DEMOC.Homeland

> ## How aspects of the Homeland Security Department threaten our civil liberties

> The new Homeland Security Department, currently being approved in Congress, has some disturbing aspects whose relevance American citizens need to understand. For one, it breaks down the constitutional separation of powers - the checks and balances between executive, judicial, and congressional branches of government - in its request for little or no Congressional oversight for large amounts of funding. In a report to the Homeland Security Special Committee, Rep. Obey, D-Wisconsin, called this step, if approved, ‘phenomenally dangerous’ and ‘not just extraordinary, but unprecedented.'

> Other aspects of the new department and its plans are equally disturbing - below are some links, we are compiling more, but please feel free to post additional links and stories in the comments box below.

> ACLU Slams Parts of President’s Homeland Security Plan as Shortsighted - "The reworking of state and federal openness laws and a national ID card are two provisions in a plan announced today by the Bush Administration to grant itself broad new powers in the arena of domestic security."

> In the Name of Homeland Security, Telecom Firms Are Deluged With Subpoenas