rights and liberties is essential to the well-being of a democratic society; and

_WHEREAS, federal, state and local governments should protect the public from terrorist attacks such as those that occurred on September 11, 2001 and should do so in a rational and deliberative fashion to ensure that a new security measure will enhance public safety without impairing constitutional rights or infringing on civil liberties; and

_WHEREAS, government security measures that undermine fundamental rights do damage to American institutions and values that the residents of New Mexico hold dear; and

_WHEREAS, the house of representatives believes that there is no inherent conflict between national security and the preservation of liberty and that Americans can be both safe and free; and

_WHEREAS, federal policies adopted since September 11, 2001, including provisions in Public Law 107-56, known as the USA Patriot Act, and related executive orders, regulations and actions threaten fundamental rights and liberties by:

_A. authorizing the indefinite incarceration of non-citizens based on mere suspicion and the indefinite incarceration of citizens designated by the president as "enemy combatants" without access to counsel or meaningful recourse to the federal courts;

_B. limiting the authority of federal courts to curb law enforcement abuse of electronic surveillance in anti-terrorism and ordinary criminal investigations;

_C. expanding the authority of federal agents to conduct so-called "sneak and peek" or "black bag" searches, in which the subject of the search warrant has not been notified that his or her property has been searched;

_D. granting federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies broad access to personal, medical, financial, library and educational records with little, if any, judicial oversight;

_E. chilling constitutionally protected speech through overly broad definitions of "terrorism";

_F. driving a wedge between immigrant communities and the police that protect them by encouraging involvement of state and local police in the enforcement of federal immigration law; and

_G. permitting the federal bureau of investigation to conduct surveillance of religious services, internet chat rooms, political demonstrations and public meetings of any kind without evidence that a crime has been or may be committed; and

_WHEREAS, these new powers pose a particular threat to the civil rights and liberties of the residents of New Mexico state who are or who are assumed to be Arab, Muslim or of South Asian descent; and

_WHEREAS, other communities throughout the country have enacted resolutions reaffirming support for civil rights and civil liberties in the face of government policies that threaten these values and have demanded accountability from law enforcement agencies regarding their use of these new powers;

_NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that it:

_A. affirm its strong support for fundamental constitutional rights and its opposition to federal measures that infringe on these rights and liberties;

_B. affirm its strong support for the rights of immigrants and oppose measures that single out individuals for legal scrutiny or enforcement activity based on their country of origin;

_C. direct the New Mexico state police to:

__(1) refrain from participating in the enforcement of federal immigration laws;

__(2) seek adequate written assurances from federal authorities that residents of the state of New Mexico and individuals in the custody of the state who are placed in federal custody will not be subjected to military or secret detention or secret immigration proceedings without access to counsel and, absent such written assurances, refrain from assisting federal authorities to obtain custody of these individuals;

__(3) refrain from engaging in the surveillance of individuals or groups of individuals based on their participation in activities protected by the First Amendment to the United States constitution, such as political advocacy or the practice of a religion, without reasonable and particularized suspicion of criminal conduct unrelated to the activity protected by the First Amendment to the United States constitution;

__(4) refrain from using race, religion, ethnicity or national origin as a factor in selecting who is subject to investigatory activities unless race, religion, ethnicity or national origin is part of the description of a specific suspect to be apprehended;

__(5) refrain, whether acting alone or with federal law enforcement officers, from collecting or maintaining information about the political, religious or social views, associations or activities of any individual, group, association, organization, corporation, business or partnership unless such information directly relates to an investigation of criminal activity and there are reasonable grounds to believe that the subject of the information is or may be involved in criminal conduct;

__(6) provide advance or simultaneous notice of the execution of a search warrant to any resident of the state of New Mexico whose property is the subject of the search and refrain from participating in a joint search with any law enforcement agency absent assurances that such a notice will be provided;

__(7) refrain from undertaking or participating in any initiative, such as the terrorist information and prevention system, also known as TIPS, that encourages members of the general public to spy on their neighbors, colleagues or customers;

__(8) refrain from the practice of stopping drivers or pedestrians for the purpose of scrutinizing their identification documents without reasonable and particularized suspicion of criminal activity; and

__(9) report to the legislature and the interim corrections oversight and justice committee, any request by federal authorities that, if granted, would cause agencies of the state to exercise powers or cooperate in the exercise of powers in apparent violation of a city ordinance or the laws or constitution of this state or of the United States;

