posted 02-09-2003 04:46 PM            

from: http://www.publicintegrity.org/dtaweb/report.asp?ReportID=502&L1=10&L2=10&L3=0&L4=0&L5=0  

February 9, 2003

Special Report
Justice Dept. Drafts Sweeping Expansion of Anti-Terrorism Act
Center Publishes Secret Draft of ‘Patriot II’ Legislation

By Charles Lewis and Adam Mayle

(WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2003) -- The Bush Administration is preparing a bold, comprehensive sequel to the USA Patriot Act passed in the wake of September 11, 2001, which will give the government broad, sweeping new powers to increase domestic intelligence-gathering, surveillance and law enforcement prerogatives, and simultaneously decrease judicial review and public access to information.

The Center for Public Integrity has obtained a draft, dated January 9, 2003, of this previously undisclosed legislation and is making it available in full text (12 MB). The bill, drafted by the staff of Attorney General John Ashcroft and entitled the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003, has not been officially released by the Department of Justice, although rumors of its development have circulated around the Capitol for the last few months under the name of “the Patriot Act II” in legislative parlance.

“We haven’t heard anything from the Justice Department on updating the Patriot Act,” House Judiciary Committee spokesman Jeff Lungren told the Center. “They haven’t shared their thoughts on that. Obviously, we'd be interested, but we haven’t heard anything at this point.”

Senior members of the Senate Judiciary Committee minority staff have inquired about Patriot II for months and have been told as recently as this week that there is no such legislation being planned.

RELATED DOCUMENTS
The draft of the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 (12 MB)
  Note: Due to high traffic volume, downloading the whole document might take several minutes. To download it in parts, click the links below:
Parts I (4.9 MB)
Part II (1.9 MB)
Part III (1.8 MB)
Part IV (1.8 MB)
Part V (1.9 MB)
The Office of Legislative Affairs “control sheet” which shows that a copy of the bill was sent to Speaker Hastert and Vice President Cheney (157 KB)
Read the Justice Department's response to this report. (230 KB)

Mark Corallo, deputy director of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs, told the Center his office was unaware of the draft. “I have heard people talking about revising the Patriot Act, we are looking to work on things the way we would do with any law,” he said. “We may work to make modifications to protect Americans,” he added. When told that the Center had a copy of the draft legislation, he said, “This is all news to me. I have never heard of this.”

After the Center posted this story, Barbara Comstock, director of public affairs for the Justice Dept., released a statement saying that, "Department staff have not presented any final proposals to either the Attorney General or the White House. It would be premature to speculate on any future decisions, particularly ideas or proposals that are still being discussed at staff levels."

An Office of Legislative Affairs “control sheet” that was obtained by the PBS program "Now With Bill Moyers" seems to indicate that a copy of the bill was sent to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and Vice President Richard Cheney on Jan. 10, 2003. “Attached for your review and comment is a draft legislative proposal entitled the ‘Domestice Security Enhancement Act of 2003,’” the memo, sent from “OLP” or Office of Legal Policy, says.
RELATED LINKS
  For additional information, visit the web site of PBS' "Now With Bill Moyers". Read the transcript of Moyers' interview with Charles Lewis.

Comstock later told the Center that the draft "is an early discussion draft and it has not been sent to either the Vice President or the Speaker of the House."

Dr. David Cole, Georgetown University Law professor and author of Terrorism and the Constitution, reviewed the draft legislation at the request of the Center, and said that the legislation “raises a lot of serious concerns. It’s troubling that they have gotten this far along and they’ve been telling people there is nothing in the works.” This proposed law, he added, “would radically expand law enforcement and intelligence gathering authorities, reduce or eliminate judicial oversight over surveillance, authorize secret arrests, create a DNA database based on unchecked executive ‘suspicion,’ create new death penalties, and even seek to take American citizenship away from persons who belong to or support disfavored political groups.”

Some of the key provision of the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 include:

Section 201, “Prohibition of Disclosure of Terrorism Investigation Detainee Information”: Safeguarding the dissemination of information related to national security has been a hallmark of Ashcroft’s first two years in office, and the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 follows in the footsteps of his October 2001 directive to carefully consider such interest when granting Freedom of Information Act requests. While the October memo simply encouraged FOIA officers to take national security, “protecting sensitive business information and, not least, preserving personal privacy” into account while deciding on requests, the proposed legislation would enhance the department’s ability to deny releasing material on suspected terrorists in government custody through FOIA.

