Untitled Document

130 US communities saying no to repression

By Jim Lobe

Washington, DC, July 5— More than 130 communities with a combined population of more than 16 million people in 26 states have passed resolutions directing local police to refrain from using racial profiling, enforcing immigration laws, or participating in federal investigations that violate civil liberties, according to a new report released on the eve of this year’s Fourth of July celebrations by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The 23-page report credits Ann Arbor, Michigan, with adopting the first resolution opposing key provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, thus setting off a trend that shows no sign of abating.

“In my conversations with people from across the political spectrum, I hear one refrain over and over,” says Laura Murphy, who heads the ACLU’s Washington, DC legislative office. “If we give up our freedoms in the name of national security, we will have lost the war on terrorism.”

“As this year’s Fourth of July rolls around, we hope that this report will demonstrate to the White House, the Justice Department, and Congress that we must be both safe and free.”

The ACLU, whose local offices played a major role in support of dozens of resolutions around the country, stressed that among the jurisdictions that have taken action are a number of traditionally conservative areas of the country, such as Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Missoula, Montana; and Flagstaff, Arizona.

Some of the larger cities include Denver, Colorado; Oakland and San Francisco, California; Seattle, Washington; Detroit, Michigan; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Baltimore, Maryland. Three states have also adopted measures that call for strict respect for constitutional rights: Hawaii, Alaska, and Vermont.

The report, ‘Independence Day 2003: Main Street America Fights the Federal Government’s Insatiable Appetite for New Powers in the Post 9/11 Era,’ says the burgeoning grassroots movement was launched after demands by Attorney General John Aschroft were agreed to by Congress, which, it charges, “encouraged an atmosphere of hysteria,” by approving the USA PATRIOT Act in late October 2001 with little debate and few dissenting votes.

The Act included a number of controversial provisions that, in the ACLU’s view, upset the balance between citizens’ privacy and political rights and the state’s responsibility to ensure the security of the country.

Some of those provisions included expanding the power of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act; approval of “sneak and peek” warrants which allow federal agents to enter private homes without notifying the owner until much later; weakening the standards for intelligence wiretaps by permitting them to be used for criminal investigations under some circumstances; and making it easier for federal agents to obtain highly personal “business records,” such as library loan records, of possible terrorist suspects.

The Act itself was followed up with a flurry of executive orders, regulations, policies, and practices, such as denying the right to a fair trial for citizens and non-citizens labeled “enemy combatants” and establishing military commissions that fall short of minimum due process standards, which further eroded civil liberties protection, according to the ACLU.

On Jan. 7, 2002, Ann Arbor became the first city in the country to pass a resolution in direct response to the PATRIOT Act and new federal policies. “We’re very concerned about civil rights and about the potential discrimination,” City Councilwoman Heidi Herrell told ABC News at the time. “We spent a lot of time since September 11 making sure that the Muslim members of our community felt safe.”

Denver became the second city to approve a resolution after the ACLU there discovered the existence of 3,400 secret files on social activists that had been collected by the Denver Police over several years. That resolution called for the police not to gather information on individuals’ First Amendment activities unless the information related to criminal activity and the subject was suspected of engaging in criminal activity.

The movement has gathered steam. In February, 2003 alone, 22 communities passed resolutions affirming civil liberties, while the three states have all acted in the last three months.

The momentum behind the resolution movement has drawn the increasing ire of the Justice Department, according to the report. Ashcroft himself recently acknowledged public fears about the possibility for abuse of the PATRIOT Act and called on the media to help the Justice Department explain it. It has also enlisted Republican lawmakers in an effort to oppose local resolutions.

“This report just goes to show the importance of local activism,” Murphy said. “Although the Attorney General and his staff have said that this movement is but a flash in the pan, the fact that they’d take the time to actively work to defeat these things speaks volumes about their political importance.”

The movement has not only involved local governments. Librarians are refusing to cooperate with federal authorities, and dozens of state library associations have passed their own anti-PATRIOT Act resolutions. In Congress, Rep. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has introduced the “Freedom to Read Protection Act” which would exempt libraries and bookstores from the PATRIOT Act. The bill currently has 122 co-sponsors, and California Sen. Barbara Boxer has introduced a companion bill in the Senate.

