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The Bush/PNAC administration’s dismantling of the US Constitution.
Cartoon by K. Bendib, all rights reserved.
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President asserts power to edit privacy reports - Bush defies Congress, says he has right to change Homeland Security bills - President Bush, again defying Congress, says he has the power to edit the Homeland Security Department’s reports about whether it obeys privacy rules while handling background checks, ID cards and watchlists. - Give Us Back Our Democracy
The USA PATRIOT Act Was Planned Before 9/11 - Many people do not know that the USA PATRIOT Act was already written and ready to go long before September 11th. Recent criticism of Bush's admission that he had received warnings only weeks before September 11th has made it more important to understand the origins of the USAPA. Justice Department Tracking Staff's Contact With Congress - Justice Department directs employees to clear any contacts with Congress with department's liaison office; Sen Charles Grassley charges attempt to muzzle whistle-blowers, which department denies; order covers calls to or from congressional staff members as well as hearings; Grassley and Sen Patrick Leahy have questioned Bush administration's use of expanded powers under Patriot Act; Grassley reports chilling effect at FBI already - Crawford Authorities Arrest Five in Bush Protest
- Taking it Off the Streets
- Ashcroft Tramples on Our Rights in the Name of Fear
- Big Brother is Still Watching
- The Brawl Over Judges
- Top 5 Reasons Why You Have the Right to Not Remain Silent
- Gagged by the flag
- DJs Suspended for Playing Dixie Chicks
- The Dixie Chicks Cross the Road
Senators decry execs' decree against Dixie Chicks - Cumulus Media Inc. and Cox Radio Inc. were denounced by U.S. senators of both parties who said the radio companies improperly ordered country music's The Dixie Chicks off the air for remarks critical of President Bush. - ''Because orders came down from headquarters, that's an incredible, incredible act,'' Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., told Cumulus Chairman Lew Dickey at a Washington hearing. ''The erosion of the First Amendment is in progress.'' - Dancing With the Devil - 'Let's see. Who's less patriotic, the Dixie Chicks or Dick Cheney's long-term meal ticket, the Halliburton Company?'
- Politically-Correct Censorship Rampant In US Schools
- Checking What You Check Out - Librarians unite against government's new ability to peek at what you read
- Stop Drinking Lipton Tea
- Helen Thomas: Dissent is a great American tradition
- Bush's America: Crushing Dissent
- Privilege Revoked - The government says it can pry into the attorney-client relationship all it wants.
- New Iraqi TV complains of US censorship - Is this the democracy that Bush and PNAC promised them?
- Building a nation of snoops
- Rumsfeld Wants 'Nazi-Like Emergency Powers' - LaRouche -Rumsfeld's 'Notverordnung'
- A provocation against democratic rights: Texas Republicans order state police to seize Democratic legislators
- Airwaves abuzz with Hollywood blacklist; no secrets this time
- Blumner: Bush Is Ready to Sick the CIA Dogs on the American People - Protections such as barring the CIA from exercising subpoena power were put in place in part because Harry S. Truman was concerned about creating another Gestapo.
- Privacy: R.I.P.