Section 202, “Distribution of ‘Worst Case Scenario’ Information”: This would introduce new FOIA restrictions with regard to the Environmental Protection Agency. As provided for in the Clean Air Act, the EPA requires private companies that use potentially dangerous chemicals must produce a “worst case scenario” report detailing the effect that the release of these controlled substances would have on the surrounding community. Section 202 of this Act would, however, restrict FOIA requests to these reports, which the bill’s drafters refer to as “a roadmap for terrorists.” By reducing public access to “read-only” methods for only those persons “who live and work in the geographical area likely to be affected by a worst-case scenario,” this subtitle would obfuscate an established level of transparency between private industry and the public.

Section 301-306, “Terrorist Identification Database”: These sections would authorize creation of a DNA database on “suspected terrorists,” expansively defined to include association with suspected terrorist groups, and noncitizens suspected of certain crimes or of having supported any group designated as terrorist.

Section 312, “Appropriate Remedies with Respect to Law Enforcement Surveillance Activities”: This section would terminate all state law enforcement consent decrees before Sept. 11, 2001, not related to racial profiling or other civil rights violations, that limit such agencies from gathering information about individuals and organizations. The authors of this statute claim that these consent orders, which were passed as a result of police spying abuses, could impede current terrorism investigations. It would also place substantial restrictions on future court injunctions.

Section 405, “Presumption for Pretrial Detention in Cases Involving Terrorism”: While many people charged with drug offenses punishable by prison terms of 10 years or more are held before their trial without bail, this provision would create a comparable statute for those suspected of terrorist activity. The reasons for presumptively holding suspected terrorists before trial, the Justice Department summary memo states, are clear. “This presumption is warranted because of the unparalleled magnitude of the danger to the United States and its people posed by acts of terrorism, and because terrorism is typically engaged in by groups – many with international connections – that are often in a position to help their members flee or go into hiding.”

Section 501, “Expatriation of Terrorists”: This provision, the drafters say, would establish that an American citizen could be expatriated “if, with the intent to relinquish his nationality, he becomes a member of, or provides material support to, a group that the United Stated has designated as a ‘terrorist organization’.” But whereas a citizen formerly had to state his intent to relinquish his citizenship, the new law affirms that his intent can be “inferred from conduct.” Thus, engaging in the lawful activities of a group designated as a “terrorist organization” by the Attorney General could be presumptive grounds for expatriation.

The Domestic Security Enhancement Act is the latest development in an 18-month trend in which the Bush Administration has sought expanded powers and responsibilities for law enforcement bodies to help counter the threat of terrorism.

The USA Patriot Act, signed into law by President Bush on Oct. 26, 2001, gave law enforcement officials broader authority to conduct electronic surveillance and wiretaps, and gives the president the authority, when the nation is under attack, to confiscate any property within U.S. jurisdiction of anyone believed to be engaging in such attacks. The measure also tightened oversight of financial activities to prevent money laundering and diminish bank secrecy in an effort to disrupt terrorist finances.

It also changed provisions of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which was passed in 1978 during the Cold War. FISA established a different standard of government oversight and judicial review for “foreign intelligence” surveillance than that applied to traditional domestic law enforcement surveillance.

The USA Patriot Act allowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation to share information gathered in terrorism investigations under the “foreign intelligence” standard with local law enforcement agencies, in essence nullifying the higher standard of oversight that applied to domestic investigations. The USA Patriot Act also amended FISA to permit surveillance under the less rigorous standard whenever “foreign intelligence” was a “significant purpose” rather than the “primary purpose” of an investigation.

The draft legislation goes further in that direction. “In the [USA Patriot Act] we have to break down the wall of foreign intelligence and law enforcement,” Cole said. “Now they want to break down the wall between international terrorism and domestic terrorism.”

In an Oct. 9, 2002, hearing of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism, and Government Information, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher testified that Justice had been, “looking at potential proposals on following up on the PATRIOT Act for new tools and we have also been working with different agencies within the government and they are still studying that and hopefully we will continue to work with this committee in the future on new tools that we believe are necessary in the war on terrorism.”

Asked by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) whether she could inform the committee of what specific areas Justice was looking at, Fisher replied, “At this point I can’t, I’m sorry. They're studying a lot of different ideas and a lot of different tools that follow up on information sharing and other aspects.”

Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy Viet Dinh, who was the principal author of the first Patriot Act, told Legal Times last October that there was “an ongoing process to continue evaluating and re-evaluating authorities we have with respect to counterterrorism,” but declined to say whether a new bill was forthcoming.

Former FBI Director William Sessions, who urged caution while Congress considered the USA Patriot Act, did not want to enter the fray concerning a possible successor bill.

"I hate to jump into it, because it's a very delicate thing," Sessions told the Center, without acknowledging whether he knew of any proposed additions or revisions to the additional Patriot bill.

