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"Brenda White" <bwhite@N0SPAM.C0M> wrote in message 
news:35d6588a92b972b696631394c644ac8f@news.meganetnews.com...
> On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 10:58:59 GMT, "Jane" <jane4536@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>"Brenda White" <bwhite@N0SPAM.C0M> wrote in message
>>news:bbc1008867c029beb2119f55d2e09434@news.meganetnews.com...
>>> On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 10:42:31 GMT, "Sallie Smith" <ssmith@juno.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>>>>October 25, 2004
>>>>9:45 AM
>>>> CONTACT: Bill of Rights Defense Committee http://www.bordc.org/
>>>>Nancy Talanian 413-582-0110
>>>>info@bordc.org
>>>>
>>>>On USA PATRIOT Act's Third Anniversary
>>>>Volume of Anti-PATRIOT Act Resolutions Dwarfs the Act Itself
>>>>
>>>>WASHINGTON -- October 25 -- Since President Bush signed the USA PATRIOT
>>>>Act
>>>>into law on October 26, 2001, 355 communities, four states, and hundreds
>>>>of
>>>>organizations including the American Library Association and the 
>>>>National
>>>>League of Cities have registered their opposition to sections of the Act
>>>>and
>>>>to what they see as a general erosion of civil liberties since 9/11. To
>>>>mark
>>>>the Act's third anniversary, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee 
>>>>(BORDC)
>>>>is
>>>>sending President Bush a full set of the resolutions and ordinances
>>>>opposing
>>>>it.
>>>>
>>>>"The collection of resolutions and ordinances is 400 pages long, more 
>>>>than
>>>>triple the size of the USA PATRIOT Act," according to BORDC director and
>>>>cofounder Nancy Talanian, whose organization formed soon after the USA
>>>>PATRIOT Act passed to support public education and debate about its 
>>>>impact
>>>>on civil liberties. "One in five U.S. residents-55 million people-now 
>>>>live
>>>>in communities, counties, or states with resolutions condemning parts of
>>>>the
>>>>USA PATRIOT Act, making this one of the largest mass movements in U.S.
>>>>history."
>>>>
>>>>Hundreds more communities are looking at the Act and considering taking
>>>>action to defend the rights of their residents. "Despite the efforts of
>>>>President George W. Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft, when people
>>>>and
>>>>communities see for themselves how the USA PATRIOT Act and other 
>>>>measures
>>>>affect their rights and liberties, they overwhelmingly disapprove," says
>>>>Talanian.
>>>>
>>>>Critics of the Act and other measures are having their positions 
>>>>validated
>>>>by a growing list of court decisions and DOJ missteps. The Supreme Court
>>>>handed down two decisions last June that disagreed with the Bush
>>>>Administration concerning the rights of "enemy combatants," and two
>>>>federal
>>>>judges have found parts of the USA PATRIOT Act to be unconstitutional.
>>>>More
>>>>such decisions are expected. The DOJ's Inspector General is examining
>>>>allegations of misuse of the Act in connection with the wrongful 
>>>>detention
>>>>of Oregon Attorney Brandon Mayfield, and the DOJ asked a Detroit judge 
>>>>to
>>>>overturn the convictions of the so-called Detroit Terror Cell, which 
>>>>were
>>>>secured through prosecutorial misconduct. The DOJ had previously touted
>>>>the
>>>>convictions as a key victory against terrorism.
>>>>
>>>>But hundreds of the resolutions and ordinances passed long before the
>>>>Administration's cases began to crumble. Talanian attributes the actions
>>>>to
>>>>an underlying sense among all Americans that their country must stand 
>>>>for
>>>>freedom, justice, and the rule of law, as set forth in our Constitution
>>>>and
>>>>Bill of Rights. "We all want to be safe from terrorism, but the 
>>>>government
>>>>has failed to convince most Americans that we'll be safer if we give up
>>>>our
>>>>freedom of speech, our privacy, and our right to due process of law."
>>>>
>>>
>>
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