George Putnam
Friday, Sept. 6, 2002

It is this reporter's opinion that Civil Libertarians, the ACLU in particular, have a right to challenge the USA PATRIOT (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) Act – the law that provides sweeping powers to state and federal law enforcement officials to combat terrorism.

For only the second time in my 68 years of news reporting and commentary, I find myself on the side of the ACLU.

The first time, when I sat side by side with the West Coast leader of the ACLU, Abraham Lincoln Wiren, a young reporter had labeled a local California area a "city of hate." It had to do with his First Amendment rights and I spoke in his behalf. The ACLU and Putnam prevailed.

This time, civil libertarians charge that the new security measure sacrifices political freedom in the name of national security, while contributing little or nothing to the war on terror.

Osama bin Laden predicted that freedom and human rights in America are doomed, that the U.S. government will lead the American people and the West into an unbearable hell and a choking life. During the year following the bin Laden attacks, sweeping government powers have been authorized and civil libertarians say they threaten the freedoms Americans are told our nation's enemies hate.

ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero says: "We've been enormously concerned that the war on terrorism has fundamentally eroded civil liberties in the country. A system of checks and balances has been upset by Attorney General Ashcroft. Actions have been taken by the Justice Department that have been veiled in a cloak of secrecy. There has been a wholesale abridgement of the Bill of Rights, even in cases involving American citizens."

Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas – one of only three Republican lawmakers who voted against the USA PATRIOT Act – is strong in his condemnation. He says the act has opened a Pandora's box; that there is a strong determination on the part of government to know everything about everybody; that fighting terrorism is the EXCUSE, not the REASON.

He says everything now is in place for what some people describe as a "police state." It will only end when Americans are fed up. But so far, people are terrified to say anything.

Let's hope we wake up before it's too late!

John Whitehead, a leading advocate of civil liberties and human rights, says the problem with the USA PATRIOT Act and some of the presidential executive orders is that the 99.9 percent of the people of this country who are NOT terrorists will be impacted by these laws. It allows the government to search your e-mails, check your library books, do SNEAK AND PEEK searches of your home, turn your neighbors into spies, and sue through the TIPS (Terrorist Information and Prevention System) program – without hearings or so much as asking how these laws will stop terrorism.

Whitehead says if this law stands, the Fourth Amendment will have been totally blown. What the Fourth Amendment says is that you have to individualize suspicion, a judge has to carefully look at it, and it has to be reasonable.

These days, EVERYTHING is considered suspicious.

The TIPS program was created by the Department of Justice as a national information-sharing system. It enlists the support of workers in the community to report "suspicious" activity. Neighborhood groups are recruited to report on unfamiliar people or those whose behavior is suspicious or "not normal."

Neighbor is to watch neighbor.

Let's take another look at the USA PATRIOT Act:

• The law allows for indefinite detention of non-citizens who are not terrorists, on visa violations.

• It minimizes judicial supervision of telephone and Internet surveillance.

• It expands the ability of the government to conduct secret searches.

• It gives the attorney general and the secretary of state the power to designate domestic groups as terrorist organizations.

• The new law grants the FBI broad access to sensitive medical, financial, mental health and educational records.

• It allows searches of highly personal financial records without notice and without judicial review.

• It creates a new definition of domestic terrorism to allow a police sweep of people who engage in acts of public protest.

• It allows the sharing of sensitive information in criminal cases with intelligence agencies.

But here's the one that raises the greatest concern:

• In searches and seizures, the SNEAK AND PEEK warrants allow the government to enter a citizen's home and search personal effects, take photographs, download information off computers ... and not inform the citizen of the search until after the fact.

The problem is that sometimes law enforcement gets it wrong; they may have the wrong name, the wrong address, or the judge might have signed the wrong warrant.

All of us are, and should be, deeply concerned following Sept. 11. But isn't this an OVER-reaction? Isn't this an echo of other governments that have resorted to totalitarianism and a police state?

I invite you to read for yourself the USA PATRIOT Act in its entirety:

http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html

The legendary George Putnam is 88 years young and a veteran of 68 years as a reporter, broadcaster and commentator ... and is still going strong. George is part of the all-star line-up of Southern California's KPLS Radio – Hot Talk AM 830. Click here for George's complete bio.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Homeland/Civil Defense
War on Terrorism

Homeland/Civil Defense