When the first bill was nearing passage in the Congress in late 2001, however, Sessions told Internet site NewsMax.Com that the balance between civil liberties and sufficient intelligence gathering was a difficult one. “First of all, the Attorney General has to justify fully what he’s asking for,” Sessions, who served presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush as FBI Director from 1987 until 1993, said at the time. “We need to be sure that we provide an effective means to deal with criminality.” At the same time, he said, “we need to be sure that we are mindful of the Constitution, mindful of privacy considerations, but also meet the technological needs we have” to gather intelligence.

Cole found it disturbing that there have been no consultations with Congress on the draft legislation. “It raises a lot of serious concerns and is troubling as a generic matter that they have gotten this far along and tell people that there is nothing in the works. What that suggests is that they’re waiting for a propitious time to introduce it, which might well be when a war is begun. At that time there would be less opportunity for discussion and they’ll have a much stronger hand in saying that they need these right away.”

posted 02-10-2003 08:31 AM               

I watched the Bill Moyer's NOW program on Friday night and as Charles Lewis talked about this expansion of the Patriot Act you could see and even feel the fear in this man. Charles Lewis has duplicated what this is all about and the far reaching ramifications that will change life as we know it. If you didn't see this interview please take the time to read the transcripts on the website of PBS.

There is a quote by the American philosopher and writer, L. Ron Hubbard that continues to come to mind as one thing after another comes to light such as expressed in this topic. Here is that quote:

quote:

---

"....but it is not a speculation that life will become much more interesting on this planet. There is nothing as wild in the books of man as will probably happen here on Earth. And it will happen and be allowed to happen simply because all this is so incredible that nobody will even think of stopping it until it is far, far too late. Its incredibility is its best safeguard, so you needn't bother to convince anybody who doesn't want to believe it."

-L. Ron Hubbard
from the book, History of Man, Chapter 7 (c) 52, 57, 80 and 88

---

posted 02-10-2003 03:36 PM            

I can't believe there are people out there who think stepping on the Constitution and civil rights is O.K.

In fact, the people who have opposed this have been ostracized endlessly in the corporate media.

posted 02-10-2003 04:26 PM            

Patriot Act II: The Globalist Grab for Absolute Power

By Kevin Newsom
http://www.prisonplanet.com/analysis_newsom_021003_patriot.html

(Note: Due to the explosive news of a second Patriot Act being forced upon the American people, the Destruction of America series will return next week)

The USA Patriot Act, the landmark bill that stripped away several Constitutional privacy restraints and ushered in a new era of domestic spying, is about to be expanded. According to the Center for Public Integrity, the Justice Department is working feverishly toextend the Patriot Act into new spheres of control over the American people. And much like it’s predecessor, the government is working in the dark with this bill, busying itself with the tyrannical details while the American people are distracted with wars and rumors of wars.

The second Patriot Act, given the harmless title of the “Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003” (high resolution – low resolution) is currently in draft form, and is reported to have been sent to Speaker of The House Hastert and Vice President Cheney in early January. This act contains substantial cuts to civil liberties, personal privacy, and decimates several amendments listed in the Bill of Rights.

Some of the “protection” for the American people in this future bill includes further moves to eliminate The Freedom of Information Act in the name of national security, giving the government greater secrecy in detaining, jailing, holding, and arresting individuals branded as terrorists. Under this bill, the federal government wouldn’t need to release any material to the public about whom it has under arrest. Anyone who is thought to be a terrorist or who could become a terrorist can simply be taken from their homes, work, or off the street, and be imprisoned indefinitely, without the ability to notify friends or family. The fear of being hauled away in the middle of the night no longer belongs to the paranoid or “conspiracy theorists”, because if the Patriot Act II is signed into law, this fear will become reality. It will be a reality everyone will have to face. The fun continues when the draft later states that anyone who is detained/arrested and is suspected of being a terrorist will be locked away, without opportunity for bail, until their tribunal. He or she can also be hauled off to another country, where pesky rules and laws against such interrogation “techniques” as torture don’t exist. All without being formally charged with a crime.

There is much more to the bill than the creation of a de facto secret police, however. Section 301-306 of this draft designates the creation and maintenance of a DNA database of all suspected terrorists. Anyone who falls into this blurred category would be forced by the power of Washington D.C. to submit to a blood or hair sample when they are brought into the station. Imagine this for a few moments. A man or woman who hasn’t been found guilty of a single crime, forced at gunpoint to provide DNA for a national database of suspected terrorists. Welcome to the new America. You are guilty until proven innocent.

