DEMOC.news

## NEWS UPDATE: DEMOCRACY, CIVIL LIBERTIES, and related topics
### NEWS BRIEFS & LINKS ### July 22, 2002 Dictatorship at your doorstep - a useful overview of the ways our liberties have already been compromised. Ellen Goodman commentary on the TIPS domestic surveillance program "when the government starts virtually deputizing civilians - giving the green light to the gas company to read more than my meter and encouraging the delivery service to come in search of more than my signature - I remember the meaning of the word ''spooky.''" ### July 21, 2002 Biden backs letting soldiers arrest civilians - By Joyce Howard Price THE WASHINGTON TIMES Congress says the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which prevents the military from exercising police powers in this country, should be re-examined and "has to be amended." The Posse Comitatus Act was enacted to eliminate military enforcement of the civil law, effectively ending Reconstruction. ### July 19, 2002 Homeland Security bill loses ID card, domestic surveillance House Majority Leader Dick Armey, rejected the national ID and a domestic surveillance program that would have involved millions of American "volunteers". | ### RESOURCES Question: When did we begin to call this country 'The Homeland'- as it was called multiple times by virtually every Congressman who testified before the Homeland Security special committee? History of the Posse Comitatus Act - preventing the use of the military as a police force. Why would we need to remove an Act that has safeguarded us from the concentration of power in the hands of the military? As it is, the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 has a major loophole that already allows it to be used as a police force in extraordinary times - but it requires approval by Congress: "in such cases and under such circumstances as such employment of said force may be expressly authorized by the Constitution or by act of Congress."
Participant Comments follow below OCTOBER 1 2002 Supreme Court to Focus on Criminal Law, Terrorism, Civil Rights "Concerning the war on terrorism, observers are carefully watching instances of how the government is holding two Americans classified as enemy combatants in military jails without formal charges and without giving them access to attorneys. One of the Americans is Yaser Hamdi, who was born in Louisiana, raised in Saudi Arabia, and captured last November on the battlefield in Afghanistan. The other is Jose Padilla, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, raised in Chicago, and arrested in May in connection with what officials said was a plot to build and detonate bombs. While the Bush administration takes the position it is acting properly and legally, some observers believe the dispute is likely to end up before the Supreme Court in a contest between the rights of detainees and the power of the president to detain combatants during a time of hostilities." SEPT. 30 2002 I Don't Know and I Don't Care! - the importance of caring about the Constitution. - by Lady Liberty " The person who is unprepared or unable to acknowledge that the Constitution and Bill of Rights still apply today as they did twenty years ago or two hundred years ago represents a far greater danger to our liberty than does even the most power-hungry politician. The only potentially redeeming factor of such ignorance or apathy in an American citizen is this: he or she probably doesn't bother to vote any more than he or she bothers to appreciate the right to do so." First Amendment incertitude - by Cal Thomas "The point of teaching the First Amendment is to learn that the same Constitution that protects the rights of people who say things with which you disagree also guards your right to say something with which other people disagree. As the AJR poll summary concludes: "The terrorists view our personal liberties with contempt and see them as a weakness. The challenge for all Americans is to truly embrace the freedoms of the First Amendment and show just how strong we really are." Judge says Constitution will be main consideration in terror suspects' case - Associated Press, Saturday, September 21, 2002 " A federal judge said the Constitution, not fears about terrorism, will guide his decision about whether six suspected members of a New York terror cell must remain jailed until their trial.... Schroeder said his aim is to protect the Constitution, which he called ``probably the most valuable aspect of all.'' EDITORIAL: The Constitution 'alive and well' But most people don't have much of an idea what's actually in there John Adams, second president of the United States, ringingly insisted, "You have rights antecedent to all earthly governments; rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws; rights derived from the Great Legislator of the Universe." " The future of a free people depends on each succeeding generation being taught to cherish their liberties -- which means they have to know what those liberties are, the mechanisms by which they're supposed to be safeguarded ... and whether pure "democracy" is a boon to those rights, or a skulking assassin in the night. " valerie 10/01/02 16:03:12 GMT The Constitution, Congress And the Power to Declare War Saturday, September 28, 2002 BY JOYCE APPLEBY HISTORY NEWS SERVICE "In the midst of talk of war, it's hard to focus on the U.S. Constitution. But President Bush's proposed "regime change" in Iraq has raised a constitutional issue that will affect the United States long after the present crisis with Iraq has passed. ... If the present situation persists the distinction between presidential and congressional war powers, blurred during the Cold War, will remain befogged, and presidential powers will continue to expand at the expense of Congress. We will have silently amended the Constitution through collective neglect. " valerie 10/01/02 15:34:43 GMT ### QUOTE FROM THE DALAI LAMA: We are witnessing a tremendous popular movement for the advancement of human rights and democratic freedom in the world. This movement must become an even more powerful moral force, so that even the most obstructive governments and armies are incapable of suppressing it. This conference is an occasion for all of us to reaffirm our commitment to this goal. It is natural and just for nations, peoples and individuals to demand respect for their rights and freedoms and to struggle to end repression, racism, economic exploitation, military occupation, and various forms of colonialism and alien domination. Governments should actively support such demands instead of only paying lip service to them. We are being drawn together by the grave problems of overpopulation, dwindling natural resources, and an environmental crisis that threaten the very foundation of our existence on this planet. Human rights, environmental protection and great social and economic equality are all interrelated. I believe that to meet the challenges of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. Each of us must learn to work not just for oneself, one's own family or one's nation, but for the benefit of all humankind. Universal responsibility is the key to human survival. It is the best foundation for world peace. This need for co-operation can only strengthen humankind, because it helps us to recognize that the most secure foundation for a new world order is not simply broader political and economic alliances, but each individual's genuine practice of love and compassion. These qualities are the ultimate source of human happiness, and our need for them lies at the very core of our being. The practice of compassion is not idealistic, but the most effective way to pursue the best interests of others as well as our own. The more we become interdependent the more it is in our own interest to ensure the well-being of others. Pema Kharpo pemakharpo@global-dialog.org 08/13/02 19:56:43 GMT