They live here. They work here. They pay taxes and support the community. Why shouldn't they be allowed to vote in local elections? The New York Times reports on the push to give non-citizens the right to vote. It has a lot of support in D.C., and is on the ballot in November in San Francisco.

We support this movement. No taxation without representation. Democracy for all.

The Homeland Security Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Protection Act of 2004, sponsored by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) has passed the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee:

The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), today unanimously approved her bipartisan legislation (S. 2536) to further protect the civil rights and civil liberties of Americans. The Homeland Security Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Protection Act of 2004, sponsored with Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), would ensure that officials within the Department of Homeland Security have the ability to balance public safety with the civil right and liberties that are so important to Americans.

The best features of the bill:

The bill creates a new position within the office of the Inspector General whose responsibility would be to oversee civil rights and civil liberties cases that are referred to this office. The bill also would amend the Department of Homeland Security’s mission statement to include the protection of civil liberties and civil rights as priority for the Department and its activities.

Kudos to Senators Collins and Wyden.

You thought Operation TIPS was dead? Not in concept, apparently, for Republicans in Minnesota. The party has set up a website requesting that members report their neighbors' political beliefs:

The state Republican Party has developed a Web site that allows its activists to tap into a database of voters whose political allegiances and concerns it would like to know. But it is not just any group of voters -- they are the activists' neighbors.

The project, dubbed WebVoter, gives GOP activists the names and addresses of 25 people who live, in most cases, within a couple of blocks from them. The party has asked 60,000 supporters from across the state to figure out what issues animate their neighbors and where they stand in the political spectrum, and report that information back to the party -- with or, possibly, without their neighbors' permission.

[link via Altercation]

Rocky Mountain News editorial yesterday:

Elena Lappin arrived at Los Angeles airport and was searched and interrogated, jailed in a small barren cell and deported 26 hours later. Why? She’s a British journalist who arrived in the U.S. without a visa. As a visitor from one of 27 visa waiver countries, she expected to be allowed to enter the U.S. for 90 days.

....But Homeland Security has revived a long disused relic of the McCarthy era, a special I-visa for journalists that entails, upon application overseas, being grilled by U.S. consular officials about whom the journalist plans to talk to and what he plans to write. Few other countries require those visas, and those that do tend to be unsavory Third World dictatorships. Sadly, Lappin is not alone. Reporters from Australia, France, Germany and the Netherlands have also been collared on arrival and summarily deported. And these are our friends.

These I-visas need to be abolished for the visa-waiver nations and their journalists welcomed at the airport. We want foreign journalists to cover the presidential campaign. We want them to see that American democracy is robust and thriving and that we have not become the pinched police state that so many foreigners suspect.

[hat tip to Quaker in a Basement]

by TChris

Taking a summer vacation in the USA? You might want to leave your camera at home ... unless you don't mind being questioned by Homeland Security.

Ian Spiers had just hours to finish an assignment for his photography class. He was taking shots of a railroad bridge near the Ballard Locks when an officer with a German shepherd approached him, asked him what he was doing and requested some ID.

Spiers showed the first officer his class assignment and asked whether he was really required to produce ID. The officer said "no" and left. Not good enough for Homeland Security.

But soon after, several armed officers approached him, including three from the Seattle Police Department and three from the federal Homeland Security Department. ... This time, Spiers said, a Seattle police officer told him he had no choice but to show his ID. A Homeland Security agent who flashed his badge told him he had broken a law by taking pictures of a federal facility.

Spiers submitted to a half hour of questioning before being told he had no choice about being photographed by Homeland Security: the agency that protects us from dangerous photographers by ... taking their pictures.

Jennifer Van Bergen, writing for Counterpunch, says that the Supreme Court's decision in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld may be the death knell for Habeas Corpus:

The Great Writ has been a core part of democratic processes for over four
hundred years. The Supreme Court may go down in infamy as the one that
destroyed the Great Writ of Liberty, and along with it, our freedom.

Here's why:

by TChris

Prosecutors in Johnson County, Texas are apparently regaining their sanity, as evidenced by their decision to drop obscenity charges against a Burleson woman who sold sex toys to a pair of undercover police officers. The woman obtained the toys from Passion Parties, a company that provides erotic products to distributors who sell them at "Tupperware-style parties" in private homes.

Is this blackmail or what? American Progress reports on Veto Threat 'Hysteria':

Facing the prospect of an embarrassing defeat in the House of Representatives, the White House issued a rare veto threat last night of a major spending bill should amendments pass that restrict the Patriot Act. Ignoring concerns from scores of states, cities and towns across the country, the White House is targeting an amendment sponsored by Reps. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Butch Otter (R-ID) that, if passed, would limit the Justice Department's ability to "require book dealers, libraries or others to surrender records" about ordinary Americans. The president "has not yet vetoed a bill sent to him by Congress" – and the veto threat is seen as proof that the White House is worried the legislation has enough votes in both parties to pass. If the amendment passes, it will move to the Senate, where Sens. Larry Craig (R-ID) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) have sponsored similar legislation in the past. If the measure reaches the president's desk, he would have to kill it by rejecting a bill that funds the entire Departments of Commerce, Justice and State.