When news of this disgusting legislation-to-be was brought to the light Friday, the DOJ was quick to begin stifling any potential backlash by stating the bill was just a “rough draft”, and that nothing was finalized. Evidently, the bureaucrats were so worried that Barbara Comstock, Director of Public Affairs with the ironically named Justice Department, released a statement on Friday, February 7. In it, she states that “it would be premature to speculate on any future decisions, particularly ideas or proposals that are still being discussed at staff levels.” At the same time, she attempts to justify the government’s plotting against civil liberties by reasoning that “we are continuing considering anti-terrorism measures and would be derelict if we were not doing so.” That would be good for a laugh if it wasn’t so sick. Apparently, the DOJ believes that sacrificing all Constitutional rights in the name of stopping terrorists is the right thing to do. Instead of shutting the borders down, allowing only those who want to work hard and succeed to come to America, the government would rather punish those of us already living here.

From all of this insanity, one question and two frightening observations emerge. The question is this: by what standard will individuals be regarded as terrorists? With the stunning lack of accountability and transparency that is being imposed by these new laws, who is to insure that the rule of law is actually being followed? If mistakes can be made in modern death row cases with a relatively great deal of information available to the public, what assurance is there that similar mistakes won’t occur in this new, secret government? Even worse, who or what is going to make sure that this power won’t be abused? Human nature and history lessons state that men and women have butchered millions in order to maintain power. What kind of failsafe does the public have? None at all.

Also, one might wonder how such a Soviet style law could possibly pass in the US. Especially now that millions of people have access to the tyrannical plans of the bloated and corrupt federal government. The answer is painfully simple: another, larger, more destructive terrorist event. It would take such a catastrophe to shock people into the suicide pact that is The Patriot Act II. Therefore, it is up to each of us to speak up right now! Contact your city and state representatives, city halls, and governors. Let them know that, much like the first abomination, this Patriot Act doesn’t have to be followed, even if it is rubber stamped by those vultures in Washington! Also, contact your congressional representatives and give them an ear full about why the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 is horrible for America! If you don’t know who they are, now is a great time to find out. Go to congress.org for a user-friendly directory. Don’t let up until you get an answer, and feel free to write in with any and all responses. Remind them who they are supposed to be working for! Every effort must be made to stop what could be a horrible act from happening.

If another terrorist event occurs, not only will the Patriot Act pass, but also those who fought against it will be blamed for allowing the terrorists to win. This is why the time has come to let it be known that freedom is not going to be sacrificed. Wake up your friends, neighbors, and family to the growing insanity that afflicts our leaders. Tell them to stop by infowars.com and prisonplanet.com to get the latest news. Let them see the documents and judge for themselves. Don’t stop telling the truth, and don’t be afraid to fight this evil with every chance you get...because once this bill passes, freedom is truly dead, and it will be too late to talk about saving our country, or what is left of it.

posted 02-10-2003 08:33 PM            

U.S. May Seek Wider Anti-Terror Powers

By Charles Lane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 8, 2003; Page A01

The Justice Department is considering legislative proposals that would significantly expand the federal government's power to investigate, detain and punish suspected terrorists in secret and without court supervision, according to a preliminary draft of the bill disclosed yesterday.

The draft, a potential successor to the Patriot Act that passed Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, would authorize the Justice Department to conduct clandestine searches or eavesdrop on any suspected terrorist or foreign agent for 15 days after the beginning of a military conflict or "national emergency," rather than after a formal declaration of war, as current law provides. It would also permit wiretaps of U.S. citizens in terrorism cases for longer periods and with less court oversight than now permitted; and allow the department to collect a DNA-sample database from both convicted and suspected terrorists.

Under the draft, the government could declare individuals, not just groups, "foreign powers" subject to clandestine surveillance under looser standards than would apply in criminal cases, and it would permit such surveillance against a U.S. citizen suspected of spying for a foreign power, even if the alleged suspicious conduct was not itself criminal.

posted 02-10-2003 10:28 PM            

On February 7, 2003 the Center for Public Integrity, a non-partisan public interest think-tank in DC, revealed the full text of the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003. The classified document had been leaked to them by an unnamed source inside the Federal government. The document consisted of a 33-page section by section analysis of the accompanying 87-page bill.

The bill itself is stamped “Confidential – Not for Distribution.” Upon reading the analysis and bill, I was stunned by the scientifically crafted tyranny contained in the legislation. The Justice Department Office of Legislative Affairs admits that they had indeed covertly transmitted a copy of the legislation to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, (R-Il) and the Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney as well as the executive heads of federal law enforcement agencies.

It is important to note that no member of Congress was allowed to see the first Patriot Act before its passage, and that no debate was tolerate by the House and Senate leadership. The intentions of the White House and Speaker Hastert concerning Patriot Act II appear to be a carbon copy replay of the events that led to the unprecedented passage of the first Patriot Act.

