American Civil Liberties Union: Sign the ACLU's Petition to stop the abuse of "State Secrets"

It’s Time to Learn the Truth

It’s been six years since the first reports of detainee abuse and nearly five years since Abu Ghraib. A recent confidential report from the International Committee of the Red Cross provided undeniable documentation of torture at Guantánamo. Yet the Justice Department has failed to prosecute any civilians for crimes related to interrogation, except a single contractor in June 2004.

These stunning revelations only underscore the need for an independent prosecutor. With mounting evidence of deliberate and widespread use of torture and abuse, we deserve to have the assurance that torture will stop and never happen again.

Stand with the ACLU. Ask Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint  an independent prosecutor to investigate the interrogation of detainees in the war on terror.

American Civil Liberties Union: Sign the ACLU's Petition to stop the abuse of "State Secrets"

Technorati Tags: ACLU,torture,Eric Holder,activism,actions

Civil rights group to Obama: Release secret Bush memos

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is calling on the Justice Department to release Bush administration documentation pertaining to torture, surveillance and other controversial national security policies.

The civil rights watchdog sent a letter today to the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, the same office that provided legal advice to the White House under George W. Bush.

The secret memos were essentially the legal foundation for many of the Bush adminstration's questionable practices, says the ACLU in a news release received by Raw Story.

The Bush White House vigorously fought the release of such revealing (some would say, damning) documentation in the interests, it insisted, of protecting national security and other factors.

The ACLU's filing of the Freedom of Information Act request follows President Obama's recent directive to minimize federal secrecy and "usher in a new era of open government."The request is seen as a test of the freshly inaugurated president's transparency policy. "The ACLU now sees a new opening," writes Marisa Taylor of McClatchy Newspapers.

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The Constitution-Free Zone of the United States [Map]

Using data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, the ACLU has determined that nearly 2/3 of the entire US population (197.4 million people) live within 100 miles of the US land and coastal borders.

The government is assuming extraordinary powers to stop and search individuals within this zone. This is not just about the border: This " Constitution-Free Zone" includes most of the nation's largest metropolitan areas.

We urge you to call on Congress to hold hearings on and pass legislation to end these egregious violations of Americans' civil rights.

LEARN MORE > ACLU Press Release -->
> Fact Sheet on Border "Constitution-free Zone"
> Border Security Technologies> Remarks of Craig Johnson
> Constitution-Free Zone: The Numbers

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True Stories of Violation

American Civil Liberties Union: Who will Bush pardon?

See the Wall of Shame at the ACLU and take action to express your disapproval of any torture-related pardons, especially "preemptive" ones!

Speak out against preemptive pardons and help restore the American values of justice and due process. Send a message to President Bush telling him you oppose preemptive pardons for these people and any others who may have been involved in torture.
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Pardons: Will he or won't he?

From the ACLU...

There’s a real risk that President Bush may issue pardons to a number of high-ranking Administration officials for any activities related to torture, extraordinary rendition and other abuses.
That’s right. Even before they’re charged with a crime, Bush has the power to prevent any criminal investigation into the activities of Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Gonzales and others whose behavior raises serious questions.
Send a message to President Bush telling him you oppose preemptive pardons for torture.
We must make it clear that preemptive pardons aimed at letting high-ranking officials escape accountability for undermining the Constitution and violating the law go against American values of justice and due process.
Today, the ACLU is urging concerned people all across the country to speak out against these pardons. Americans -- and the world -- have a right to know the truth about torture and other abuses carried out in our name.
Tell President Bush: you oppose preemptive pardons for torture.
This weekend, both The New York Times and The Washington Post issued powerful editorials calling on President Bush to resist taking this inflammatory action. We need you to do the same.
As the Post put it, "no country should be in the business of concealing its history." We should be getting at the truth, not excusing those involved in shameless acts.
So, in a preemptive campaign of our own, the ACLU is urging people all across the country to tell President Bush that you won’t stand for preemptive pardons for people who were involved in torture, illegal detention, and other abuses.
Take action: Tell President Bush you oppose preemptive pardons for torture.
In its editorial, The New York Times made the case clearly:

"The Bush administration distorted statutes and case law to legally justify interrogation techniques that had long been considered torture under domestic and international law. It relied on sloppy or aggressive legal analysis as a basis for evading judicial review of a warrantless wiretapping program. It has at every turn chosen the most expansive interpretation of the law to rationalize indefinite detentions and deny federal court review to those in custody. It has, in short, determined its preferred course of action first and then stitched together absurd readings of the law to defend those choices."

The last thing America needs as we set out to restore the rule of law and repair America’s reputation in the world is a last-ditch Bush effort to pardon those who guided our country so far off course.
Please act now. Help the ACLU raise a powerful wave of protest expressing outrage that pardons by President Bush are even under consideration.
Sincerely,

Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director
ACLU

Technorati Tags: ACLU,Bush,pardons,presidential pardons,activism,petitions,news,politics,laws

Gay Marriage Ban Looks to Have Passed in California, but Is It Legal?

"Lawyers and marriage equality proponents are calling Proposition 8 illegal, and they may have good legal ground to stand on."
Hundreds of gay people and their allies at the Music Box in Hollywood on Election Night thundered their approval when states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio were called for Barack Obama. Like so many others around the world, gay people, anxious for change, felt the pendulum of history about to make a huge sweep in a progressive direction.

