CurtisLow
11-24-2007, 01:29 AM
YOUR URGENT ACTION IS NEEDED!
On Oct. 23 HR 1955 the ?Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007? was passed by Congress. This bill is an amendment to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, and was rushed through Congress due to the fires in California. This bill is blatantly unconstitutional and is worded so vaguely that it could easily be used to target any group or individual who has a dissenting view from that of the government. Not only that, but groups can be targeted if the established committee determines that they may in the future commit a violent act, essentially making ?thought crimes? a reality.
When you couple this with the remarks made by CNN?s Glenn Beck
see video here: http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/016852.html
you can see how easily this bill could be used to target any group, including Ron Paul supporters, and label them as terrorists.
WE MUST NOT LET THIS BILL BECOME LAW!!!
The bill is now being reviewed by the Senate Committee of Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs before going to the Senate floor for vote. Let?s bombard the committee members as well as our state Senators with letters, phone calls, and emails and let them know that this is unacceptable.
To view the bill in its entirety visit: http://thomas.loc.gov/
And type in either HR 1955 or S 1959.
Here is the list of the members of the reviewing Committee and their phone numbers: Joseph I. Lieberman, Chairman (ID) (CT)
(202) 224-4041
Carl Levin (MI)
(202) 224-6221
Daniel K. Akaka (HI)
(202) 224-6361
Thomas R. Carper (DE)
(202) 224-2441
Mark L. Pryor (AR)
(202) 224-2353
Mary L. Landrieu (LA)
(202) 224-5824
Barack Obama (IL)
(202) 224-2854
Claire McCaskill (MO)
(202) 224-6154
Jon Tester (MT)
(202) 224-2644
Republicans:
Susan M. Collins, Ranking Member (ME)
(202) 224-2523
Ted Stevens (AK)
(202) 224-3004
Geroge V. Voinovich (OH)
(202) 224-3353
Norm Coleman (MN)
(202) 224-5641
Tom Coburn (OK)
(202) 224-5754
Pete V. Domenici (NM)
(202) 224-6621
John Warner (VA)
(202) 224-2023
John E. Sununu (NH)
(202) 224-2841
To get contact information of any Senator go to: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
I am also enclosing a sample letter that a member of our meetup group wrote so all you have to do is copy and paste. For more ideas you can also visit the Daily Paul http://dailypaul.com/ website, as this post has now been added as a permanent link on the homepage.
Please take the tome to do this. This issue not only affects the freedom of every American, but could also affect this campaign specifically. Let?s let them know that we are paying attention and we will not be silent as our freedoms are stripped from us.
Peace and liberty to you all,
Calyn
Dear Senator ________,
As you know, "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech" (Amendment I to the U.S. Constitution). Yet, the House of Representatives has passed HR 1955, which states:
The term `violent radicalization' means the process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change.
(HR 1955, emphasis mine)
While violent thoughts, speech, and writings may be anathema, they are clearly protected under United States law. In *Yates v United States*, the court wrote that "advocacy of forcible overthrow of the government" was *protected speech* under the First Amendment.
The court further expanded the protection of the First Amendment in *Texas**v Johnson *, when it noted that "if there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable."
Though its supporters may argue that HR 1955 solely addresses speech meant to directly incite violence (which would not protected under *Schenck v. United States*), this is an inapplicable argument, because HR 1955 oversteps the boundaries of prohibiting inciteful speech and instead prohibits "the adopting . . . a belief system." It is impractical, impossible, and unconstitutional to determine if "an extreme belief system" is explicitly "for the purpose of facilitating . . . violence" and it is further impossible to determine what belief system someone has adopted.
There is simply no good way to reliably determine the intent of someone's speech until their intentions become actions. There is no way at all to determine the purpose of someone's adopted system of beliefs. HR 1955 and the commission it would create would encourage law-enforcement agencies around the nation to engage in domestic pre-emptive strikes based on nothing more than assumptions, lies, and flawed intelligence. We do not need to make thoughts and beliefs a crime in order to combat terrorism. Such laws would only drive terrorists further underground, making attacks more likely and America less safe.
We cannot subject our minds to searches for weapons that do not exist. I implore you to vote your oath, uphold the Constitution of the United States of America, and never let HR 1955 become law.
