Sen. Mark Udall writes: "Together, we must lead the way toward requiring real reform of the PATRIOT Act and demand that the executive branch explains the legal basis for its use of these far-reaching intelligence collection tools. Our brave men and women in uniform continue to fight for people's freedom abroad. But we also must fight to protect our civil liberties and privacy rights from unnecessary government encroachment here at home. Let's lead the way."
Patriotic peeking? (photo: Penn State)
Stop Reauthorization of the Patriot Act
23 May 11
ater today, the US Senate will take a step toward reauthorizing the most controversial provisions of the PATRIOT Act for four more years. The Senate may not allow any amendments to fix the problematic portions of this law. We must take action - today - to demand the opportunity to reform the PATRIOT Act, before we extend its provisions.
Join me by signing my petition to demand that Congress better protects our privacy by reforming the PATRIOT Act.
Benjamin Franklin once said that any society that would give up essential liberties to pursue security deserves neither and will lose both. Those words ring true today.
Don't get me wrong - just like you, I'm a strong defender of our national security. With my seats on the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Intelligence Committee, much of my focus remains on keeping Americans safe, both here and abroad. Our government does need the appropriate surveillance and anti-terrorism tools to achieve that important goal.
But while many of the PATRIOT Act's provisions - which I support - have made our nation safer since the devastating terrorist attacks of 9/11, there are three provisions that fail to strike the right balance between keeping us safe while protecting the privacy rights of Coloradans. Instead, these three provisions have been far too susceptible to abuse by the federal government, even in the name of keeping us safe from terrorism.
If Congress passes a bill without debate this week to extend the PATRIOT Act until 2015, it would mean that for four more years, the federal government will continue to have almost unfettered right to issue "215 orders," which allow the government to demand "any tangible thing" during an investigation. Under this flawed provision the government can acquire credit reports, medical records, business records and even library records, without any connection to terrorism or suspicion of wrongdoing - all outside the public eye.
Under another provision, the federal government will continue to have broad authority to place roving wiretaps on essentially any phone line, without specifying a single suspect or a particular communications device.
The final provision would reauthorize "lone wolf" authority, which allows the government to conduct wiretap surveillance on individuals even when that person has no connection to a government or terrorist organization. What is worse, Congress will not even be notified if such "lone wolf" authority is being used - preventing critical oversight and protection of civil liberties.
These three provisions are troubling because they are ripe for abuses that involve expansive government surveillance of innocent people, even though common sense fixes and protections exist if only we were allowed to debate them.
Amazingly, most Republicans want to make these three problematic PATRIOT Act provisions permanent, without any additional congressional oversight. That just defies Colorado common sense.
I opposed the original passage of the PATRIOT Act after 9/11, based largely on my belief that Congress was granting powers to the executive branch that would lead to abuse of Coloradans' privacy rights and that shielded the government from accountability. In the nearly ten years since Congress passed the PATRIOT Act, there has been very little opportunity to improve it.
Based on what I've learned from my Senate committee service, I believe that these three PATRIOT Act provisions expand the reach of the federal government too far without sufficient congressional oversight.
You can join me by signing my petition to demand that Congress better protects our privacy by reforming the PATRIOT Act
Together, we must lead the way toward requiring real reform of the PATRIOT Act and demand that the executive branch explains the legal basis for its use of these far-reaching intelligence collection tools.
Our brave men and women in uniform continue to fight for people's freedom abroad. But we also must fight to protect our civil liberties and privacy rights from unnecessary government encroachment here at home. Let's lead the way.
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Comments
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"(O)ur brave men and women in uniform" are NOT fighting "for people's freedom abroad"; and, on that point in particular, this Senator is typically deluded. They are fighting in completely unconstitutiona l wars of aggression, "the supreme international crime", and are therefore mass-murdering thousands of innocent civilians, which is also a violation of other U.S. law(s) in addition to the Constitution.
The U.S. government and military have attacked, invaded and occupied defenseless sovereign countries who did NOT attack the U.S., thus mass-murdering over one million non-combatants, and imprisoning and torturing thousands of innocent people, and they are continuing those totally illegal acts of preemptive warfare and its continuous war crimes indefinitely...
