Orwellian Legislation: Stop the Unconstitutional "Protect America" Act
Global Research | September 21, 2007
populistamerica.com
By Michael Boldin
In August, Congress quickly passed legislation that gave yet more power to the Executive Branch. The Protect America Act is a warrantless eavesdropping bill that expands the power of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). It was passed just before summer recess: by the Senate on August 3 (
Roll Call 309), and by the House on August 4 (
Roll Call 836). George Bush then signed the bill into law on Sunday, August 5.
The Protect America Act gives the federal government the authority to monitor American citizens' phone conversations and e-mails, providing they are corresponding with persons "reasonably believed to be located outside the United States." This bill, which was drafted mostly by the White House, was created in response to the 2005 scandal where President Bush was ridiculed for authorizing the National Security Agency to conduct a secret wiretapping program targeted at persons within the United States. A federal court ruling found that program to be what most people already believed it to be: unconstitutional.
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution states: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
Unconstitutional laws, such as the Protect America Act, are a direct attack on the Constitution and your liberty.
The Protect American Act is set to expire in 6 months due to a sunset provision that was attached to the final version of S. 1927. Congress will then have the opportunity to renew or reject the law.
In a statement made on September 19, President Bush called on Congress to make Protect America Act permanent.
The single largest anti-Constitutional contribution to the Bush Regime by the Protect America Act (PAA) is its effective cancellation of legislative and judicial oversight on warrantless wiretapping. It authorizes open-ended surveillance of Americans' overseas phone calls and e-mails without a warrant.
When this bill was signed into law on 08-05-07, legislative and judicial power in the executive branch instantly grew by several orders of magnitude. The Constitution's separation-of-powers principle had its arms ripped off. [1]
The law is set to expire after 6 months. But, unsurprisingly, Bush just announced that he wants those powers to be permanent.
Send a letter opposing this to your members of Congress now! It takes just a couple minutes with our online system.
On Wednesday, September 19th, Bush said:
"So I call on Congress to make the Protect America Act permanent. The need for action is clear. Director McConnell has warned that unless the FISA reforms in the Act are made permanent, our national security professionals will lose critical tools they need to protect our country. Without these tools, it'll be harder to figure out what our enemies are doing to train, recruit and infiltrate operatives in our country. Without these tools our country will be much more vulnerable to attack."[2]
Once again, using fear, Bush and his cohorts are calling on you to willingly give up your liberty - permanently. By allowing spying without warrant, the PAA - along with FISA itself - directly contradicts the plain English of the 4th Amendment.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
No Warrants Shall Issue. Period.
Tell your senators and representatives to do something unusual - tell them to stand up for your liberty and the US Constitution - by letting this awful legislation expire.
Former federal prosecutor Edward Lazarus says that warrantless wiretapping is a major threat to the Constitution's separation of powers. It is a sapping of legislative and judicial power into the executive.[1]
Lazarus writes -- "... the Constitution's separation of powers was the nation's primary defense against tyranny. And tyranny, [Yale law professor Stephen] Carter concluded in an oft quoted line, does not overwhelm a nation in an instant. No, he wrote, 'tyranny creeps".
Lazarus continues -- "Lately, though, tyranny runs like a cheetah."[1][3]
Sources:
[1] "Protect America Act: Cheetah for Tyranny" Stephen Neitzke, PopulistAmerica.com, August 13, 2007
http://www.populistamerica.com/protect_america_act_cheetah_for_tyranny
[2] "Wihte Press Release" September 19, 2007
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/09/20070919.html
[3] "Warrantless Wiretapping: Why it Seriously Imperils the Separation of Powers" Edward Lazarus, FindLaw, December, 2005.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/lazarus/20051222.html