Sincerely,
___________
Citizen
On Oct. 23 HR 1955 the ?Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007? was passed by Congress. This bill is an amendment to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, and was rushed through Congress due to the fires in California. This bill is blatantly unconstitutional and is worded so vaguely that it could easily be used to target any group or individual who has a dissenting view from that of the government. Not only that, but groups can be targeted if the established committee determines that they may in the future commit a violent act, essentially making ?thought crimes? a reality.
When you couple this with the remarks made by CNN?s Glenn Beck
see video here: http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/016852.html
you can see how easily this bill could be used to target any group, including Ron Paul supporters, and label them as terrorists.
WE MUST NOT LET THIS BILL BECOME LAW!!!
The bill is now being reviewed by the Senate Committee of Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs before going to the Senate floor for vote. Let?s bombard the committee members as well as our state Senators with letters, phone calls, and emails and let them know that this is unacceptable.
To view the bill in its entirety visit: http://thomas.loc.gov/
And type in either HR 1955 or S 1959.
Here is the list of the members of the reviewing Committee and their phone numbers: Joseph I. Lieberman, Chairman (ID) (CT)
(202) 224-4041
Carl Levin (MI)
(202) 224-6221
Daniel K. Akaka (HI)
(202) 224-6361
Thomas R. Carper (DE)
(202) 224-2441
Mark L. Pryor (AR)
(202) 224-2353
Mary L. Landrieu (LA)
(202) 224-5824
Barack Obama (IL)
(202) 224-2854
Claire McCaskill (MO)
(202) 224-6154
Jon Tester (MT)
(202) 224-2644
Republicans:
Susan M. Collins, Ranking Member (ME)
(202) 224-2523
Ted Stevens (AK)
(202) 224-3004
Geroge V. Voinovich (OH)
(202) 224-3353
Norm Coleman (MN)
(202) 224-5641
Tom Coburn (OK)
(202) 224-5754
Pete V. Domenici (NM)
(202) 224-6621
John Warner (VA)
(202) 224-2023
John E. Sununu (NH)
(202) 224-2841
To get contact information of any Senator go to: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
I am also enclosing a sample letter that a member of our meetup group wrote so all you have to do is copy and paste. For more ideas you can also visit the Daily Paul http://dailypaul.com/ website, as this post has now been added as a permanent link on the homepage.
Please take the tome to do this. This issue not only affects the freedom of every American, but could also affect this campaign specifically. Let?s let them know that we are paying attention and we will not be silent as our freedoms are stripped from us.
Peace and liberty to you all,
Calyn
Dear Senator ________,
As you know, "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech" (Amendment I to the U.S. Constitution). Yet, the House of Representatives has passed HR 1955, which states:
The term `violent radicalization' means the process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change.
(HR 1955, emphasis mine)
While violent thoughts, speech, and writings may be anathema, they are clearly protected under United States law. In *Yates v United States*, the court wrote that "advocacy of forcible overthrow of the government" was *protected speech* under the First Amendment.
The court further expanded the protection of the First Amendment in *Texas**v Johnson *, when it noted that "if there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable."
Though its supporters may argue that HR 1955 solely addresses speech meant to directly incite violence (which would not protected under *Schenck v. United States*), this is an inapplicable argument, because HR 1955 oversteps the boundaries of prohibiting inciteful speech and instead prohibits "the adopting . . . a belief system." It is impractical, impossible, and unconstitutional to determine if "an extreme belief system" is explicitly "for the purpose of facilitating . . . violence" and it is further impossible to determine what belief system someone has adopted.
There is simply no good way to reliably determine the intent of someone's speech until their intentions become actions. There is no way at all to determine the purpose of someone's adopted system of beliefs. HR 1955 and the commission it would create would encourage law-enforcement agencies around the nation to engage in domestic pre-emptive strikes based on nothing more than assumptions, lies, and flawed intelligence. We do not need to make thoughts and beliefs a crime in order to combat terrorism. Such laws would only drive terrorists further underground, making attacks more likely and America less safe.
We cannot subject our minds to searches for weapons that do not exist. I implore you to vote your oath, uphold the Constitution of the United States of America, and never let HR 1955 become law.
Sincerely,
___________
Citizen