(Continued below.)
...So, Senator, completely wake up and face the war crimes. It is all well and good for you to claim the desire to protect the Constitution and Americans' civil liberties while doing little or nothing to stand up against, and are in fact supporting, other constitutional violations; but, while you are condoning the violation of the human rights of people abroad, you give the lie to your claims of concern for human rights and civil liberties.
Your cognitive dissonance, "double-think" and "double-speak" are disgusting. There are absolutely no justifications for wars of aggression and their continuous crimes against humanity; and this aggression is NOT truly being carried out in the names of freedom and security, but in the names of imperialism, hubris, world hegemony, natural resource control, and obscene profit off of the mass-murder, maiming, displacement and misery of millions of innocent people.
Stand up against ALL of this madness, not just a fraction of it!
If you read Thomas Jefferson's writings several years after the Constitution was written, he advocated total elimination of any standing Federal army, and the use of the states' militia (formed under the Second Amendment) to repel any invasion from foreign armies. Note ... Jefferson did NOT believe that Americans had _any_ right to fight in a foreign country, let alone _invade_ them.
Our National Guard (the states' militia) are being used unconstitutiona lly in these wars of aggression. Read Article I, Section 8 ... the Powers of Congress. You'll see that there are three specific reasons that CONGRESS can call the states' militia to national duty, and invasion of a foreign nation halfway around the world does not, in any way, match any of those purposes.
However, to start at one spot and ask for help is admirable. To keep our rights is what he is asking for. When these people meet they already have an agenda, have already done their auction of who gets what for what the other wants. Been to too many of these sell out meetings. So if you ask for one thing on your part, get others to join you on the floor you have a better chance than being negative thru the whole process and ending up with nothing!
it is great so many read, have any of you followed a law thru its making? Revisement? Than maybe it is time you start to learn the process.
There are two separate types in military, those who needed jobs perhaps furthering education, and those who want to kill. The first believe they are doing an honest, good American Service for the People of the USA and other Countries. The others should be done unto what they do. Senator Udall should pray, and then perhaps look into the percentage of good service people and put others on clean up detail for latrines.
Yesterday, the Senate voted to continue it. There were only 8 votes in opposition. President Obama stands in strong support of continuing the Act.
The US is a representative (ideally) form of rule. The radical minorities, like you, do indeed have a right - in fact an obligation to voice your strong heart felt views - but please respect the 90% of your neighbors who completely find your views on the wrong tract.
Open your heart and be a good neighbor.
You know, it takes a village - not a fringe group - to make it work. Those on the fringe are welcome to submit ideas - not throw stones at the majority.
Perhaps it's your "Paranoia" of the wrong issues that are the root of much of the problem.
Examples of such:
In the heat of the moment (so much smearing by the national media in the air) the Arizona Immigration bill had roughly 60-65% national support. Rather striking, actually, with the nat'l media shrilling on the side of the WH and the radical left. The (left leaning) Pew Center for the People and the Press polled nationally - and found that 59% supported the bill .. note - by name, "The AZ Bill." However, the very same poll spelled out the two most contentious portions of the bill (that which Holder sued to stop) and found that 73% and 69%, nationally supported them - the language of the bill.
Was the same for Bush and SS reform. He was trashed by the media on his effort, and poll numbers showed that his (by name; i.e. "Bush SS Privatization Plan") Immigration proposals received nominal support - low 50% numbers. However, when the polls took the politics out of it and asked folks if they supported a plan that would allow younger workers to voluntarily self-direct up to 1/3 of their share of their half of the SS tax into private managed accounts; suddenly the numbers were 65-75%, with younger workers pushing 75%+.
So - it's all about education.
Then there are those bills and laws that affect other than citizens. And yes, I didn't know anyone who was against AZ immigration bill, for various reasons. Again, it is doubtful they read it or fully understood it.
States rights for citizens are being swept aside, also. Issues that should be voted on are put into law sometimes overnight, with no review by citizens, and yet those laws will have major affects on them.
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