Ok, so in relation to my last post about signing the petition to fillibuster the Patriot Act AND more importantly the legal developments that delivered a well placed blow to the knees of the Patriot Act (see this
post) -the
NY TIMES reported the the house succesfully voted for renewal of 14 of the provisions. However they anticipate a problem w/the Senate ... (so sign the petition now!)
here are some quotes from the Times article
"President Bush urged the Senate to pass the measure quickly. "The Patriot Act is essential to fighting the war on terror and preventing our enemies from striking America again," he said. "We cannot afford to be without this law for a single moment.""
"Senator
Bill Frist of Tennessee, the Republican majority leader, was talking with White House officials about a one-year extension of the current law without any changes as a way around the threat of a filibuster, The Associated Press reported.
The prospects of a delay alarmed some lawmakers. "Renewing the Patriot Act before it expires in December is literally a matter of life and death," said Representative Ric Keller, Republican of Florida."
um, essential to fighting the war on terror? a matter of life and death? - I don't think so - and Dr. Sami's case is a prime example. For two years this case has been the poster child for the oh so wonderful Patriot Act (granted they've been working for a decade in preparing this case, but the Patriot Act allowed them to use the evidence in court) -- five months and 30 million dollars later -- where are they? Absolutely nowhere - the prosecution couldn't convince a Tampa jury (a jurisdiction where 87% of citizens
polled believed the Dr. Sami would be convicted) that their evidence, painstakingly collected (including what - 20,000 hours of phone conversations, plethoras of fax transmissions, and what not) was enough to convict!
"Al-Arian's indictment in 2003 was hailed by the government as a
triumph of the Patriot Act, which allowed secret wiretaps and other intelligence collected over nine years to be used to charge Al-Arian and others with supporting the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Before the law, it was more difficult for prosecutors to access information gathered by intelligence agents." -
ABC news online, 12/7/05
Matter of life and death - yeah, because while they're holing up University Professors for their constitutionally protected beliefs under an arbitrary peice of legislation, and spending 30 million dollars on their trial, the real dangers are out still out there ...
Gathering intelligence is one thing, and then gathering CREDIBLE, and VALID evidence that actually proves something more than one man's beliefs is a whole different ballgame. Lets just remember that we're all entitled to the protections of the constitution - freedom of speech and all that jazz.
So basically, give it up - amend the provisions so that we're not advocating the knee jerk reaction. Remember the Japanese internment camps - rounded up all the Japanese folk after Pearl Harbor --- knee jerk reactions have no credibility. I understand that people are concerned about terrorism, but honestly, the violaton of individuals civil right is NOT where you start.
How about we start w/liberty and justice for all? And I don't mean just for those that have the great benefits of the super tax cuts ...
Labels: Following Al Arian