Surveillance State - Since September 11, a flood of federal legislation has reduced American freedom without increasing our security. Supreme Court trims right to silence - The United States Supreme Court has narrowed the historic right against self-incrimination, ruling that police and government investigators can force people to talk, as long as those admissions are not used to prosecute them. Terror War Eroding Rights - The U.S.-led "war on terror" has made the world more dangerous and left people feeling less secure; Amnesty International Wake Up, America - Or Is It Already Too Late? - I continue to be disgusted and dismayed by how little presumably well-education Americans know about what is going on at home in Bush's "other war," the war against you and me, and the American way of life. House Approves Ban on Burning U.S. Flag - In what Democrats called an annual GOP rite of spring, the Republican-controlled House on Tuesday passed an amendment to the Constitution to criminalize flag burning for the fifth time in eight years. - "The whole purpose of the underlying constitutional amendment is to stifle political expression that we find offensive," said Rep. Robert Scott, D-Va. "While I agree that we should respect the flag, I do not think it is appropriate to use the criminal code to enforce our views on those who disagree with us." - TVNL Comment: The GOP do everything in their power to make you want to burn the flag, and then they say you can’t do it! Power monger elitists Intolerable secrecy - Case by case, week by week, a complaisant US judiciary is gradually abdicating its responsibility to uphold basic freedoms guaranteed by the constitution and the law. Rules for Military Terror Trials Blasted - The critics said the guidelines for the military terrorism trials allow suspects and their civilian lawyers to be barred from some proceedings, restrict defense investigations and do not allow for review by independent courts. White House steps in on church-school case - The Bush administration is opposing Montgomery County public school officials' decision to bar a group from sending students home with fliers promoting an evangelist club. - TVNL comment: Forget about the separation of Church and State. I said this as Bush/PNAC were being planted in the White House by the court. Lawyer: Bush criminalizes criticism - A lawyer for a local activist charged with refusing to leave a restricted area during a visit by President Bush last fall says the Bush administration is trying to make criticizing the president a crime. Entertainer banned after Bush remark - Apparently, it's become un-American--or at least highly controversial--for a woman to publicly say that the president of the United States' body is less than perfect. - TVNL comment: It was OK to tell jokes about Clinton’s genitals but if you mention Bush you get fired! Who Made George W. Bush Our King? - He Can Designate Any of Us an Enemy Combatant - Courts have no higher duty than protection of the individual freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution. This is especially true in time of war, when our carefully crafted system of checks and balances must accommodate the vital needs of national security while guarding the liberties the Constitution promises all citizens. —Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals judge Diana Gribbon Motz, dissenting, Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, July 9 - TVNL comment: Congress made him King! Civil rights group files latest legal challenge to Patriot Act - Civil rights lawyers filed a challenge Tuesday to a section of the federal Patriot Act that makes it illegal to provide "expert advice and assistance" to groups with alleged links to terrorists. - The ban is unconstitutionally vague and should be struck down, the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights argued in a motion filed in federal court. Sshhhh, someone may hear you exercising free speech - THESE ARE troubling times for Americans who cherish their freedom. - A few days ago, a public official called me over to his car to discuss his displeasure with the war in Iraq and the way the Bush administration is handling the nation's economy. This well-respected man would talk only from his vehicle, saying he was fearful of criticizing the president or his policies in public. Bush's Combatant Policy Attacked at Legal Talks - The Bush administration's anti-terror legal strategies, including dubbing U.S. citizens enemy combatants and holding them indefinitely without charges, came under attack on Friday at a meeting of the nation's largest legal group. - "Can you have a U.S. citizen ... declared an unlawful combatant ... and have no rights, no lawyers, no access and no charges?" Americans pay price for speaking out - Dissenters face job loss, arrest, threats - But activists not stopped by backlash - Dissent, once an ideal cherished in the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, now invites media attacks, hate Web sites, threats and job loss. At U.S. gathering, Muslims rally for civil rights - Participants at convention urged to fight Patriot Act - Some 35,000 Muslim Americans gathered here this weekend for a convention that exhorted them to fight the deterioration of civil liberties, and work to dispel images of Muslims as terrorists and radicals. Northern Revolt - Alaska Passes Anti-Patriot Act Resolution; Second State to Oppose Feds - Alaska has joined a growing national rebellion against the USA Patriot Act, voting to oppose the massive federal anti-terrorism law passed by Congress soon after Sept. 11, 2001. - But Alaska's measure goes further than most, advising police and other state