_D. direct public schools and institutions of higher education to provide notice to individuals whose education records have been obtained by law enforcement agents pursuant to Section 507 of the USA Patriot Act;

_E. direct public libraries to post in a prominent place within the library a notice as follows: "WARNING: Under Section 215 of the federal USA Patriot Act (Public Law 107-56), records of books and other materials you borrow from this library may be obtained by federal agents. This law also prohibits librarians from informing you if records about you have been obtained by federal agents. Questions about this policy should be directed to Attorney General John Ashcroft, Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20530."; and

_F. direct the state official in charge of homeland security for New Mexico to seek periodically from federal authorities the following information in a form that facilitates an assessment of the effect of federal anti-terrorism efforts on the residents of the state of New Mexico and provide to the legislature and the interim corrections oversight and justice committee, no less than once every six months, a summary of the information obtained:

__(1) the names of all residents of New Mexico who have been arrested or otherwise detained by federal authorities as a result of terrorism investigations since September 11, 2001, and:

___(a) the location of each detainee;

___(b) the circumstances that led to each detention;

___(c) the charges, if any, lodged against each detainee; and

___(d) the name of counsel, if any, representing each detainee;

__(2) the number of search warrants that have been executed in New Mexico without notice to the subject of the warrant pursuant to Section 213 of the USA Patriot Act;

__(3) the extent of electronic surveillance carried out in the state pursuant to powers granted in the USA Patriot Act;

__(4) the extent to which federal authorities are monitoring political meetings, religious gatherings or other activities within New Mexico that are protected by the first Amendment of the United States constitution;

__(5) the number of times education records have been obtained from public schools and institutions of higher learning in New Mexico pursuant to Section 507 of the USA Patriot Act;

__(6) the number of times library records have been obtained from libraries in New Mexico pursuant to Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act; and

__(7) the number of times records of books purchased by store patrons have been obtained from bookstores in New Mexico pursuant to Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act; and

_BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to Senators Jeff Bingaman and Pete Domenici and Representatives Tom Udall, Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce, with a letter urging them to monitor federal anti-terrorismtactics and to work to repeal provisions of the USA Patriot Act and other laws and regulations that infringe on civil rights and liberties; and

_BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to President George W. Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft; and

_BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the state official in charge of homeland security for New Mexico; and

_BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the New Mexico state police and to all publicschools, institutions of higher education and public libraries within the state of New Mexico.

 

[spookz]

ethnic dining

That night, March 20th, my roommate Asher and I were on our way to see the Broadway show "Rent." We had an hour to spare before curtain time so we stopped into an Indian restaurant just off of Times Square in the heart of midtown. I have omitted the name of the restaurant so as not to subject the owners to any further harassment or humiliation.

We helped ourselves to the buffet and then sat down to begin eating our dinner. I was just about to tell Asher how I'd eaten there before and how delicious the vegetable curry was, but I never got a chance. All of a sudden, there was a terrible commotion and five NYPD in bulletproof vests stormed down the stairs. They had their guns drawn and were pointing them indiscriminately at the restaurant staff and at us.

"Go to the back, go to the back of the restaurant," they yelled.

I hesitated, lost in my own panic.

"Did you not hear me, go to the back and sit down," they demanded.

I complied and looked around at the other patrons. There were eight men including the waiter, all of South Asian descent and ranging in age from late-teens to senior citizen. One of the policemen pointed his gun point-blank in the face of the waiter and shouted: "Is there anyone else in the restaurant?" The waiter, terrified, gestured to the kitchen.

The police placed their fingers on the triggers of their guns and kicked open the kitchen doors. Shouts emanated from the kitchen and a few seconds later five Hispanic men were made to crawl out on their hands and knees, guns pointed at them.

After patting us all down, the five officers seated us at two tables. As they continued to kick open doors to closets and bathrooms with their fingers glued to their triggers, no less than ten officers in suits emerged from the stairwell. Most of them sat in the back of the restaurant typing on their laptop computers. Two of them walked over to our table and identified themselves as officers of the INS and Homeland Security Department.

more

 

[armydog]

Spookz,

Man I agree with you 100%! This shit is starting to get real scary fast.