TELL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS TO RESIST WHITE HOUSE THREATS: The vote on the amendment in the House is scheduled for today. Contact your members of Congress and tell them to resist the White House's veto threats and intimidation tactics on the Patriot Act. Also, tell them to support the broader Civil Liberties Restoration Act (Senate bill S. 2528 or House bill H.R. 4591) – comprehensive legislation to reform the Patriot Act by limiting the government's ability to conduct secret arrests, requiring individuals be advised of the charges brought against them, and upholding federal privacy laws.

by TChris

The NY Times reminds us that the freedoms we enjoy are worth celebrating -- and worth protecting from further erosion.

People too often get the impression that the only people who use the nation's civil liberties protections are lawbreakers who were not quite guilty of the exact felony they were charged with. Perhaps we should thank the Bush administration for providing so many situations that demonstrate how an unfettered law enforcement system, even one pursuing worthy ends, can destroy the lives of the innocent out of hubris or carelessness.

Virtually every time the Bush administration feels cornered, it falls back on the argument that the president and his officials are honorable men and women. This is an invitation to turn what should be a debate about policy into a referendum on the hearts of the people making it. But this nation was organized under a rule of law, not a dictatorship of the virtuous. The founding fathers wrote the Bill of Rights specifically because they did not believe that honorable men always do the right thing.

Read the entire editorial here.

From John Kerry's Press Release today on the 40th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (received by email), in which Kerry lays out his position on civil liberties:

• Expanding Opportunity in Jobs, Education, and Health Care. John Kerry has a plan to create 10 million new jobs, reduce outsourcing and create manufacturing jobs. He also understands that true equality is impossible without improving our public school system. John Kerry supports full funding for the No Child Left Behind Act and special needs education, a new initiative to increase excellence in teaching, and Kerry will help one million more students graduate from high school. Finally, John Kerry knows that current racial disparities in health and health care are unacceptable. He has a plan to make high-quality, affordable health care available to all Americans and reduce these disparities.

• Rigorous Enforcement of the Nation’s Civil Rights Laws. John Kerry understands that discrimination remains a problem in America and that strong enforcement of our nation’s civil rights laws is critical to ensuring equal rights and opportunities for all Americans. He is also a strong supporter of affirmative action. As a former prosecutor, Kerry has the strength and skills to enforce civil rights laws, reduce discrimination and expand opportunity.

• Strengthen Civil Rights Laws Damaged by Right-Wing Judges and Strengthen Hate Crime Laws. John Kerry supports the Fairness Act which will reverse damage done to civil rights laws by right-wing judges. He wants to ensure that every American can get their day in court and have access to fair and meaningful remedies for injustice. John Kerry supports strong enforcement and equal justice for all victims of hate violence.

The latest flash animation on Attorney General John Ashcroft from Alliance for Justice. It's better than great.

Here's the story behind it and how you can help.

Armed with the far-reaching USA Patriot Act, John "Spy-der-man" Ashcroft abuses his power and abuses his authority as our nation's top cop. The flash ends with the ultimate call to action for Ashcroft: resign.

Although humor is used to convey the strong message of Spy-der-man, Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron points to the seriousness of Ashcroft's actions. "Under Attorney General John Ashcroft's leadership, the Justice Department has issued anti-terrorism policies that intrude on free speech, privacy, and due process," said Aron. "Ashcroft's actions have enabled the government to look at private information and spy on religious and political groups."

Also check out their Independent Judiciary website.

Several civil liberties groups announced today they will sue to prevent Massachussetts from implementing plans to search mass transit passengers and their belongings.

Civil rights groups said Monday that the MBTA's proposed searches of bags and packages on subway and commuter trains would be unconstitutional, and urged riders to not give their consent. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority wants to begin random searches next month, an anti-terrorism measure it plans to have in place before the July 26-29 Democratic National Convention. The civil rights groups said they'll file a lawsuit to stop the T from instituting the policy which would be the first of its kind in the country.

''Public transportation is a community resource that should be available to everybody without requiring people to sacrifice their constitutional rights in order to use it,'' said Michael Avery, president of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.

We agree. We taught the TL kid early on to protect his rights. Here's how he described it in an essay he wrote in high school that we just happened to have kept:

I have always been taught to stand up for what I believe is right. For as long as I can remember, my mother, a criminal defense lawyer, always recited anecdotes like: "If an officer stops you and asks you to waive your rights so he can search the car, just tell him ‘I'm sorry, Sir, but I only wave the flag.'" She added that the "Sir" was the most important part, but even being polite wouldn't spare me from the probable beating I would get for being smart with the officer. The point being that asserting your rights can be painful, and often, all you are left with is the knowledge that you did the right thing.