There are two glaring areas that need to be looked at concerning this new legislation:

1. The secretive tactics being used by the White House and Speaker Hastert to keep even the existence of this legislation secret would be more at home in Communist China than in the United States. The fact that Dick Cheney publicly managed the steamroller passage of the first Patriot Act, insuring that no one was allowed to read it and publicly threatening member on Congress that if they didn’t vote in favor of it that they would be blamed for the next terrorist attack, is by the White House’s own definition terrorism. The move to clandestinely craft and then bully passage of any legislation by the Executive Branch is clearly an impeachable offence.

2. The second Patriot Act is a mirror image of powers that Julius Caesar and Adolf Hitler gave themselves. Whereas the First Patriot Act only gutted the First, Third, Fourth and Fifth Amendments, and seriously damaged the Seventh and the Tenth, the Second Patriot Act reorganizes the entire Federal government as well as many areas of state government under the dictatorial control of the Justice Department, the Office of Homeland Security and the FEMA NORTHCOM military command. The Domestic Security Enhancement Act 2003, also known as the Second Patriot Act is by its very structure the definition of dictatorship.

I challenge all Americans to study the new Patriot Act and to compare it to the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence. Ninety percent of the act has nothing to do with terrorism and is instead a giant Federal power-grab with tentacles reaching into every facet of our society. It strips American citizens of all of their rights and grants the government and its private agents total immunity.

Here is a quick thumbnail sketch of just some of the draconian measures encapsulated within this tyrannical legislation:

SECTION 501 (Expatriation of Terrorists) expands the Bush administration’s “enemy combatant” definition to all American citizens who “may” have violated any provision of Section 802 of the first Patriot Act. (Section 802 is the new definition of domestic terrorism, and the definition is “any action that endangers human life that is a violation of any Federal or State law.”) Section 501 of the second Patriot Act directly connects to Section 125 of the same act. The Justice Department boldly claims that the incredibly broad Section 802 of the First USA Patriot Act isn’t broad enough and that a new, unlimited definition of terrorism is needed.

Under Section 501 a US citizen engaging in lawful activities can be grabbed off the street and thrown into a van never to be seen again. The Justice Department states that they can do this because the person “had inferred from conduct” that they were not a US citizen. Remember Section 802 of the First USA Patriot Act states that any violation of Federal or State law can result in the “enemy combatant” terrorist designation.

SECTION 201 of the second Patriot Act makes it a criminal act for any member of the government or any citizen to release any information concerning the incarceration or whereabouts of detainees. It also states that law enforcement does not even have to tell the press who they have arrested and they never have to release the names.

SECTION 301 and 306 (Terrorist Identification Database) set up a national database of “suspected terrorists” and radically expand the database to include anyone associated with suspected terrorist groups and anyone involved in crimes or having supported any group designated as “terrorist.” These sections also set up a national DNA database for anyone on probation or who has been on probation for any crime, and orders State governments to collect the DNA for the Federal government.

SECTION 312 gives immunity to law enforcement engaging in spying operations against the American people and would place substantial restrictions on court injunctions against Federal violations of civil rights across the board.

SECTION 101 will designate individual terrorists as foreign powers and again strip them of all rights under the “enemy combatant” designation.

SECTION 102 states clearly that any information gathering, regardless of whether or not those activities are illegal, can be considered to be clandestine intelligence activities for a foreign power. This makes news gathering illegal.

SECTION 103 allows the Federal government to use wartime martial law powers domestically and internationally without Congress declaring that a state of war exists.

SECTION 106 is bone-chilling in its straightforwardness. It states that broad general warrants by the secret FSIA court (a panel of secret judges set up in a star chamber system that convenes in an undisclosed location) granted under the first Patriot Act are not good enough. It states that government agents must be given immunity for carrying out searches with no prior court approval. This section throws out the entire Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches and seizures.

SECTION 109 allows secret star chamber courts to issue contemp charges against any individual or corporation who refuses to incriminate themselves or others. This sections annihilate the last vestiges of the Fifth Amendment.

SECTION 110 restates that key police state clauses in the first Patriot Act were not sunsetted and removes the five year sunset clause from other subsections of the first Patriot Act. After all, the media has told us: “this is the New America. Get used to it. This is forever.”

SECTION 111 expands the definition of the “enemy combatant” designation.

SECTION 122 restates the government’s newly announced power of “surveillance without a court order.”

SECTION 123 restates that the government no longer needs warrants and that the investigations can be a giant dragnet-style sweep described in press reports about the Total Information Awareness Network. One passage reads, “thus the focus of domestic surveillance may be less precise than that directed against more conventional types of crime.”

*Note: Over and over again, in subsection after subsection, the second Patriot Act states that its new Soviet-type powers will be used to fight international terrorism, domestic terrorism and other types of crimes. Of course the government has already announced in Section 802 of the first USA Patriot act that any crime is considered domestic terrorism.

SECTION 126 grants the government the right to mine the entire spectrum of public and private sector information from bank records to educational and medical records. This is the enacting law to allow ECHELON and the Total Information Awareness Network to take break down any and all walls of privacy.