Mystech,

"Proof once more that Ashcroft is indeed Hitler reborn, the man is a lunatic bent on turning America into a poliece state. "

Amen brother!

machaon,

" Yes , I could go on and on about the rape of the bill of rights. But I think the time has come that it is no real secret that the United States of America exist in name only. At this point, we should not be dissenting as much as debating whether or not to rename the country."

If all this stuff passes through to fruision we might be known as the "United Socialist States of America".......I think that could be translated into something close to CCCP....

 

[airavata]

this is pathetic man. that's all i can say... it's pathetic.

 

[spookz]

i would like to have some law experts tell me exactly how much of a stand new mexico can take against the feds/patriot acts, if it clashes with state law. who will prevail? long drawn out court battles?

 

[Tiassa]

Various

They sat together on the empty stage, before a silent audience of vacant but attentive seats, beneath darkened lights, attended only by spectral ushers of dust and memory wandering aimlessly in syrupy sunlight. Drawn to the abandoned playhouse, neither was surprised to find the other seeking either wisdom or refuge--for the two had grown indistinct--among the shadows of a common love.

I've found some commentary on Amendment X at FindLaw. From that index page I find commentary on Amendment X and Federal Police Power (FindLaw). It?s too lengthy to quote here, but ... well, at one time, the Court held with what would be New Mexico's right to refuse ... well, it's all based on otherwise-Constitutional federal policies, so that?s where I'm stumbling. But by Hammer v. Dagenhart, apparently, New Mexico would have the right to refuse the USA-PATRIOT Act; however, the federal policing cases also have to do largely with Congressional power to regulate commerce, so I'm having a little bit of trouble on that point. Hammer came from the Child Labor Law, apparently, and was ?expressly overturned? by USA v. Darby, which decision included:

Speaking for a unanimous Court, Chief Justice Stone wrote: "The power of Congress over interstate commerce 'is complete in itself, may be exercised to its utmost extent, and acknowledges no limitations other than are prescribed in the Constitution.' . . . That power can neither be enlarged nor diminished by the exercise or non- exercise of state power. . . . It is no objection to the assertion of the power to regulate interstate commerce that its exercise is attended by the same incidents which attended the exercise of the police power of the states. . . . Our conclusion is unaffected by the Tenth Amendment which . . . states but a truism that all is retained which has not been surrendered."

There is some interesting comment about regulations affecting "state activities and instrumentalities", but I'm not going to pile on the citations until I understand them just a little better.

However, as a personal opinion, I think New Mexico has every right to refuse to enforce unconstitutional regulations imposed by the federal government. The rest of it is, indeed, a substantial question mark. The New Mexico bill does specifically address the issue of constitutionality:

. . . . A. affirm its strong support for fundamental constitutional rights and its opposition to federal measures that infringe on these rights and liberties . . . .

But the bill also asserts repeatedly a devotion to civil rights and civil liberties.

See what happens when you bury the Roswell files and upset the good folks of New Mexico?

I'll hush now.

(I remember when the kind of stuff New Mexico and all Americans are dealing with was considered the stuff of drug-paranoid conspiraciy theorists.)

:m:,
Tiassa

 

[spookz]

Congress is poised to approve new legislation that amounts to the first substantive expansion of the controversial USA Patriot Act since it was approved just after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon.

Shortly after the conference agreement was reached, the House of Representatives approved the underlying authorization bill by a margin of 263 to 163. The measure is expected to pass the Senate shortly.

Patriot Act Expansion Moves Through Congress

A Guide to the Patriot Act, Part 1

A Guide to the Patriot Act, Part 2

A Guide to the Patriot Act, Part 3

A Guide to the Patriot Act, Part 4

note: along with nm there are.....

More than 200 local governments, including some of the country's largest cities, have approved resolutions upholding the full enjoyment of the rights guaranteed in the Constitution and urging a narrowing of the USA PATRIOT Act, while the Senate Judiciary Committee has been holding a series of critical hearings over the past month about the Act's impact.

Local Officials Rise Up to Defy The Patriot Act

 

[Bells]

Hmmm yes... America really is the land of the free. Spookz, those articles are not only sad but scary. I just wonder if another Timothy McVeigh came along and blew up another federal building, would that constitute an act of terrorism or a criminal act? Does the US see the ultra right wing christian organisations who dream of bringing down the Government as being terrorists? Fear makes people in power and others become irrational.