Council takes on Patriot Act [Fairbanks Daily News-Miner] If critics of the USA Patriot Act are correct, the Fairbanks City Council may have spent more time pondering a... Read More |
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The Bill of Rights wins with the Lawless team [Fairbanks BORDC] During this past weekend Mike Lawless, carrying a copy of the Bill of Rights in his pocket and the Fairbanks... Read More |
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Proposal rebukes Patriot Act [Fairbanks Daily News-Miner] JUNEAU—Inspired by a resolution passed by the Fairbanks City Council, Senate Minority Leader Johnny Ellis, D-Anchorage, is working on a... Read More |
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House Takes Stand Against Patriot Act [Santa Fe New Mexican] By an overwhelming vote, the House on Monday passed legislation putting the state on record as opposing many provisions of... Read More |
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Santa Fe Police Detain Library Patron [American Libraries] A St. John’s College Library visit by a former public defender was abruptly interrupted February 13 when city police officers... Read More |
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Librarians try to alter Patriot Act [San Francisco Chronicle] Along with the usual reminders to hold the noise down and pay overdue fines, library patrons in Santa Cruz are... Read More |
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Red Alert for Bill of Rights! [The Village Voice] The Justice Department ... seems to be running amok ... This agency right now is the biggest threat to personal... Read More |
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Portland case could put to test Patriot Act [Oregon Statesman Journal] PORTLAND — The government’s expanded spying powers under the USA Patriot Act could face their first test in open court... Read More |
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Judge Rejects Challenge to FBI Spy Powers [U.K. Guardian Unlimited] PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The FBI does not have to explain why it applied for search warrants to bug homes... Read More |
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DOJ Drafts Sweeping Expansion of the UPA [The Center for Public Integrity] (WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2003) -- The Bush Administration is preparing a bold, comprehensive sequel to the USA Patriot Act passed... Read More |
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Ashcroft Out of Control [The Village Voice] Many of the new security measures proposed by our government in the name of fighting the "war on terror" are... Read More |
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It was a good day for the 6th Amendment [NorthJersey.com] Score one for the 6th Amendment. U.S. District Judge Michael Mukasey ruled on Tuesday that the government must allow lawyers... Read More |
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Supreme Court Justice Scalia Bans Media [Common Dreams News Center] CLEVELAND—Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has banned broadcast media from an appearance Wednesday where he will receive an award for... Read More |
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Court stiff-arms privacy challenge [Los Angeles Times] WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court on Monday turned away a preliminary challenge to the government's expanded powers to wiretap and search people... Read More |
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Ashcroft: Criticism of DOJ "aiding terrorists" [Declan McCullagh's Politech] The Washington Post yesterday said in an editorial: >Mr. Ashcroft may not like the criticism. But his job... Read More |
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Group raises funds to send delegate to Juneau [Fairbanks Daily News-Miner] A fundraising campaign began in an upstairs room at University Community Presbyterian Church Sunday when a woman whipped out a... Read More |
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Ex-Intel VP Fights for Detainee [Wired.com] Friends of an Intel programmer who is being held in a federal prison can't help but shake their heads in... Read More |
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House Judiciary Chairman Hesitant on UPA II [FOX News] WASHINGTON — The Bush administration's plans to expand a post-Sept. 11 anti-terrorism law face resistance from a powerful House Republican... Read More |
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Local Officials Rise Up to Defy The Patriot Act [The Washington Post] ARCATA, Calif. — This North Coast city may look sweet -- old, low-to-the-ground buildings, town square with a bronze statue... Read More |
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GOP calls for wider powers to track citizens [Seattle Post-Intelligencer] WASHINGTON — With the war on terrorism lagging behind the war in Iraq, Republicans in Congress and the White House... Read More |
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Libraries Rally Against USA Patriot Act [FOX News] PATERSON, N.J.—Librarians across the country are rising up against the USA Patriot Act, shredding records and making other attempts to... Read More |
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Conservatives Rise for the Bill of Rights! [The Village Voice] A significant development in the movement to resist the Ashcroft-Bush dismembering of the Bill of Rights is the growing coalition... Read More |
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Chief Architect of Patriot Act to Quit [Los Angeles Times] WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is losing another key foot soldier in its war on terrorism. Viet Dinh, the chief... Read More |
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Fighting the Patriot Act—Now It's Alaska! [CounterPunch.org] The Bush Administration and Attorney General John Ashcroft may have been able to pull a fast one in the wake... Read More |
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Town criminalizes compliance with Patriot Act [CNN] ARCATA, California (AP) — More than 100 cities and one state have passed resolutions condemning the USA Patriot Act, saying... Read More |
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Senate passes resolution questioning Patriot ActBy TOM MORAN
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (website)
5/22/2003 JUNEAU—The state Senate passed a resolution late Tuesday expressing concern
over the federal USA Patriot Act, an antiterrorism measure passed by Congress
shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks that dramatically increased federal search,
surveillance and arrest powers. Passage of the measure makes Alaska the second
state, after Hawaii, to raise doubts about the act.