The government states that they must look at everything to “determine” if individuals or groups might have a connection to terrorist groups. As you can now see, you are guilty until proven innocent.

SECTION 127 allows the government to takeover coroners’ and medical examiners’ operations whenever they see fit. See how this is like Bill Clinton’s special medical examiner he had in Arkansas that ruled that people had committed suicide when their arms and legs had been cut off.

SECTION 128 allows the Federal government to place gag orders on Federal and State Grand Juries and to take over the proceedings. It also disallows individuals or organizations to even try to quash a Federal subpoena. So now defending yourself will be a terrorist action.

SECTION 129 destroys any remaining whistleblower protection for Federal agents.

SECTION 202 allows corporations to keep secret their activities with toxic biological, chemical or radiological materials.

SECTION 205 allows top Federal officials to keep all their financial dealings secret, and anyone investigating them can be considered a terrorist. This should be very useful for Dick Cheney to stop anyone investigating Haliburton.

SECTION 303 sets up national DNA database of suspected terrorists. The database will also be used to “stop other unlawful activities.” It will share the information with state, local and foreign agencies for the same purposes.

SECTION 311 federalizes your local police department in the area of information sharing.

SECTION 313 provides liability protection for businesses, especially big businesses that spy on their customers for Homeland Security, violating their privacy agreements. It goes on to say that these are all preventative measures – has anyone seen Minority Report? This is the access hub for the Total Information Awareness Network.

SECTION 321 authorizes foreign governments to spy on the American people and to share information with foreign governments.

SECTION 322 removes Congress from the extradition process and allows officers of the Homeland Security complex to extradite American citizens anywhere they wish. It also allows Homeland Security to secretly take individuals out of foreign countries.

SECTION 402 is titled “Providing Material Support to Terrorism.” The section reads that there is no requirement to show that the individual even had the intent to aid terrorists.

SECTION 403 expands the definition of weapons of mass destruction to include any activity that affects interstate or foreign commerce.

SECTION 404 makes it a crime for a terrorist or “other criminals” to use encryption in the commission of a crime.

SECTION 408 creates “lifetime parole” (basically, slavery) for a whole host of crimes.

SECTION 410 creates no statute of limitations for anyone that engages in terrorist actions or supports terrorists. Remember: any crime is now considered terrorism under the first Patriot Act.

SECTION 411 expands crimes that are punishable by death. Again, they point to Section 802 of the first Patriot Act and state that any terrorist act or support of terrorist act can result in the death penalty.

SECTION 421 increases penalties for terrorist financing. This section states that any type of financial activity connected to terrorism will result to time in prison and $10-50,000 fines per violation.

SECTIONS 427 sets up asset forfeiture provisions for anyone engaging in terrorist activities.

posted 02-10-2003 10:37 PM            

"If you encounter any of the following, Call the Joint Terrorism Task Force":

"defenders of the US Constitution against federal government and the UN"

[That describes many civil liberties groups and most gun rights and American Sovereignty groups in existence -- and, by extension, their members.]

"Groups of individuals engaging in para-military training"

[Such as, perhaps, shooting your semi-automatic "assault weapon" with some friends out in the desert?"]

Also being sought are "Common Law Movement Proponents" who

"Request authority for a stop"

[That's illegal now?]

"Make numerous references to the US Constitution"

[That's illegal now?]

"Attempt to 'police the police'"

[That's illegal now?]

And let's not forget the other potential "domestic terrorists" being sought. We really need to watch out for these people:

"Lone Individuals"

[Do you meet that description?]

"Rebels"

[Know any gun rights activist who doesn't have at least a touch of rebel pumping through the old bloodstream?]

Be sure and notice the following two things on the flyer, as well:

1) There is NOT ONE MENTION of "Islamic Fundamentalists" anywhere.

2) Defenders of the US Constitution and the common law from which it grew are being classified on the same level as the bottom-feeding Skinheads, Nazis and the KKK.

READ THE FLYER FOR YOURSELF

posted 02-10-2003 11:41 PM            

This is the most TREASONOUS,ANTI-AMERICAN document they have introduced yet. No wonder they wanted to keep it secret.

I guess all of us can be considered "ENEMY COMBATANTS" and tried in secret, no warrants..declaration of martial law at will... no court approval for surveilance..

This is sick.

