Have you contacted your congressmen on the Patriot Act, so they have no excuse?

[sailingaway]

You can use the inner links in here: http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/do-you-need-the-patriot-act

[Noob]

This is from an older sample letter, but still applys



The Patriot Act, as it currently stands, gives virtually no protection to the privacy of innocent Americans regarding wiretapping and eavesdropping. With no criminal trial ever resulting from the Records provision of the Patriot Act, it simply is not needed. Any searches of "persons, houses, places, and effects" should be conducted under the Fourth Amendment with probable cause, a warrant and by proper authorities.

Surveillance of innocent citizens, wiretapping, data mining, and warrantless searches are the marks of a totalitarian state and have no place under the Constitution, the law of our land.

Please help preserve the freedom and liberty given to us by our Founding Fathers by voting "No" on the continued or expanded use of the provisions of the Patriot Act.

The Patriot Act is the most UN-AMERICAN law ever passed in the U.S. This truth about it is self evident, there is no denying it.

[Noob]

AGENDA!!

t's vital you fill out your petition below to Speaker John Boehner and other Republican leaders and submit it without delay. Please do so at once... because Boehner and others are already talking compromise on this bellwether fiscal issue, only weeks after the momentous election.

http://www.independentlivingnews.com/searchresults/dynDeficitkpetition_landingpage.php?creative=11020 8_PATRIOTUPDATE_DeficitPetition

[Brett85]

I emailed mine but haven't received any response.

[Hallamaat]

Eh, yeah... my rep is Jim "NATIONAL SECURITY!!!1" Sensenbrenner. :( I think I have more of a chance of winning the Powerball than being able to convince him to vote against his own horrid Act.

[tangent4ronpaul]

The House is in session between 2pm and 8pm EST

[specsaregood]

Screw just emailing them. Phone them! Let them know you put in just a bit of effort.

I just did.

[Chester Copperpot]

Yeah you gotta call them voice.. Get all that voice inflection in with your words to send over the real meaning and emotion..

I talked to staffers from cantor, boehner, sensenbrenner and rogers, and my own pallone..

They all try to walk the fence.. Boehners office even told me.. "oh he doesnt get to vote, so he has no position" and I said "but he gets to decide whether or not it gets to the floor for a vote right? and if he allows that then he has no oath to the constitution"

this crap is blatantly unconstitutional.. i made sure everybody I spoke with knew it.

[smoking357]

My Rep. is a Republican. There's no way he isn't voting to renew this thing. The people who get Republicans elected wrote the Patriot Act in the 90's and waited for an excuse to make it law. There's no way the big guys are going to allow some of their new boys to undo what those same big guys worked so hard to pass with their last crop of boys.

[tangent4ronpaul]

Boehners office even told me.. "oh he doesnt get to vote, so he has no position"

BULLSHIT! - just check some voting records - he votes.

You should have called them on that, not let them get away with that.

-t

[Brett85]

My Rep. is a Republican. There's no way he isn't voting to renew this thing. The people who get Republicans elected wrote the Patriot Act in the 90's and waited for an excuse to make it law. There's no way the big guys are going to allow some of their new boys to undo what those same big guys worked so hard to pass with their last crop of boys.

Yeah. My rep was even endorsed by Ron Paul, and I highly doubt if he votes against extending the Patriot Act.

[specsaregood]

My Rep. is a Republican. There's no way he isn't voting to renew this thing. The people who get Republicans elected wrote the Patriot Act in the 90's and waited for an excuse to make it law. There's no way the big guys are going to allow some of their new boys to undo what those same big guys worked so hard to pass with their last crop of boys.

So call them and tell them you are worried about how the govt controlled by Obama might be abusing provisions in the patriot act to target political opposites. And that any sane republican should be pushing for its repeal since it isn't being used to combat terrorism.

Don't be a defeatist, it doesn't cost you much to just call and let your voice be heard.

[Liberty_Mike]

I called both Tom McClincock R-CA and Dean Heller R-NV. I doubt they will listen. I have a feeling they will both vote to extend the act..

[smoking357]

Don't be a defeatist, it doesn't cost you much to just call and let your voice be heard.

I'm too Lew Rockwell to have any faith left in the system.

[specsaregood]

I'm too Lew Rockwell to have any faith left in the system.

It doesn't take faith to have the will to speak out for the hell of having your voice heard.

[DamianTV]

I called both Tom McClincock R-CA and Dean Heller R-NV. I doubt they will listen. I have a feeling they will both vote to extend the act..

Its funny that any time I have expressed any form of concern to these too asshats they respond with their opinion and tell me what they plan on doing and dont give half a shit what I think.

[tangent4ronpaul]

Dear Mr. Tangent:



Thank you for getting in touch with me about the USA PATRIOT Act. I appreciate hearing your views on this important issue.



