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  • Posts Tagged ‘civil liberties’

    JWs are SO Not Threatened


    “On Faith” (an online joint venture by the Washington Post and Newsweek magazine) published an essay called “Witness to Separation of Church and State,” by Joel P. Engardiom, on June 5, 2007. Joel was the director, writer and narrator of “Knocking,” the documentary about Jehovah’s Witnesses that ran on the PBS series Independent Lens.

    Yet as otherwise law-abiding, taxpaying citizens, they remind us that the America worth fighting for is an America that does not force people to follow a single ideology with patriotic fervor. And as a group with fundamental religious beliefs, they remind us that it is possible to stand firm in your faith without feeling threatened by those who choose a different path.

    Right. Although I agreed with his larger point about not trying to hijack the country, that’s the bit that encouraged me to comment.

    The supreme irony to me is that their contributions to the history of civil liberties legislation in the U.S. are not honored in any way in their own congregations. There is no discussion or debate, expressions of individual spiritual calling or questioning or research are forbidden.

    The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has created a free sales force, using fears about a killer God and the end of the world. I am in contact with many recovering Jehovah’s Witnesses, and I help people with JW relatives and friends to navigate the minefield of potential problems in dealing with them.

    I applaud the results of the JW legal team on civil rights, but they didn’t do it for the sake of America, which to them is simply part of the Satan-controlled “system of things.” The most recent accomplishment of their legal team was to pay off a cluster of child abuse cases – with a gag order.

    I agree with the sentiment about ideological fervor, but it’s just blatantly false that JWs do not feel “threatened by those who choose a different path.” Ask their non-JW family members about that.

    JWs don’t even vote, and they are forbidden to run for office. Not exactly the banner group for the Constitution…

    (See blog posts on JWs by clicking on my website link above.)

    No Immunity for Unconstitutional Spying – Take Action


    The idea that the rule of law – and even the Constitution itself – threatens our safety has been used to justify repeated attacks on civil liberties and the principle of checks and balances since 2001. And now Congress is about to consider new legislation that would further bloat the power of the executive branch by removing crucial judicial and congressional oversight. Legalizing the President’s warrantless domestic surveillance is not what the Founding Fathers meant by ‘checks and balances.’ I don’t want any legislative “fixes” to the law that would whitewash the executive branch’s illegal eavesdropping.

    Please do your bit to stop three awful bills that are taking shape in congressional committees. S. 2453 (Sen. Specter), S. 2455 (Sen. DeWine) and H.R. 5825 (Rep. Wilson) would essentially codify Bush’s illegal domestic spying program despite that 1) the full scope of the program is still a secret, and 2) A federal court in Michigan ruled the program unconstitutional.

    Urge your congressional officials to protect the Constitution!

    The White House is cranking up its fear and smear machine again. President Bush and his political allies exploited the 9/11 anniversary with yet another round of media appearances equating dissent with support for terrorists. They’re trying – one more time – to smear and intimidate anyone who objects to Bush administration policies that run roughshod over our Constitution. The administration’s propaganda blitz was not only about exploiting fears of terrorism for the fall elections. It was also about building support for a new push in Congress to give the Bush administration political and legal cover for policies that violate basic constitutional principles like due process.

    E-mail or fax your representative and senators now and tell them to reject these dangerous bills and all legislative whitewashes that would give the executive branch immunity from the judicial and congressional oversight so vital to our system of checks and balances.

    More information about the NSA illegal spying program

    (People For the American Way)

    Daily Activism


    Power Rankings of Members of Congress

    Congress.org scored and weighted 289 variables in 15 categories to determine a ranking of the most powerful or effective Members of Congress.

    See Power Rankings by State, Chamber, Party, Committee, Class/Tenure, Position, Influence, Legislation.

    Don’t write discrimination into the Constitution.
    The measure was put forward by Rep. Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) only days after a judge in San Francisco declared that barring gay marriage violated the California state constitution. Right-wing leaders’ have used the supposed threat to marriage to energize political involvement by appealing to the worst within their own membership. Trying to use our constitution to demonize fellow Americans is contrary to the spirit of the entire document, and if passed, would mark the first time the Constitution was amended to target a group of Americans for unequal treatment.

    Dominionism = Supremacism
    We are not Nazis. We are not the Klan.
    We cannot allow hate and irrational fears to overtake our country.

    E-mail your senators to register your opposition to the discriminatory ‘Marriage Protection Amendment.’
    (People for the American Way)

    No Nuclear Attack on Iran

    Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) has circulated a letter in an effort to get the Bush Administration to take the nuclear option off the table. This letter, which he is asking members of Congress to sign, reminds the President of the USA of the US commitment under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that the US, “will not use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons except in the case of an invasion or any other attack on the United States” or its allies.

    Please ask your Representative to sign on to the Markey letter to the Administration.

    While we understand the desire to take nothing off of the table during the run-up to what we hope are negotiations, there are some things that must never be put on the table to begin with. Nuclear weapons must not be used in Iran. Their use, or even the threat of use, would undermine America’s non-proliferation leadership, inflame anti-American extremism around the world, and undermine smart, effective problem solving by our elected and appointed leaders. We need a long term solution that lowers the dangers in Iran, rather than an attack that will convince the 182 non-nuclear signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty that their continued adherence to the treaty offers them no protection against a nuclear attack by a nuclear nation.

