-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Congress Failed Freedom Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2007 13:49:28 -0500 (CDT) From: Anthony D. Romero, ACLU <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: Anthony D. Romero, ACLU <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Organization: ACLU To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
*********************************** Congress Failed Freedom >From the desk of Anthony D. Romero Executive Director, ACLU http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=1WXooZZPuowA2W5D6AqUkg.. *********************************** Dear Noah, Democratic "leaders" have crossed the line and betrayed the will of the majority who put them in power in 2006. This week, a timid Congress caved in to President Bush and his demand for more out-of-control authority to spy on Americans. The FISA gutting legislation voted on last weekend allows for massive, untargeted collection of Americans' international communications without court order. The law allows for no meaningful oversight by either Congress or the courts and leaves decisions about the collection, mining and use of American information up to the Bush Administration's Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales. Tell Congress you believe in the Constitution and demand that it fix this legislation: http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=bjzRsfxlanrwqaXUnWUV_g.. In short, instead of putting the brakes on the Bush Administration's continued and reckless abuse of power, Congress handed them more power to invade our privacy and ignore our Constitutional rights. And it never had to happen if leaders in the House and Senate had had the courage to take a stand and say "no more" to the Bush administration. We need you to stand with us and tell Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that we're sick and tired of Congress failing to defend freedom. The ACLU is launching a major new campaign to hold Congress accountable. But we can't do it without you. Stand with us today as we send Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi a wake up call. Tell Reid and Pelosi: "We Won't Let Congress Fail Freedom" by signing the petition: http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=yGSJVgUtmQLmGiDRZxXLQQ.. Congress can only redeem itself by taking immediate action on four key demands: * End unchecked surveillance and warrantless spying on Americans. * Restore habeas corpus and due process. * Shut down Guantánamo Bay and give those held there access to justice. * Stop torture and secret "renditions" to countries that torture. Democrats were elected to stop a President that is out of control - not grease the wheels for further abuse. In the weeks ahead, the ACLU will mobilize activists across the country, run newspaper ads in the districts of members who sold out the Constitution, and bury Capitol Hill in a sea of petitions protesting Congress' utter failure to stand up for the rule of law. If Members of Congress only respond to political pressure, then that's what we'll give them. Are you with us? Sign the petition: http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=OE-Jpq9e8GQug6MJ3zQjTA.. This Congress has proven to be as spineless in standing up to the Bush Administration as the one that enacted the Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act. That's why it is so important that you immediately sign our "Don't Let Congress Fail Freedom" petition right now: http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=8GJf-32y6IFgr8nQ3J8Vjg.. Only a huge public outcry can convince a Congress that is afraid of its own shadow to stand up to the President on our four pressing demands. Please act right now. In defense of freedom, Anthony D. Romero Executive Director ACLU *********************************** DEMANDING THE TRUTH ABOUT FISA Today, the ACLU is filing an unprecedented demand with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. We're seeking the disclosure of court records cited by supporters of the president's horrendous FISA overhaul. These secret documents have played a pivotal role in the undoing of legal safeguards that have stood for three decades. But no debate can occur in a vacuum. As Congress and the people struggle for a resolution to this assault on our privacy, an open review of these judicial orders is required to ensure that the democratic process endures. * Learn more about the ACLU's efforts to unseal FISA court documents: http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=CmembXyzxzolVyZxuXv-_g.. *********************************** For more information on the ACLU's work: * ACLU Fact Sheet on the FISA bills http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=_pN1cOG-R8hhw_crx1MAQA.. ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY 10004 To unsubscribe from all future email, paste the following URL into your browser: http://action.aclu.org/site/CO?i=cBtlK3cSyL4l8d57ZI41GUwNxPtK7iz8&cid=0 _______________________________________________ FRIENDS mailing list [email protected] http://lists.sffreaks.org/mailman/listinfo/friends