agencies not to "initiate, participate in, or assist or cooperate with an inquiry, investigation, surveillance or detention" if there is not "reasonable suspicion of criminal activity under Alaska State law." Ashcroft Tries to Hide From Court Testimony - A lawyer for the government said Friday that U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft should not be required to appear in federal court to explain why he violated a judge's gag order during a terrorism trial. Terror Laws Used Vs. Common Crimes - Civil liberties and legal defense groups are bothered by the string of cases, and say the government soon will be routinely using harsh anti-terrorism laws against run-of-the-mill lawbreakers. Fear as human shield faces jail - To many she is a humanitarian, but in the eyes of the US Government she is a criminal. - In a statement to the BBC it said that to express one's freedom of speech is a right but breaking the law of the United States is not a privilege. Foundations are in place for martial law in the US - Recent pronouncements from the Bush Administration and national security initiatives put in place in the Reagan era could see internment camps and martial law in the United States.- When president Ronald Reagan was considering invading Nicaragua he issued a series of executive orders that provided the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with broad powers in the event of a "crisis" such as "violent and widespread internal dissent or national opposition against a US military invasion abroad". They were never used. US puts right to protest at risk - Government prosecutes Greenpeace over protest - Greenpeace is being taken to court by the US government because of its action against the illegal importation of mahogany. Its lawyers says it is the first time an entire organisation has been criminally prosecuted for the activities of two members. - "The government's action is unprecedented - prosecuting an entire organisation for the expressive activities of its supporters," he said. If it succeeded, he said: "Non-violent civil protest - an essential tradition from colonial times to the modern civil rights movement - may become yet another casualty of [the attorney general] John Ashcroft's attack on civil liberties. Government extends its secrecy shield - Nobody likes to be criticized in public, especially all those politicians in Washington, D.C., who fervently hope to be re-elected. - But the Bush administration has taken the desire to avoid critical commentary to an extreme. In incident after troubling incident, federal agencies have been quietly censoring information that previously had been available on their Web sites and otherwise curbing public oversight. - About a week ago, the U.S. Army surreptitiously pulled the plug on one of its more popular Web sites, call.army.mil, after The Washington Post wrote about a report that had been posted on it. Muffled Voices? - Activists Say White House, Secret Service ‘Sanitize’ Free Speech - "It is our contention and we can prove that the Secret Service is telling local authorities to keep protesters out of eyesight of the president," Bursey said. "We have three police officers testifying that the Secret Service used that word — 'eyesight.' That's quite disturbing." Anti-Iraq war veterans pulled from parade - Members of Veterans For Peace and Vietnam Veterans Against the War were yanked off a downtown Tallahassee street, directly in front of the Old Capitol, while marching in the holiday parade they had legitimately registered in. Bush protester refused to move - Brett Bursey said he welcomed arrest at airport, witnesses - Bursey, 55, is perhaps the only protester in the nation facing criminal prosecution on charges of violating the protection zone, his lawyers said. If convicted, Bursey faces up to six months in prison and $5,000 in fines stemming from President Bush’s Oct. 24, 2002, visit to Columbia. - TVNL Asks: Why do the TV news networks have time to cover Kobe Bryant and Scott Peterson, but this case, which call into questions our Constitutional rights, is not even mentioned? Lawmakers Approve Expansion of F.B.I.'s Antiterrorism Powers - Congressional negotiators approved a measure on Wednesday to expand the F.B.I.'s counterterrorism powers, despite concerns from some lawmakers who said that the measure gave the government too much authority and that the public had been shut out of the debate. - The measure gives the Federal Bureau of Investigation greater authority to demand records from businesses in terrorism cases without the approval of a judge or a grand jury. While banks, credit unions and other financial institutions are currently subject to such demands, the measure expands the list to include car dealers, pawnbrokers, travel agents, casinos and other businesses. Resistance to the Patriot Act is growing in the American heartland - More than 200 cities and counties across the country, and the state legislatures of Hawaii, Alaska and Vermont have adopted resolutions criticizing the Patriot Act. In Nevada last week, protests drew liberals, conservatives, Hispanics, libertarians, gay activists—a spectrum so wide, and so deep in the heart of the U.S.A., you’d think Washington would be listening. But so far, there’s no sign it is. F.B.I. Scrutinizes Antiwar Rallies - The Federal Bureau of Investigation has collected extensive information on the tactics, training and organization of antiwar demonstrators and has advised local law enforcement officials to report any suspicious activity at protests to its counterterrorism squads, according to interviews and a confidential bureau memorandum. Groups Question FBI Protest Monitoring - Civil