    (20/20 Vision

    “What Is a Progressive?” – 10 Finalists – Vote Today

    If you met someone who didn’t know what a progressive was, which one would help that person best to “get it”? Please vote among the ten finalists at Campaign for America’s Future by Friday, June 2nd at 11:59 EDT. (While you’re there, register for the Take Back America 2006 conference.
    (Campaign for America’s Future)

    Protect Medical Victims’ Rights – People are First, Profits are Second

    For the third time in the last two years President Bush and leaders in the House of Representatives are promoting a bill written by the insurance industry and HMOs (yet again) without regard for the rights of working Americans injured – or even killed – by medical malpractice in hospitals or nursing homes. The bill may even allow drug companies who put dangerous products on the market to avoid accountability. Fight against this legislation, which is overtly designed to tilt the playing field in favor of powerful corporate interests.

    Sign a petition urging your Representative to oppose any legislation restricting the rights of those injured by medical malpractice.
    (People Over Profits Grassroots Action Center)

    The Balancing Act – Paid Leave for New Parents

    When you think of “family values” – think of this. The United States is one of only four out of 168 countries studied to not have some form of paid family leave for new moms. We join Swaziland, Papua New Guinea, and Lesotho in not having that policy in place. Nearly 75% of moms are in the workforce, and most families need two working parents to stay afloat. It’s time for our policies and programs to catch up with our modern economy. Yes, with Republicans in power, the chances of success are pretty small. Still worth an effort.

    Sign a petition to support the The Balancing Act bill, which includes paid leave for all new parents.
    (Moms Rising)

    We’re not Buyin’ it – Protest ExxonMobil

    Today hundreds of activists are in Dallas, TX attending ExxonMobil’s annual meeting to protest the corporation’s use of our money to fund their active opposition to any development of clean energy solutions for America. In solidarity with these activists, I am writing my representatives in Congress (such as they are) to reject any bill that offers even more giveaways to ExxonMobil (either through even more tax breaks or even more invasive drilling). ExxonMobil uses their obscenely excessive profits to fund professional global warming “skeptics” and refuses to invest in renewable energy sources. It’s time for Congress to adopt REAL energy solutions that reduce global warming pollution, enhance our energy security, and save consumers money – you know, while we still have the lights on to plan.

    Protest ExxonMobil’s Slash and Burn Planning
    (Union of Concerned Scientists and Save Our Environment)

    Thanks only to 10 Senators


    For the record – and I will remember this – these are the only Senators who stood up for my civil liberties by voting against the renewal of the USA Patriot Act.

    I thank you:

    • Russ Feingold (D-WI)
    • Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
    • Robert Byrd (D-WV)
    • Tom Harkin (D-IA)
    • Ron Wyden (D-OR)
    • Daniel Akaka (D-HI)
    • Patty Murray (D-WA)
    • Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
    • Carl Levin (D-MI)
    • Jim Jeffords (I-VT)

    Boo-hiss to all the Republicans, and:

    • Obama (D-IL)
    • Clinton (D-NY)
    • Kerry (D-MA)
    • Kennedy (D-MA)
    • Biden (D-DE)
    • Boxer (D-CA)
    • Feinstein (D-CA)
    • Schumer (D-NY)
    • Durbin (D-IL)
    • Landrieu (D-LA)
    • Lieberman (D-CT)
    • Baucus (D-MT)
    • Bayh (D-IN)
    • Cantwell (D-WA)
    • Carper (D-DE)
    • Conrad (D-ND)
    • Dayton (D-MN)
    • Dodd (D-CT)
    • Dorgan (D-ND)
    • Inouye (D-HI) (no vote)
    • Johnson (D-SD)
    • Kohl (D-WI)
    • Lautenberg (D-NJ)
    • Lincoln (D-AR)
    • Menendez (D-NJ)
    • Mikulski (D-MD)
    • Nelson (D-FL)
    • Nelson (D-NE)
    • Pryor (D-AR)
    • Reed (D-RI)
    • Reid (D-NV)
    • Rockefeller (D-WV)
    • Salazar (D-CO)
    • Sarbanes (D-MD)
    • Stabenow (D-MI)

    2 Groups to Sue on Eavesdropping


    Two Groups Planning to Sue Over Federal Eavesdropping – New York Times

    The two lawsuits, which are being filed separately by the American Civil Liberties Union in Federal District Court in Detroit and the Center for Constitutional Rights in Federal District Court in Manhattan, are the first major court challenges to the eavesdropping program.

    Both groups are seeking to have the courts order an immediate end to the program, which the groups say is illegal and unconstitutional. The Bush administration has strongly defended the legality and necessity of the surveillance program, and officials said the Justice Department would probably oppose the lawsuits on national security grounds.

    The lawsuits seek to answer one of the major questions surrounding the eavesdropping program: has it been used solely to single out the international phone calls and e-mail messages of people with known links to Al Qaeda, as President Bush and his most senior advisers have maintained, or has it been abused in ways that civil rights advocates say could hark back to the political spying abuses of the 1960’s and 70’s?

    The lawsuits over the eavesdropping program come as several defense lawyers in terrorism cases have begun challenges, arguing that the government may have improperly hidden the use of the surveillance program from the courts in investigating terrorism leads.

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