Local civil liberties group opposes anti-terrorism laws

Statement of WNC Civil Liberties Coalition

At its meeting on January 3, the Western North Carolina Civil Liberties Coalition endorsed the following petition.

A Declaration in Support of Constitutional Protections and for the Repeal of Unpatriotic and Un-American Anti-Terrorism Legislation.

We, the undersigned, hereby declare that anti-terrorism legislation passed by our US Congress as well as actions taken by our president and his administration, since the tragic and murderous September 11, 2001 attacks on our nation, seriously damage and infringe upon the constitutional protections that are enshrined in our Bill of Rights.

We declare that it is not patriotic, but rather Un-American to destroy the very freedoms which cause Americans to love their country.

We declare that open government is critical to democracy and that by imposing new levels of secrecy our government appears less trustworthy and lessens the people’s ability to make informed decisions about government.

We declare that the lessening of strength of the judicial branch and handing that might to the executive branch does damage to our American principle of separation of powers.

We oppose the use of secret military tribunals at which a person is afforded no independent defense counsel and could be sentenced to die and executed without the knowledge and approval of the American people.

We oppose the president’s orders to lock down presidential records, thus denying our ability to judge the actions of the executive.

We oppose the indefinite imprisonment of foreign nationals if no criminal charge has been placed against them. We further oppose the holding of any person without publicly declaring the crime they are charged with.

We oppose the “sneak and peek” provision of the PATRIOT Act, which crushes our 4th amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure by denying citizens their right to be aware that their property is to be searched and their right to protest such search if the warrant is out of order.

We oppose the collection of private business records by order of secret courts and the muzzling of those citizens who receive such orders from speaking publicly about them. This is a violation of both the 1st and 4th amendment.

We oppose the PATRIOT Act’s destruction of e-mail and Internet privacy. In addition, the sharing of such data indiscriminately among any number of government agencies and even foreign governments is patently intolerable.

For these reasons, we call upon all the free citizens of this country to vocally oppose these actions by our president and to demand repeal of the PATRIOT Act. We call upon our elected representatives to act in accordance with the Constitution of the United States and to undo these actions which violate the core principles of America.

Public Access TV commission calls for support

By Sachie Godwin

Asheville, North Carolina, Jan. 7—The Public Access Channel Commission (PACC), at its meeting on Jan. 7, called on the general public as well as the business and academic communities to show its support for the creation of public access television (PATV) in Asheville, as well as to lobby for more funding from Charter Communications.

The PACC also encouraged the county commissioners to negotiate aggressively to get the best deal for PATV from Charter. Under the current agreement, Charter’s gross revenue from the exclusive use of public right-of-ways tops out at $600 million, over the 12-year contract.

County commissioners Nathan Ramsey and David Gantt have both indicated support of PATV, according to Beth Lazer of PACC.

The proposed draft of the franchise agreement with Charter was finalized on Dec. 19, and is a matter of public record.

In the agreement, the county requested a one time grant of $250,000 for the operation and equipment of a public access channel and an annual equipment grant of $500,000 to be paid one year after the initial grant. This grant would be split between the education, government and public access channels, respectively. PATV would receive up to one third of the money.

“It [the money] is less than we had asked for and less than our consultant has indicated that we need to run a station, but it’s money, which is a great hurdle,” said Lazer.

Critics say that the amount allocated in the current agreement is only enough to support a rudimentary level of technology at the PATV station, whereas what is desperately needed is a cutting edge studio that would provide and sustain creative as well as viable economic opportunities for area citizens.

The commission is concerned about the wording “up to one third” in the proposed agreement, which means that from year to year the county could choose to allocate different amounts of money to PATV, or none at all. The PACC wants to make sure that the agreement provides a stable income for PATV.

Wally Bowen and David McConville, citizens not on the commission, both raised the issue of combining the education and public access channels as a way to garner more funding and increase the quality of both channels.

“Combining public access and education channels [is] the model used in most communities,” said Bowen.

McConville expressed concern that replicating staff and equipment between the two stations would squander already scant funding.

Lazer said that the PACC was open to discussion about combining with the education channel, but the partners in the education channel (Asheville City Schools, UNCA, and A-B Tech) have gone on record saying that they had no interest combining with PATV.

“I was at some early meetings and there was vigorous debate about whether to combine or not,” said Bowen. “It wasn’t unanimous.”

Dispite the official stance, McConville said UNCA multi-media and mass communication faculty he spoke with were very interested in working with PATV.

“They are interested for economic reasons, so that when students graduate [with degrees in these fields] they have job opportunities within the community,” said McConville.

Concerned citizens are strongly encouraged by the PACC to show their support for public access TV by writing to the county commissioners, as well as letters to the editors of local papers. Citizens can also contact Janet Cloyde, Director of Operations for Charter Communication to express their support for PATV.

Lazer will make a presentation to city council regarding PATV on January 15 at 3pm in City Hall.

KKK plans Tennessee rally for Jan. 19

By J.J. Stambaugh

Jan. 6— The Ku Klux Klan has scheduled a rally at the Cocke County Courthouse, in Newport, Tennessee, on Jan. 19 to celebrate the birthday of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and protest the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

“We’ll be celebrating Robert E. Lee’s birthday and talking about Americanism, as opposed to Karl Marx and the philosophy of Martin Luther King,” said Scott Fultz, who identified himself as the Grand Dragon of the Tennessee White Knights of Yahweh, a Morristown-based chapter of the KKK.

The King holiday falls on Jan. 21, two days after the protest.

Loretta Bradley, co-chair of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Commission in Knoxville, said she was “devastated” by reports of the planned rally.

“It hurts my heart to know we’re going back to the days of pure hate and evilness,” she said. In recent years, the Klan has staged a number of high-profile rallies in the south.

Source: News-Sentinel