Anyone who still thinks we don't have a CRIMINAL, TREASONOUS government is no different than Hitler youth as far as I am concerned.

posted 02-14-2003 11:00 AM            

TOTAL POLICE STATE TAKEOVER
The Secret Patriot Act II Destroys What Is Left of American Liberty

A Brief Analysis of the Domestic Security Enhancement Act 2003, Also Known as Patriot Act II
By Alex Jones www.infowars.com
(Posted Feb 10, 2003)

Congressman Ron Paul (R-Tex) told the Washington Times that no member of Congress was allowed to read the first Patriot Act that was passed by the House on October 27, 2001. The first Patriot Act was universally decried by civil libertarians and Constitutional scholars from across the political spectrum. William Safire, while writing for the New York Times, described the first Patriot Act’s powers by saying that President Bush was “seizing dictatorial control.

On February 7, 2003 the Center for Public Integrity, a non-partisan public interest think-tank in DC, revealed the full text of the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003. The classified document had been leaked to them by an unnamed source inside the Federal government. The document consisted of a 33-page section by section analysis of the accompanying 87-page bill.

*Note: On February 10, 2003 I discovered that not only was there a house version that had been covertly brought to Hastert, but that many provisions of the now public Patriot Act II had already been introduced as pork barrel riders on Senate Bill S. 22. Dozens of subsections and even the titles of the subsections are identical to those in the House version. This is very important because it catches the Justice Department in a bald-faced lie. The Justice Department claimed that the secret legislation brought into the House was only for study, and that at this time there was no intention to try and pass it. Now upon reading S. 22, it is clear that the leadership of the Senate is fully aware of the Patriot Act II, and have passed these riders out of their committees into the full bill. I spent two hours scanning through S. 22 and, let me tell you, it is a nightmare for anyone who loves liberty. It even contains the Our Lady of Peace Act that registers all gun owners. It bans the private sale of all firearms, creates a Federal ballistics database, and much more.

The bill itself is stamped “Confidential – Not for Distribution.” Upon reading the analysis and bill, I was stunned by the scientifically crafted tyranny contained in the legislation. The Justice Department Office of Legislative Affairs admits that they had indeed covertly transmitted a copy of the legislation to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, (R-Il) and the Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney as well as the executive heads of federal law enforcement agencies.

It is important to note that no member of Congress was allowed to see the first Patriot Act before its passage, and that no debate was tolerate by the House and Senate leadership. The intentions of the White House and Speaker Hastert concerning Patriot Act II appear to be a carbon copy replay of the events that led to the unprecedented passage of the first Patriot Act.

There are two glaring areas that need to be looked at concerning this new legislation:

1. The secretive tactics being used by the White House and Speaker Hastert to keep even the existence of this legislation secret would be more at home in Communist China than in the United States. The fact that Dick Cheney publicly managed the steamroller passage of the first Patriot Act, insuring that no one was allowed to read it and publicly threatening members of Congress that if they didn’t vote in favor of it that they would be blamed for the next terrorist attack, is by the White House’s own definition terrorism. The move to clandestinely craft and then bully passage of any legislation by the Executive Branch is clearly an impeachable offence.

2. The second Patriot Act is a mirror image of powers that Julius Caesar and Adolf Hitler gave themselves. Whereas the First Patriot Act only gutted the First, Third, Fourth and Fifth Amendments, and seriously damaged the Seventh and the Tenth, the Second Patriot Act reorganizes the entire Federal government as well as many areas of state government under the dictatorial control of the Justice Department, the Office of Homeland Security and the FEMA NORTHCOM military command. The Domestic Security Enhancement Act 2003, also known as the Second Patriot Act is by its very structure the definition of dictatorship.

I challenge all Americans to study the new Patriot Act and to compare it to the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence. Ninety percent of the act has nothing to do with terrorism and is instead a giant Federal power-grab with tentacles reaching into every facet of our society.

SEE ABOVE

The American people were shocked by the despotic nature of the first Patriot Act. The second Patriot Act dwarfs all police state legislation in modern world history.

Usually, corrupt governments allow their citizens lots of wonderful rights on paper, while carrying out their jackbooted oppression covertly. From snatch and grab operations to warantless searches, Patriot Act II is an Adolf Hitler wish list.

You can understand why President Bush, Dick Cheney and Dennis Hastert want to keep this legislation secret not just from Congress, but the American people as well. Bill Allison, Managing Editor of the Center for Public Integrity, the group that broke this story, stated on my radio show that it was obvious that they were just waiting for another terrorist attack to opportunistically get this new bill through. He then shocked me with an insightful comment about how the Federal government was crafting this so that they could go after the American people in general. He also agreed that the FBI has been quietly demonizing patriots and Christians and “those who carry around pocket Constitutions.”

The bottom line is this: the military-industrial complex carried the attacks out as a pretext for control. Anyone who doubts this just hasn’t looked at the mountains of hard evidence.

