The Patriot Act -- "The first thing I want to do is scare the hell out of you; the second thing I want to do is empower you to do something about what's going on."


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Posted by Agent J on September 03, 2003 at 23:07:12:

EXETER - "The first thing I want to do is scare the hell out of you; the second thing I want to do is empower you to do something about what's going on."

These blunt words came from Clare Ebel, executive director of the New Hampshire American Civil Liberties Union, who led a forum at the Exeter Library earlier this week on the Patriot Act - initiated by Attorney General John Ashcroft, and passed by Congress six weeks after Sept. 11, 2001, in an attempt to tighten security against further terrorist attacks nationwide.

Yet, Ebel said she doesn't feel safer under the Patriot Act, or under any other measures taken since Sept. 11, for that matter. Rather, she said she believes that Americans' First- and Fourth-Amendment rights have been torn to pieces in the wake of 9/11.

"I led one of these forums at the University of New Hampshire just after Sept. 11, and at that time, I wasn't sure that we, as a nation, were going to survive," said Ebel. "Now, I'm pretty sure we are, I'm just not sure what form we'll take; and that's your job - to make sure, as citizens, that the U.S.A. we hand to our children and grandchildren is the one we created, not the one created by the Patriot Act."

She said that in Section 802, the Patriot Act defines domestic terrorism, stating that the term means activities that involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of criminal laws; appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping; and occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.

Under this section, Ebel said she believes that groups such as the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals could be considered domestic terrorists.

"If groups engage in acts that break the law, First Amendment rights should have nothing to do with it, and attempts to coerce and intimidate have to be allowed or we're ignoring the First Amendment," said Ebel.

Although she admitted it sounded like an exaggeration, Ebel said the Patriot Act, virtually repealed the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing "the right of the people to be secure 'against unreasonable searches and seizures' and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized."

"There are sections in the Patriot Act that permit the federal government to gather enormous quantities of information on every person in this room, and in this country, without a warrant," said Ebel.

Section 213, which Ebel called "the sneak and peek act", allows the government to search for and seize property or material that constitutes evidence of a criminal offense without a warrant if: the court finds cause to believe that providing immediate notification of the execution of the warrant may have an adverse result; or the warrant prohibits seizure of any tangible property.

"Section 213 allows the government to go in and search your house without notifying you that they're coming or that they've been there," said Ebel. "And if they don't give notice, there's no provision that they only search for what they're looking for and only get information they're entitled to."

"They put the Fourth Amendment in the shredder when they made this law," said Ebel.

Section 215 is another part of the act that angers Ebel.

"Section 215 allows the government to get our medical history records; look at every library book we've checked out or purchased; obtain our financial records - where our money is coming from, our interest rate, if we're sending money to someone abroad; and our educational records," said Ebel.

Section 215 states that the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation "may make an application for an order requiring the production of tangible things (including books, papers, documents and other items) for an investigation to protect against international terrorism."

Section 215 also allows the collection of educational records from educational agencies or institutions relevant to an authorized investigation.

"We collect enormous amounts of private and personal information on students who apply for federal student aid, and now all of that information can be surrendered to the government," Ebel said. "And they aren't asking about Johnny Jones; they want information on everyone with an Arabic-sounding last name or everyone who says they are Muslim, or affiliated with a Muslim-sounding group."

Ebel said Harvard University gave the government that information, no questions asked. Yet, she knows of other universities that refused. Refusal, she said, can be brought up as a felony.

"After the forum at UNH after Sept. 11, a woman came up to me who I recognized but couldn't place," said Ebel. "What she said gives me goose bumps to this day. She said, "They asked me for information, and I said no."

The woman, Ebel said, turned out to be Dr. Joan Leitzel, former president of the University of New Hampshire.

Ebel said she believes there are ways to make the United States safe without repealing people's rights.

"I think the government believes that it can't protect us unless it knows everything about us," said Ebel.

When asked how she would have responded to the attacks on Sept. 11, she said she would have turned to the United Nations.

"I would have gone to the United Nations on Sept. 14 and said, 'This is not a United States problem, or a Belfast problem, or an Afghanistan problem, this is our problem. If we do not work as a community of nations, we will never drive terror from our nations.'

"We had so much support after Sept. 11 and we squandered it. We could have gone to the United Nations and asked for help instead of doing it ourselves, acting alone, acting like cowboys.

"X-Ray machines and guns in the cockpits don't make us safe. We'll be safe when everyone (in the world) looks at terrorism as a threat," she said.

"You can make a difference; you can make your voice heard. Talk to your local representatives, your selectmen. You owe it to yourself and your children," said Ebel.


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