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Rep. John Conyers: Help Stop the Patriot Act Expansion

By Jeralyn, Section Legislation
Posted on Mon Nov 14, 2005 at 03:49:10 PM EST
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Rep. John Conyers has established a Patriot Act Center on his website. He says we need to act now, because Republicans are seeking to rush bills renewing and expanding governmental powers in the Patriot Act to an agreement and a final vote later this week.

The bills are now in final legislative consideration by a House-Senate conference committee where conferees will decide whether provisions in the already passed House version or Senate version prevail. The final version they agree on will then go back to the House and Senate for a final vote.

Both versions are pretty bad. The House version is a disaster, and the Senate version only slightly better. But the House version must be defeated.

Rep. Conyers is trying to put the brakes on the Patriot Act renewal. He write:

Although we will find it very difficult to defeat this bill, I will do everything in my power to ensure that this legislation is balanced and limited. I will need your help and your voice to join me in opposition to this bill.

Here's his action page. The most recent TalkLeft backgrounders are here and here.

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    Rep. John Conyers: Help Stop the Patriot Act Expansion | 11 comments (11 topical)
    Re: Rep. John Conyers: Help Stop the Patriot Act E (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:07 PM EST
    Rep. Conyers is far from alone. He is a lone figure like Fitzgerald, a lone figure like Wilson, a lone figure like Roy McGovern, a lone figure like Nancy Pelosi, and so on. Not Don Quixote -- the other side is doing Bella Lugosi to the American Republic, and it's bloody: bloody people, and bloodsucking the economy. And concerteedly draining the blood of liberty from the Republic. Don Quixote is not the character you're looking for. It is Suero de Quiñones, upon whom Don Quixote based his strength -- the fifteenth century knight who met all comers at the bridge to his homeland for an full month -- to joust to erase a slander on a Lady.

    Re: Rep. John Conyers: Help Stop the Patriot Act E (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:08 PM EST
    The Patriot Act is one of the most dangerous pieces of Legislation we have ever enacted. The ability of the Government to restrict/revoke our guaranteed Rights of protection against abusive and inhumane actions with the use of this law is nothing less than treasonous. I don't think the United States has ever been so close to becoming a Fascist Police State than it has today. It is down right scary to sit back and realize just how much of our Rights under the Constitution have been restricted/revoked since the Bush Administration has taken office. The Republican Party has dominated both the Executive and the Legislative Branches and are doing their best to control the Judiciary. I think James Madison said it best in his comments in the Federalist;
    James Madison Federalist No. 47. The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."
    It is truly disheartening to see how we as "The People" just sit back and allow the continued destruction of American Democracy and do absolutely nothing to stop it. I firmly believe that we are at a "Turning Point" in America today that will decide whether we remain a Democracy or become a Dictatorship. We need to do everything possible to protect what little freedoms we have left and attempt to regain some of the ones we lost. If we sit back and allow Democracy to be destroyed because we think it will make us more secure than The United States does not deserve to be considered one of the great Defenders of Freedom in the world.

    Re: Rep. John Conyers: Help Stop the Patriot Act E (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:08 PM EST
    "... and do absolutely nothing to stop it." Gee, get out much? Reddragon, what you may be rueing is the muffled media that doesn't show you the millions of people around the country, many tens of millions, who are actively fighting this coup every single day. I myself protest again today, again Friday, and California has, through activists, restored its papertrail (Jan 06), and forced the vote-fraud governor to sign a law requiring that papertrail be used as the audit trail (not a big jump, you would think, but they wanted to count the MACHINES twice). Those changes were made through good old-fashioned hard work. Try it! Then you won't overgeneralize in the misericordia of Woe is Me. You won't have time.

    Re: Rep. John Conyers: Help Stop the Patriot Act E (none / 0) (#5)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:08 PM EST
    Where and when are you going to be protesting Pil?

    Re: Rep. John Conyers: Help Stop the Patriot Act E (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:09 PM EST
    Why don't you call the FBI and ask them. They have all the videotapes.

    Re: Rep. John Conyers: Help Stop the Patriot Act E (none / 0) (#7)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:09 PM EST
    Huh?! They have video, now, of you protesting the day after tomorrow?! Regardless, where are you going to be protesting on Friday and at what time?

    Re: Rep. John Conyers: Help Stop the Patriot Act E (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:10 PM EST
    Valentine's day passed a long time ago, suo, and I'm not looking for a girlfriend.

    Re: Rep. John Conyers: Help Stop the Patriot Act E (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:10 PM EST
    Hey Paul, in reference to your statement what you may be rueing is the muffled media that doesn't show you the millions of people around the country, many tens of millions, who are actively fighting this coup every single day. I disagree with your numbers but for the sake of argument we'll say 30,000,000. That is still only a little over 14% of the voting Population. While that is a substantual amount, it's still too low to do a lot of good at this stage of the game unless it works as a "block" and it doesn't. I do agree that the Media downplays just about anything that is "anti-bush", but that is only because we allow it. The media like every other Corporation is controlled by money. We "The People" spend the money so the way to require the Media to "do its job", so to speak, is to publically boycott sponsors. From what I can see it would appear that most people don't want to be inconvenienced by not using a particular product as a result of a boycott. The same goes for our "members" of congress. They do respond to constituent input if there is a big enough involvement. There does not appear to be a real Organization available on a "national level" to utilize this valuable tool. I, too, have been involved in Politics on a Local and State level. I applaud the ability of California to require "paper trails" for voting. But, at the moment, that is the exception and not the rule as far as the whole country is concerned. We require it here in Bexar County, TX as well but few other places in the state. All I am basically saying is as many of The 209,000,000 voting age people in the United States as possible need to become actively involved in how this country is being run before we lose what little control we have left. It may sound a little melodramatic but sometimes that's what it takes to get the real "essence" of the message across in written form.

    Re: Rep. John Conyers: Help Stop the Patriot Act E (none / 0) (#10)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:11 PM EST
    "I myself protest again today, again Friday,"...PIL "where are you going to be protesting on Friday and at what time?"...SUO "Valentine's day passed a long time ago, suo, and I'm not looking for a girlfriend."...PIL So I take it that your claims of "protesting" are as verifiable as your Kissinger quote claim and 130,000+ Iraqi civilian casualties claim? i.e., bogus as well?

    Re: Rep. John Conyers: Help Stop the Patriot Act E (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:11 PM EST
    Posted by reddragon: "While that is a substantual amount, it's still too low to do a lot of good at this stage of the game unless it works as a "block" and it doesn't." Incorrect, red. The vote-fraud problem, for instance, is a STATE PROBLEM. Do you have any idea how many activists it takes to change something at the state level? Not so many, but it does take organization. Fight at the state level to get your papertrail back, or continue to moan with the beatings. suo, you can take my middle finger to mean whatever you please.

    Re: Rep. John Conyers: Help Stop the Patriot Act E (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:13 PM EST
    Hey Paul, I agree that requiring paper trails is partly a state problem but I still think that the new Federal law that was enacted to require voting machines to be replaced with electronic machines should have had in place a requirement that the machines must have a paper trail. Without that provision you get states like Texas where the Republicans have been allowed to gerrymander the voting districts to disenfranchize Democrats by moving the heavest concentration of Democrats into the Republican districts where they have much less chance of being able to actually elect a Democrat. The Republicans, at least here in Texas, do not want a paper trail to be created and have successfully stopped all legislation to require it on a State Level.

    Rep. John Conyers: Help Stop the Patriot Act Expansion | 11 comments (11 topical)