Of course, the current group of white collar criminals in the White House might not care that we’re finding out the details of their next phase. Because, after all, when smallpox gets released, or more buildings start blowing up, the President can stand up there at his lectern suppressing a smirk, squeeze out a tear or two, and tell us that “See I was right. I had to take away your rights to keep you safe. And now it’s your fault that all of these children are dead.” From that point on, anyone who criticizes tyranny will be shouted down by the paid talking head government mouthpieces in the mainstream media.

posted 02-14-2003 12:16 PM            

EIN HOMELUND

EIN FATHERLUND

EIN FUHRER

posted 02-16-2003 03:58 AM            

Can anyone encourage bushista's to post in this thread?

posted 02-16-2003 06:11 AM            

I think the main objective here is being misinterpreted, in that this objective is truly to track down potential terrorists, rather than seeking to oppress US citizens. At the same time, I'd hope to see a sunset clause in this bill so that once the terrorist threat is lowered, the legislation would be retired. If there is one rule of government, it’s that it NEVER gives up power once that power is seized. I'm not fond of the idea of a president, even a Republican president, having this type of power because the next president may be another Clinton who would abuse that power to its fullest extent. However, I am aware that we do place this much power in the presidency any way, Patriot act or no Patriot act. Each president has the power to destroy this country if that is his mission and goal.....so I'm reminded that we ALREADY vest an enormous amount of trust and power in the executive branch by how precariously this country teeters on the brink with each election, hopefully balanced by the judicial and legislative branches, yet I realize no system no matter how ingeniously conceived, is invulnerable to failure. A great part of the equation is trust in the integrity of the leaders we elect.

Regardless as to what final version of this bill is passed into law by the legislative branch, and approved by the executive, we also have to keep in mind that the balance of powers is still designed in such a way so that the Judiciary will interpret the law and determine which aspects are unconstitutional. If any rights of an individual citizen are deemed violated, that person still has his day in court and can challenge the constitutionality of the law. The key to maintaining these balance of powers is having more conservative Judges placed on the bench who are not activist judges but rather, conservative interpreters of law.

This balance of powers is exactly what liberal Democrats are seeking to prevent with the obstruction of each conservative Judicial appointment.

posted 02-16-2003 08:18 PM            

STOP PATRIOT ACT EXPANSION

The Bush administration is trying to sneak through the so-called Patriot Act 2. All patriotic Americans should take immediate action to stop this Stalinist atrocity.

The secret Second Patriot Act is a mirror image of powers that Adolf Hitler gave himself. It is the very definition of dictatorship. Under this act any violation of federal or state law can result in you being declared an "enemy combatant." They can then "infer from conduct" that you are not an American citizen, and strip your citizenship from you. There is no lawyer, no trial, no recourse. You can then be deported to another country, even one where torture is used. You can even be executed! All at the whim of an unaccountable bureaucrat. This act finishes off what was left of the Bill of Rights.

This act allows: secret arrests and imprisonment, confiscation of assets without due process, the redefinition of "terrorist" to be anyone the government chooses, unlimited and secret government domestic spying, the elimination of the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, unlimited warrantless searches, eliminates whistleblower protection, allows top federal officials to keep their financial dealings secret and anyone investigating them can be considered a terrorist, authorizes foreign governments to spy on Americans, creates "lifetime parole" (slavery) for a whole host of new crimes, even trying to mount a legal defense will be considered a "terrorist action." The Patriot Act 2 dwarfs all police state legislation in modern world history. Write your representatives now and stop this atrocity!

Lee D. Pittmon
Post Falls, Idaho

posted 02-17-2003 10:41 PM            

REAL PLAYER:

posted 12-10-2003 07:44 PM            

Now someone tell me again there is no difference between the two sides.

Slick ordering 'all agencies to obey the Constitution in all action and all regulation'* vs/ w using our sacred Constitution for toilet paper.

(*every one of his "Federalism" 'Executive Orders'! available at NARA)

posted 12-10-2003 10:46 PM            

It would be hypocritical to say that there is.

Both are working in tandem to destroy our Constitutional Republic.

All part of the plan.

posted 12-26-2003 12:31 AM            

http://www.rense.com/general46/deadd.html

posted 12-26-2003 11:49 AM            

This board and the ppl it keeps cannot even form a simple group that has an express purpose of trying to get this information known!

I know, lets just sit around calling each other names, and when our freedoms are gone we can just sit back and say "see we told you it was gonna happen"

Why is it that you care enough to inform users on a forum of these deadly events taking place yet you dont feel the need to inform the public on a mass scale?

Mech why dont you just post a link to rense.com instead of repost everything posted on that site.

Mery Xmas and a happy new year to you all, but seriously consider taking the next step to battle what you believe is wrong,because all your doing is crying wolf over and over!

This wasnt directed at any one person, but more or less overall for you peeps that cry the same sentences over and over, not to mention the hijacking of threads that 2 well known posters do all the time!