We depend on intelligence professionals to learn about threats to the safety of the American people and to alert us if anything threatens the survival of our country. Terrorists are still operating with predatory intent toward the United States of America. To keep our country safe, our intelligence professionals must have the tools and support that they need.



Equally as important is ensuring that individuals' rights are protected from abuse of these powers. I believe that in the face of unprecedented threats to our country, we must be vigilant and stand sentry against our enemies. But we are a nation of laws and we all must live by the rule of law. As a democracy, the rule of law is one of our country's most important characteristics.



In February of 2010 provisions of the PATRIOT Act would have expired due to the sunset provision that I fought to have included in the PATRIOT Act when it was debated in 2005. When Congress agreed to a 1-year extension of the PATRIOT Act, these provisions were extended until February 28, 2011. Sunset provisions are critical – they allow Congress to continually revisit and identify the tools that are working and those that are not.






In the coming months, the Judiciary and Intelligence committees will be closely reviewing these provisions of the PATRIOT Act and will hold hearings as part of their review.



Thanks again for taking the time to get in touch with me. Your views will be helpful to me as the Senate continues to consider this important issue. If there is any way I can be of assistance to you in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
Barbara A. Mikulski
United States Senator

[buck000]

The response from one of my senators (only got a auto-acknowledgement from Cornyn and nothing from Carter):

======
Dear Friend:
Thank you for contacting me regarding S. 1686, the JUSTICE Act. I welcome your thoughts and comments.

The provisions of the PATRIOT Act have served the nation well. I would oppose any legislation that would weaken its provisions. Two recent events right here in Texas provide a stark reminder that the War on Terror has not ended. On November 5, Nidal Malik Hasan, an apparent jihadist terrorist, coldly gunned down 13 soldiers and one unborn child in a murderous rampage at Fort Hood. On September 24, another accused terrorist, Hosam Smadi, was arrested for plotting to blow up a Dallas skyscraper. Despite these horrific incidents, too many people remain complacent and fail to recognize the true nature of the threats we face as a country.

On September 17, 2009, Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) introduced S. 1686, the JUSTICE Act, to further revise the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978. The legislation seeks to revise numerous requirements regarding national security letters, the procural of business records in counter-terrorist investigations, notification times for search warrants, and limitations on roving electronic surveillance. It also seeks to repeal provisions granting retroactive immunity to telecommunication companies and prohibiting warrantless searches of persons known to reside in the United States.

S. 1686 was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee but was not considered by the full Senate prior to the adjournment of the 111th Congress. Should this legislation be reintroduced in the 112th Congress, you may be certain I will keep your views in mind.

Please know that I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to safeguard the security of our nation while upholding our personal privacy rights and civil liberties. I appreciate hearing from you, and I hope that you will not hesitate to contact me on any issue that is important to you.

Sincerely,
Kay Bailey Hutchison
United States Senator
==========

Hmmm, let's see, all that intel gathering didn't help much at Ft. Hood, and wasn't Smadi nabbed in an FBI sting operation?

[Brett85]

I called mine. The staffer said that he didn't even know how my rep was going to vote on the Patriot Act.

[Zap!]

BULLSHIT! - just check some voting records - he votes.

You should have called them on that, not let them get away with that.

-t
No he doesn't. It's very, very rare for a House Speaker to vote. They could, but rarely ever do.

[JK/SEA]

Called Washington State Rep. Rick Larsen's D.C office today. Staffer was polite, i was polite. Told her i wanted Rick to vote to repeal the Patriot Act or at least gut the thing, and gave her a few reasons why.

[tangent4ronpaul]

No he doesn't. It's very, very rare for a House Speaker to vote. They could, but rarely ever do.

The roll calls I've seen (the big ones) he has. If he does not on a regular basis, he's NOT representing his district and does not deserve to be in office.

Pelosi always votes. You never know when one vote will make the difference.

-t

[Zap!]

The roll calls I've seen (the big ones) he has. If he does not on a regular basis, he's NOT representing his district and does not deserve to be in office.

Pelosi always votes. You never know when one vote will make the difference.

-t


No she didn't, that's not true. She votes now, but isn't Speaker any more. I am only in my 30's, so I only really remember Newt Gingrich on. From at least that era, House Speakers don't vote (probably way before that). They could, but don't, unless they know it's going to be insanely close. Not sure why, I would guess it's a tradition. Probably considered tacky. Boehner hasn't voted at all since becoming Speaker.

Edit: From Wiki:

The Speaker does not usually personally preside over debates, instead delegating the duty to other members of Congress of the same political party.

The Speaker in the United States is, by tradition, the head of the majority party in the House of Representatives, outranking the Majority Leader. However, despite having the right to vote, the Speaker usually does not participate in debate and rarely votes on the floor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representati ves

[BuddyRey]

Done!

[madengr]

Yeh, but as expected, didn't do any good.