Among its provisions, the Patriot Act allows the FBI to investigate Americans
without probable cause, lets noncitizens be jailed based on mere suspicion,
expands federal powers of electronic, phone and other surveillance, and gives
the government access to personal records reaching all the way down to what
books a person has checked out of the library. Opponents of the act, including a
vocal group in the Interior, contend that some of its stipulations infringe on
civil liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution.
"When we stand on this floor and we salute that flag, the final words that we
use are 'One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,"
said Sen. Robin Taylor, R-Wrangell. "I take it deadly serious when we start
removing groups of people from 'justice for all.'"
The anti-Patriot Act movement in Alaska first got a substantial head of steam
in the Interior, where the Fairbanks City Council passed a bill raising concern
at the act at the urging of a vocal group of citizens. The North Pole City
Council has followed suit, while the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly
narrowly defeated a measure expressing concern at the act. More than 100
communities nationwide have passed measures objecting to the act.
A pair of Patriot Act resolutions were introduced in the state House in April
by Rep. David Guttenberg, D-Fairbanks, and House Majority Leader John Coghill,
R-North Pole. Coghill later decided to back Guttenberg's version and signed on
as co-sponsor. That resolution passed the state House on May 12 by a 32-1 vote,
and passed the Senate Tuesday night 19-0. Twenty-three legislators have signed
on a co-sponsors of the measure.
The resolution states that parts of the Patriot Act may violate civil rights,
and calls on Congress to work to correct the act and to oppose future
legislation that would infringe on civil liberties.
"The Alaska State Legislature supports the government of the United States of
America in its campaign against terrorism," reads the resolution, "and affirms
its commitment that the campaign not be waged at the expense of essential civil
rights and liberties of citizens of this country."
The measure also says that state agencies may not participate in
investigations without "reasonable suspicion" of criminal activity. That
includes sharing information like library and medical records, even if it's
authorized by federal law.
The resolution also says that the state may not collect information about the
views of any individuals or groups unless it is part of a criminal
investigation. And, it states that Alaska does not engage in racial profiling.
There was no objection to the measure on the Senate floor. Taylor and Sens.
Scott Ogan, R-Palmer, and Johnny Ellis, D-Anchorage, spoke in favor.
"I'd like to urge the members of the body to join together in a bipartisan
fashion tonight in support of the Bill of Rights, the Alaska Constitution, and
civil liberties," said Ellis, who had also sponsored a version of the resolution
in the Senate.
Copies of the resolution will be sent to President Bush, U.S. Attorney
General John Ashcroft and Alaska's congressional delegation. Ogan and Taylor
said they expect the measure will show support for U.S. Rep. Don Young, who has
openly objected to the act.
"I was very proud of our congressman when he stood up and said it was a
stupid law, they shouldn't have done it, it went too far," Taylor said. Close |
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Alaska Passes Anti-Patriot Act Resolution [ABC News] May 23—Alaska has joined a growing national rebellion against the USA Patriot Act, voting to oppose the massive federal anti-terrorism... Read More |
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Anti-Terror Power Used Broadly [The Washington Post] The Justice Department has used many of the anti-terrorism powers granted in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks... Read More |
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Ashcroft Defied on City Hall Steps [The Village Voice] "As New Yorkers living in the city most affected by September 11, we acknowledge the need to protect our safety,... Read More |
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US threatens mass expulsions [BBC News] More than 13,000 Arab and Muslim men in the US are facing deportation after co-operating with post-11 September anti-terror measures,... Read More |
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Patriot Act of 2001 casts wide net [The Washington Post] Long-sought details have begun to emerge from the Justice Department on how anti-terrorist provisions of the USA Patriot Act were... Read More |
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N.J. Judge Unseals Transcript In Terror Case [The Washington Post] PATERSON, N.J., June 24—Mohamed Atriss spent six months here in the Passaic County Jail based on accusations by county prosecutors... Read More |
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Report on UPA Alleges Civil Rights Violations [The New York Times] WASHINGTON, July 20—A report by internal investigators at the Justice Department has identified dozens of recent cases in which department... Read More |
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House Takes Aim at Patriot Act Secret Searches [Reuters] WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to roll back a key provision, which allows the government... Read More |
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Toughen Patriot Act, attorney general says [Anchorage Daily News] United States Attorney General John Ashcroft told federal and local officials Monday the USA Patriot Act should be expanded, not... Read More |
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War on Terrorism Increasingly Used in War on Drugs [Drug Policy Alliance] A Watauga County prosecutor is using a law intended to combat terrorism to fight the spread of methamphetamine laboratories in... Read More |
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Justice Department Opposes "Sneak and Peek" Ban [The Washington Post] WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The U.S. Justice Department on Friday opposed a bid to ban the government from conducting secret "sneak and peek"... Read More |
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A tiny town shouts "Whoa!" to Patriot Act [The Seattle Times] TONASKET, Okanogan County—If this is a hotbed of sedition, they're hiding it pretty well. In fact, the most suspicious group... Read More |
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