Liberties Groups, Politicians Question FBI Monitoring of Anti-War Demonstrations - "What is the chilling effect that will be felt by Americans all across the country if they think they will come under FBI scrutiny just by going to a protest?" said Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union. America's enemy within - Armed checkpoints, embedded reporters in flak jackets, brutal suppression of peaceful demonstrators. Baghdad? No, Miami - Small, peaceful demonstrations were attacked with extreme force; organisations were infiltrated by undercover officers who used stun guns; buses of union members were prevented from joining permitted marches; people were beaten with batons; activists had guns pointed at their heads at checkpoints. Patriot Act Author Has Concerns - Detaining citizens as 'enemy combatants' -- a policy not spelled out in the act -- is flawed, the legal scholar says. - The Justice Department's war on terrorism has drawn intense scrutiny from the left and the right. Now, a chief architect of the USA Patriot Act and a former top assistant to Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft are joining the fray, voicing concern about aspects of the administration's anti-terrorism policy. - "We need to debate a long-term and sustainable architecture for the process of determining when, why and for how long someone may be detained as an enemy combatant, and what judicial review should be available," he said. Thank you Mr. President: We should all thank George Bush for making things so bad Americans can’t ignore it any longer. - They have shown us what it is like to live in a nation where the “king” can declare war, break treaties, imprison foreigners and citizens and try them in secret trials with secret evidence. Thanks to Bush & Co. we now know why the Founding Fathers provided checks and balances on government and why they warned us to guard against every attack on the Constitution. The court case that could reshape US democracy - The state's Democrats have challenged what they say is a rigged and unfair plan to redraw congressional districts, a move approved by Pennsylvania's Republican-controlled legislature after the 2000 census. Bush Goes Around Senate, Appoints DOT Nominee - Bush exercised a privilege that allows him to act during a congressional recess to place nominees in their jobs without Senate approval. - TVNL: Comment: The Bush/PNAC administration has used every loophole in in the law and every ounce of executive privilege to avoid having to follow the law of the land. If Clinton had done this he would have been lambasted by the media, most notably FOX News (Sean Hannity). Anti-Bush Drawing Called 'Hate Speech' - An award-winning drawing blaming President Bush for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was pulled from a small-town exhibit over "insurance issues" after a businessman withdrew his $300 prize and called the piece a form of "hate speech." - "They shouldn't call it `open to art,'" Bowden said of the contest's original call for entries. "They should call it, `open to Republican art' or `open to closed-minded art.'" Patriot Act hearings sought by Democrats - Ten House Democrats, voicing concern that the government strike the right balance between individual rights and collective security, have asked for sweeping congressional hearings on how the Justice Department has made use of the Patriot Act and other antiterrorism powers. Greenpeace says US threatens civil rights - The veteran civil rights activist Julian Bond accused Attorney General John Ashcroft of trying to stifle legitimate protest. He said: "If John Ashcroft had done this in the Sixties, black Americans would not be voting today, eating at formerly all-white lunch counters or sitting on bus front seats. This is a government assault on time-honoured non-violent civil disobedience, as practised by Martin Luther King and thousands of other Americans." Post-9/11 limits on dissent claimed - Law enforcement cites terror threat - Two years into the post-Sept. 11 era, police across the country are cracking down on street protests, and federal prosecutors are invoking obscure laws to punish activists whose aggressive displays of political expression were once more tolerated, according to groups as diverse as Operation Rescue and Greenpeace. - TVNL Comment: 9/11 is the excuse for the implementation of fascism as carried out by PNAC. 9/11 is sited by the Bush/PNAC administration as an excuse for secrecy, implementing radical anti-Constitutional laws and stifling all opposition to this administration. Legislative Alert - The Association supports all efforts to improve international programs in higher education, but has serious concerns about the potential for such a board to engender Federal government intrusion into curriculum decisions—decisions that properly are a faculty responsibility.  