Wednesday, July 9, 2008

FISA and the ACLU

From the ACLU:

Below is a message from ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero, with an important FISA action you can take today.

Congress just compromised your rights by passing the FISA Amendments Act.


Add Your Name to the ACLU's FISA newspaper
ad.


Today elected officials in Washington sold out the Constitution -- again.

Cowed by the Bush administration's pre-election scare tactics, the Senate passed privacy-stealing FISA legislation undermining your Fourth Amendment rights.

It's outrageous, unconstitutional and un-American. That's why the ACLU is prepared to challenge this law the moment George Bush signs it -- and you can rest assured, they'll be meeting our lawyers in court.

Our lawsuit will send a powerful message to those in Congress who played it safe when they had the opportunity to defend the Constitution. You can join the ACLU in sending that message by signing on to our ad letting Congress know that if they won't stand up for freedom, you and the ACLU will.

We'll be taking out a full-page ad in a major national newspaper announcing our lawsuit and expressing our outrage at this abandonment of Constitutional principles. Our goal is to run an ad that contains the names of tens of thousands of Americans who believe in the Constitution and want Congress to hear us loud and clear: next time, stand up for our rights.


The bill that Congress passed and George Bush is about to sign codifies a Nixonian view on executive power that states, "if a president does it, it is not illegal." The ACLU doesn't believe that, and I'm guessing you don't either.

There has never been a more important moment to demonstrate to our leaders that we believe in freedom - not fear. Our ad will carry that simple message.

The more voices we add, the more powerful our message will be. We need tens of thousands of Americans, who are committed to defending the Constitution, to speak up and stand with us right now.


The bottom line is that no president should have the power to monitor the phones and emails of Americans without a warrant. And no president should have the power to pardon companies that broke the law. This bill was not a "compromise," as some in Congress would like you to believe. The only thing they compromised was your freedom.

George Bush will sign the FISA bill into law in a few short days, but that does not mean our fight is over.

Our lawyers are prepared to file a lawsuit challenging this unconstitutional legislation as soon as the ink dries on George Bush's signature. This is why it is so important that all of us add our names to the ACLU's newspaper ad.

Let our leaders know that you are standing up for freedom and standing with the ACLU.

It's up to each of us to defend the Constitution. Thank you for standing with us.



Click here to include your name in the ACLU's FISA newspaper ad.


Sincerely,

Anthony Romero
Executive Director, ACLU

ACLU
125 Broad Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10004



And here is the rest of it.

2 comments:

brenda said...

I was more than happy to sign that one. I dont understand why Congress sits back and lets the Bush administration do anything and everything they want too. Like the saying goes, if you want something done you gotta do it yourself. And i'm sure there will be plenty of us doing it.

Diane J Standiford said...

The ACLU always has our back.