Just when we thought the voters of the US were moving forward, the voters of California take a tragic step backwards. How sad, how very sad.

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ACLU: 100-mile 'Constitution-free zone' surrounds border

The ACLU says a "Constitution-free zone" exists within 100 miles of the US border, where DHS claims the authority to stop, search and detain anyone for any reason. Nearly two-thirds of the US population lives within 100 miles of the border, according to the ACLU, and the border zone encompasses scores of major cites and some entire states.

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video testimonial from Vince Peppard, another San Diegoan who faced trouble
from border agents. Peppard said he was stopped at least 20 miles inside the
border on a return trip from Mexico. He refused to open his trunk "on a matter
of principle" and was detained for about 30 minutes."I didn't feel like I was in
the United States," he says. "I felt like I was in some kind of police
state."

The ACLU posted a video of Peppard on YouTube:

Know Your Voting Rights - State By State

 

The Voting Rights Project of the ACLU is dedicated to providing citizens with information and assistance in exercising their right to vote! We are urging citizens to ACT this election year. For more information or to voice a voting rights complaint, call 1-877-523-2792, email us at vrp@aclu.org, or click below. Know your voting rights. Act!

General | State-Specific

Know Your Voting Rights - State By State

Technorati Tags: ACLU,vote,voting,voting rights,The Voting Rights Project

The right to assembly

The American Civil Liberties Union is representing dozens of protestors arrested at the RNC...



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Facts Over Fear

An email action from the ACLU to sign a "Keep Standing Up To The Fear-Mongering" Petition to House leaders.

Dear Friend,

The administration played the fear card and, this time, their bluff was called. Finally, the House of Representatives -- led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer -- refused to yield.

Send a "Keep Standing Up To The Fear-Mongering" Petition to House leaders.

It happened on a critical showdown over FISA legislation. Refusing all reasonable courses of action, the Bush White House essentially said give us what we want, including immunity for telecom companies that cooperated with the administration’s illegal efforts, or we will accuse you of being soft on terrorism.

And House leaders refused to bend, letting the ill-named Protect America Act expire rather than cave in to the fear-mongering. They’ve taken a strong stand. And now, we need to urge them to hold firm.

Send a "Keep Standing Up To The Fear-Mongering" Petition to House leaders.

The Bush administration is going all out now -- doing everything it can to bully Congress into caving in the face of a massive fear-mongering onslaught. We’ve got to push back with an all-out “Facts Over Fear” campaign.

Sincerely,

Caroline Fredrickson, Director
ACLU Washington Legislative Office

© ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY 10004

Technorati tags: ACLU, activism, petitions, actions

Let's Not Wait for '08

An ACLU action With your help, we are going to put all 535 members of Congress on the record by asking a simple question - Will you defend the Constitution? And will you defend it now? Answering yes means standing up on four critical issues: Ending rampant surveillance and warrantless spying on Americans. Shutting down Guantánamo Bay and give those held there access to justice. Restoring habeas corpus and due process. Stopping torture and extraordinary rendition: secretly kidnapping people and sending them to countries that torture. Urge your Representative and Senators to commit to defending the Constitution. Fill out the form located by clicking here to send your message. You can also cut & paste this url in your browser, https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?=homepage&id=715&page=UserAction&JServSessionIdr008=d9gi1w09j1.app23a From an email, "We Won’t Wait: Stop Torture, End Spying, Restore the Rule of Law"... It’s long past time for Congress to stop caving in and start standing up to the Bush Administration. With your help, the ACLU is putting all 535 members of Congress on notice: stand up for the Constitution or face a tidal wave of criticism and pressure from your constituents. We are asking each member of Congress to go on record by asking a simple question - Will you defend the Constitution? And will you defend it now? Answering yes means standing up on four critical issues: Stopping Torture Ending warrantless wiretapping Shutting down Guantánamo Bay Restoring habeas curpus Our “leaders” in Washington keep telling us to wait for a more politically expedient time to restore our freedoms. Well, the ACLU has a message for them: Don’t Wait for ’08! That’s the rallying cry during our critical campaign demanding immediate action from Congress to restore our constitutional rights and to hold the Bush Administration accountable for its abuses. The ACLU is calling on everyone across America who cares about liberty and the state of the nation to let Congress know we demand action on these crucial issues. Put your Members of Congress on notice today, ask them: Will you defend the Constitution? I made the committment. Will you make a committment to the Constitution? I just emailed my Members of Congress to ask them one thing: Will you make a commitment to the Constitution? It's time for Congress to stop caving in and start standing up to the Bush Administration. And our "leaders" in Washington keep saying they're waiting for a more politically expedient time to restore our freedoms. I say, Don't Wait for '08! Help get all 535 members of Congress to go on the record about one thing: Will you defend the Constitution? And will you defend it now? Answering yes means standing up on four critical issues: ending warrantless wiretapping, shutting down Guantanamo Bay, restoring habeas corpus, and stopping torture. So, get involved! Ask your Members of Congress if they will make a Commitment to the Constitution. Take action here: http://action.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?=homepage&id=715&page=UserAction Thanks!

Click here to view a printable version of this eCard.

Click here to send your own eCard.