Lost Liberties - "This is not America" - In Miami, police unleashed unprecedented fury on demonstrators -- most of them seniors and union members. Is this how Bush's war on terror will be fought at home?As Republicans gain power, enthusiasm for states' rights wanes Traditionally the champions of small government and states’ rights, President Bush and his allies in Congress have aggressively pursued policies that expand the powers of Washington in the schoolroom, the courthouse, the home and the doctor’s office. - The extent to which this administration has subordinated states’ rights in carrying out its political agenda is “somewhat breathtaking,” said Michael Greve, who heads the Federalism Project at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. Threats to democracy at Code-Red level - Pending is Patriot Act II, the Domestic Security Enhancement Act, to legalize indefinite detention without charges, to end court-imposed limits to spying on religious and political organizations and to withdraw citizenship for civil disobedience. Protesters wary of new tactic by feds - Obscure 1872 law cited in case against Greenpeace - Bay Area nonprofits and anti-war leaders are fuming about what they see as an attempt by the Justice Department to clamp down on peaceful dissent by filing criminal charges against a group for the nonviolent actions of its followers. Quarantining dissent - How the Secret Service protects Bush from free speech - When President Bush travels around the United States, the Secret Service visits the location ahead of time and orders local police to set up "free speech zones" or "protest zones," where people opposed to Bush policies (and sometimes sign-carrying supporters) are quarantined. These zones routinely succeed in keeping protesters out of presidential sight and outside the view of media covering the event. Canceled primaries diminish democracy - This marks a sharp reversal of a 40-year trend in presidential politics. - But this year finds American democracy in retreat. States claim they cannot afford the millions of dollars it costs to hold presidential primaries. How ironic that at the same time, the federal government is spending billions of dollars to build democracy in Iraq. US keeps 'terror' arrests secret - The US Supreme Court has allowed the Bush administration to keep secret the names and other basic details of terror suspects it has detained. Resistance to Patriot Act Gaining Ground - Foes organizing in communities - The burgeoning nationwide movement has prompted three state governments, and 236 communities in 37 states, to pass resolutions against the Patriot Act. If the backlash continues to grow, opponents of the Patriot Act believe, their momentum will force Congress and the White House to address some of the law's unpopular elements. HRC DENOUNCES REMARKS BY PRESIDENT AS DIVISIVE AND DISCRIMINATORY - Although not explicitly endorsing an amendment denying marriage for same-sex couples, the President came dangerously close in his remarks to supporting efforts to write discrimination into the Constitution. The President also misrepresented the proper role of the courts in protecting rights and freedoms by criticizing "activist judges." - "In more than 200 hundred years of American history the Constitution has never been amended to deny basic rights and responsibilities. It is always wrong to use the Constitution to discriminate against any American. The Constitution should never be used to deny fundamental rights like the ability to visit a partner in the hospital, or the protection of Social Security Survivor benefits," said HRC President Cheryl Jacques. Dallas City Council condemns USA Patriot Act - City is among nation's largest to pass decree; debate leads to 9-6 vote - Dallas on Wednesday became one of nation's largest cities to formally condemn sections of the federal USA Patriot Act as unconstitutional and a threat to the civil liberties it says it defends. Administration Sets Forth a Limited View on Privacy - Federal law "does not recognize a physician-patient privilege," the Justice Department said last month in court papers that sought abortion records from Planned Parenthood clinics in California, Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, New York City and Washington. - Health lawyers and privacy experts said that position reflected a significant shift after six years in which Bush and Clinton administration officials had promised to strengthen the confidentiality of medical records. - TVNL Comment: Another assault on our liberties ignored by the TV news media. Accessing abortion records is not considered news to the networks but movie reviews belong on a national news broadcast! Criminal. Head-to-head: Is the US breaking the law? - The US continues to hold some 640 detainees at a military base at Guantanamo Bay Cuba. - Critics say that the detainees are being denied due process and that the US is breaking not only international law but is acting in ways that violate its own Constitution. Man suspended for anti-Bush message - A maintenance worker was suspended for displaying a sign with the word "traitor" on his state snowplow while helping provide security for President Bush's motorcade, officials said. Disney Forbidding Distribution of Film That Criticizes Bush - The Walt Disney Company is blocking its Miramax division from distributing a new documentary by Michael Moore that harshly criticizes President Bush, executives at both Disney and Miramax said Tuesday. - The film, "Fahrenheit 911," links Mr. Bush and prominent Saudis — including the family of Osama bin Laden — and criticizes Mr. Bush's actions before and after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. - TVNL Comment: What exactly is different between the US under Bush and pre-war Nazi Germany? Oh, wwe know; Hitler was actually elected democratically with a popular majority. Sounds like a Disney boycott is in order! ‘Bend the Rules’ - Former Army Interrogator Trainees Say They Were Taught to Get Around Geneva Conventions - These techniques included "putting them in humiliating positions, stress positions, sleep deprivation," said Margaret Chaiken. U.S. must be wary of attacks -- on our liberty - Meanwhile, the Bush administration is pushing not just to keep the anti-liberty provisions of the grotesquely named ``USA Patriot Act'' but to expand them. A law that wipes out key protections against government abuses is anything but patriotic.
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