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[Ian Meyer <ianmeyer AT mac.com>]

I rec'd thos today, I can't make it, but if anyone else wants to, heres the info (assuming you didn't get it also).

Ian

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Noah T. Winer, MoveOn.org" <moveon-help AT list.moveon.org>
> Date: September 5, 2003 12:33:01 PM EDT
> To: Ian Meyer <ianmeyer AT mac.com>
> Subject: Opportunity for Raleigh-Durham area MoveOn members
>
> Dear MoveOn member,
>
> This Saturday, Attorney General John Ashcroft will be speaking in
> Durham in defense of the controversial Patriot Act. The North Carolina
> ACLU and the Bill of Rights Defense Committee have organized a
> demonstration to show the broad public opposition to this threat to
> our freedoms. They are asking all supportive people to attend with
> signs.
>
> WHAT: Demonstration to demand the protection of our civil liberties
> and counter Ashcroft's Patriot Act tour
>
> WHEN: Saturday, September 6 at 10:00 AM
>
> WHERE: Sheraton Imperial Hotel Convention Center, Blvd 4700 Emperor
> Blvd. (I-40 exit 282 Page Road)
> Map: http://www.moveon.org/r?466
>
> WHO: ACLU of North Carolina (http://acluofnorthcarolina.org/)
> Contact: Jennifer Coleman at (919) 834-3466;
> Durham Bill of Rights Defense Committee (http://www.bordc.org/),
> Contact: Jim Senter at (919) 220-5169;
> Orange County Bill of Rights Defense Committee
> Contact: Margaret Misch at (919) 942-2535 or mmisch AT earthlink.net
>
> Please let us know you can attend:
>
> http://www.moveon.org/ashcroft/raleigh-durham.html?id=1636-3020810-GBNBkOlc0nh2Sy4B6gmT.A
>
> Ashcroft is currently touring the nation, with a focus on states
> contested in the presidential election, as part of a public relations
> campaign to shore up the Patriot Act. The tour comes as increasing
> numbers of Americans are challenging the Administration's assault on
> basic freedoms and as Congress considers numerous bipartisan measures
> to prohibit implementation of aspects of the Patriot Act.
>
> The Attorney General also seeks to build support for passage of the
> expansive sequel, dubbed Patriot II, and the VICTORY Act. His speeches
> will be given before audiences of law enforcement officials and are
> closed to the public. Even the schedule of the tour is being kept a
> secret until the last minute. All of this seems designed to prevent
> Americans from showing their opposition to attacks on civil liberties.
>
> Don't let the Justice Department's secrecy prevent the free expression
> of opposition to the Patriot Act. Sign up now to attend the press
> conference countering Ashcroft's claims:
>
> http://www.moveon.org/ashcroft/raleigh-durham.html?id=1636-3020810-GBNBkOlc0nh2Sy4B6gmT.A
>
> If you're unable to attend, pass this information on to your friends
> and neighbors in the area. Thanks for insisting that security is
> attainable without sacrificing our freedom.
>
> Sincerely,
> --Noah T. Winer
> MoveOn.org
> September 5, 2003
>
> P.S. Here's an excellent editorial that appeared in the New York Times
> last week:
>
> Op-Ed: An Unpatriotic Act
> by Bill Blaas, The New York Times, Monday August 25, 2003
>
> Attorney General John Ashcroft has embarked on a charm offensive on
> behalf of the USA Patriot Act. He is traveling the country to rally
> support for the law, which many people, both liberals and
> conservatives, consider a dangerous assault on civil liberties. Mr.
> Ashcroft's efforts to promote the law are misguided. He should abandon
> the roadshow and spend more time in Washington working with those who
> want to reform the law.
>
> When the Patriot Act raced through Congress after Sept. 11, critics
> warned that it was an unprecedented expansion of the government's
> right to spy on ordinary Americans. The more people have learned about
> the law, the greater the calls have been for overhauling it. One
> section that has produced particular outrage is the authorization of
> "sneak and peek" searches, in which the government secretly searches
> people's homes and delays telling them about the search. The House
> last month voted 309 to 118 for a Republican-sponsored measure to
> block the use of federal funds for such searches.
>
> Congressional opponents of the act, on both sides of the aisle, are
> pushing for other changes. A Senate bill, sponsored by Lisa Murkowski,
> an Alaska Republican, and Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, addresses
> many of the law's most troubling aspects. One provision would make it
> harder for the government to gain access to sensitive data, including
> medical and library records, and records concerning the purchase or
> rental of books, music or videos.
>
> Another change would narrow the definition of "terrorism," so the
> law's expanded enforcement tools could not be used against domestic
> political protesters, such as environmentalists and anti-abortion
> activists, with no link to international terrorism. The bill would
> also require the government to be more specific about the targets of
> wiretaps obtained under the law, and would restrict the kind of
> information that could be collected on Internet and e-mail use.
>
> One member of Congress, Representative John Conyers Jr., a Michigan
> Democrat, has charged that Mr. Ashcroft's lobbying campaign, in which
> United States attorneys have been asked to participate, may violate
> the law prohibiting members of the executive branch from engaging in
> grass-roots lobbying for or against Congressional legislation. Legal
> or not, the campaign seeks to shore up a deeply flawed piece of
> legislation. The Patriot Act is the Bush administration's attempt to
> make the country safe on the cheap. Rather than do the hard work of
> coming up with effective port security and air cargo checks, and other
> programs targeted at actual threats, the administration has taken aim
> at civil liberties.
>
> The administration is clearly worried, as opposition to the excesses
> of the Patriot Act grows across the country and the political
> spectrum. Instead of spin-doctoring the problem, Mr. Ashcroft should
> work with the law's critics to develop a law that respects Americans'
> fundamental rights.
>
> Copyright 2003, The New York Times Company.
>
> __________
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