“Nothing is more precious in a democracy than freedom of speech and free access to information without government intrusion,” the report asserts. “The American people seem to understand that, even if Attorney General Ashcroft does not.”

Source: OneWorld.net

NHSA declares victory in 1st amendment lawsuit

Washington, DC, July 3— In a development that is very much in the spirit of the 4th of July holiday, the National Head Start Association (NHSA) announced today that it had prevailed in its effort to force the Bush Administration to end its attempt at curtailing the First Amendment free-speech rights of 51,681 Head Start teachers and more than 870,000 parent volunteers.

NHSA President Sarah Greene announced that the Bush Administration had capitulated in the lawsuit by withdrawing a May 8, 2003 Health and Human Services (HHS) letter sent to Head Start programs across the US. In the widely criticized letter, HHS threatened Head Start teachers and parents with civil action or even jail time if they spoke out against the Bush plan to dismantle the program serving one million at-risk children across America.

On July 2nd, the Bush Administration indicated that it would withdraw the letter and replace it with one making it clear that there is no basis for such a threat to be hanging over the heads of Head Start teachers and parent/volunteers. HHS was asked last week by a federal court judge to either write a letter that would address NHSA’s objections or face a bench ruling.

Commenting on the Association’s success in the lawsuit, NHSA President Sarah Greene said: “This is a great way for Head Start teachers and parents to be able to celebrate their 1st Amendment rights on a day — July 4th — that is all about free speech and other core rights that define what it is to be American. I am delighted that the Bush Administration recognized that its attempt to stifle free speech was unlawful and that it relented in its baseless attack on the 1st Amendment rights of over 900,000 Head Start teachers and parents.”

Greene said: “Emboldened by our success in this litigation, we look next for those who care about Head Start to prevail in Congress. There is a growing groundswell of support to save the 38-year-old program from those who would gut it and turn the money over to the cash-strapped states that may know a lot about how to cut spending for early childhood education, but very little about how to run such programs.”

Edward T. Waters, managing partner, Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP, and outside counsel for NHSA, said: “The legal problems with the Bush Administration letter were both obvious and severe. The letter clearly exceeded the boundaries of any conceivably applicable statute or regulation as to the actions it prevents and the sanctions it threatens. In so doing, it unlawfully chilled the free expression of political speech by grantees, parents, and staff with their own money or on their own time ... HHS had no option but to relent here and take back its threat.”

On May 28, 2003, NHSA revealed an unprecedented attempt by the Bush Administration to stifle the free speech rights of Head Start staff and volunteer/parents. On May 8, 2003, Windy Hill, associate commissioner, Head Start Bureau, US Department of Health and Human Services, sent a letter to local Head Start programs in the US that asserted a new and broad interpretation of the Head Start Act to threaten local Head Start programs with legal action if they spoke out in any way against White House and House GOP proposals to dismantle the program serving one million at-risk American children.

On May 27th, NHSA formally objected to the letter and indicated that, if it was not overturned, a lawsuit would be filed to challenge it. To date, the Association’s grave First Amendment free-speech concerns have not been addressed publicly or privately by the Bush Administration.

On June 11, NHSA took HHS to court to stop the campaign of intimidation. The Association’s lawsuit contained the following passage: “Such a threat necessarily has a chilling impact on the non-profit Head Start community. Funds or resources of non-profit grantees not already committed to Head Start or other similar efforts are sparse to non-existent. Many cannot even afford to hire counsel to advise them on the Hill letter, much less to defend them should any sanctions be brought by HHS. Because of this ... the Hill letter has made parents and staff of non-profit Head Start grantees afraid to communicate their opinions concerning the proposed legislation, to Congress or elsewhere.”

The National Head Start Association is a private not-for-profit membership organization dedicated exclusively to meeting the needs of Head Start children and their families. The Association provides support for the entire Head Start family by advocating for policies that provide high-quality services to children and their families; by providing extensive training and professional development services to all Head Start staff; and by developing and disseminating research, information, and resources that impact Head Start program delivery. NHSA provides a national forum for the continued delivery and enhancement of Head Start services for at-risk children and their families.

Source: National Head Start Association