To: The President of the United States, The U.S. Senate and The U.S. House

Started by: Ani L. Schwartz

The PATRIOT Act has robbed us of our Constitional Rights.

Three of the provisions in this Act will expire at the end of 2009.
This means this is a timely opportunity to take actions for the REPEAL of this UN-CONSTITUTIONAL and INVASIVE Act.

The embedded petition below is a revision of the petition from the ACLU, to which there is a link below.

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INEDITABLE PETITION TEXT WITH COMMENT BOX (link at lower right corner):
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REPEAL the PATRIOT Act

Government surveillance of the communications and activities of innocent Americans has increased exponentially since the events of September 11, 2001. 
I urge you to support investigations of the PATRIOT Act and other surveillance laws that have fundamentally diminished the rights of Americans.  

Three provisions of the PATRIOT Act will expire on December 31, 2009, which makes this year an opportune time to step back and take a look at the many surveillance laws that have operated in complete secrecy. 
This secrecy suggests lack of democratic credibility and integrity.
Congress will undoubtedly consider reauthorization of these provisions, so this is the time to QUESTION the PATRIOT Act AND take steps to REPEAL it as UN-CONSTITUTIONAL.

While the PATRIOT Act may have been the first great expansion of spying powers, it wasn't the last, or even the worst.  
    1. Passed in 2001, the PATRIOT Act and its reauthorizing legislation in 2006 lowered the standard for government spying on American soil. 
    2. In 2008, the FISA Amendments Act removed the warrant requirement for tapping communications going into and out of the country.  
    3. It also revised Attorney General Guidelines permit FBI agents to infringe on the free speech rights and religious activities of Americans even if the authorities have no suspicion of unlawful activity. 

Taken together, these three pieces of the surveillance puzzle vastly expand the government's ability to collect information on innocent Americans.
THIS IS UN-CONSTITUTIONAL, ANTI-AMERICAN and UN-PATRIOTIC.
Therefore these laws must be repealed in order to maintain DEMOCRATIC, CONSTITUTIONAL grounds to stand on.  

As someone who took an oath to uphold the Constitution, you have shown you care about preserving individual liberties against government overreaching. 
Therefore, I respectfully request that you advocate for REPEAL of the PATRIOT Act and these very intrusive laws this year. 
It's time that our government stop violating the rights of everyday people who have nothing to do with terrorism.

Thank you for your time and attention to this serious issue.

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In lieu of or in addition to the embedded petition below, you can also take an intermediary step action if you wish:
Tell Congress it's Time to Reform the PATRIOT Act Take action on this issue
Please contact your Senators and your Representative right now and tell them it is time to re-examine our security superstructure to restore our civil liberties. Read more or take action right now!
https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?id=1599&pagename=homepage&page=UserAction

     From: the ACLU ACTION PAGE

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SPECIAL THANKS to BiLL Fowlie for taking time out of his vacation to undertake another picture hunt.
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