have any of you heard of the 'domestic security enhancement act'? I'm not sure if this is what Kamikaze was refering to, but I'm going to copy an article i found about it in this post.
Even after the draconian measures of the 'Patriot' Act, George W. Bush and company apparently think Americans are too free and that we cannot be trusted to know what further infringements on our freedom are being planned.
The Justice Department's plans for a 'Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003' were revealed only through a leak to the Center for Public Integrity, which made the document public on February 7. Dick Cheney and House Speaker Dennis Hastert are the only recognizable elected or quasi-elected officials documented as having obtained the document, which is marked 'Confidential: Not for Distribution Draft Jan. 9, 2003.'
You can read our summary below or our latest op-ed, published February 11 by Pacific News Service. The full draft legislation may be downloaded at the bottom of this page.
Consequences of the proposals in the draft DSEA
If introduced and passed as drafted, the Act would:
Revoke portions of the Freedom of Information Act. (See Section 201, pp. 13-14 of pdf) Your right to obtain information about a friend or family member detained by the government in connection with any activity deemed 'terrorist' would be revoked. This is incredible in lieu of the fact that the Freedom of Information Act already allows for the government to withhold such information if its disclosure could hamper investigation of other suspects or events (exemptions 7a, 7c, 7f, in 5 U.S.C. 552b7).
The Act also would prevent you from having reasonable access to information about threats to your health and community, such as levels of toxic emissions (Section 202). The Act refers to such information as “a roadmap for terrorists.” The result: you'll have to trust the Bush Environmental Protection Agency to disclose any corporate activities that pose a threat to you and your family.
Allow the Bush Administration to revoke your residency or U.S. citizenship. Perhaps the most alarming proposal (Section 501) would give the Justice Dept. power to revoke a person's permanent resident alien status or even U.S. citizenship for participating in, or 'providing material support to ... a terrorist organization.'
Since the 2001 'Patriot Act' redefined 'terrorist activity' so broadly that minor vandalism could qualify, donating to a nonprofit organization that, unknown to you, is on Ashcroft's disfavored list could end your life as an American citizen and resident.
Invalidate state legal consent decrees (Section 312) that seek to curb police spying on U.S. citizens, regardless of any tangible evidence of criminal activity. This effectively re-authorizes the CIA and FBI to engage in domestic terrorism against activist groups ( a la COINTELPRO); practices that were made illegal after the well-documented abuses of the 1960s.
If you think we overstate by using the term domestic terrorism to describe the FBI and CIA activities, please inform yourself about this critical history. The Church Committee report (officially the Final Report of the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities of the United States Senate, 94th Congress, 2nd Session, 1976) is a good starting point. See
http://derechos.net/paulwolf/cointelpro/ for that and much more material.
Allow the government to force U.S. citizens to allow invasive collection of DNA samples (Sections 301-306) if the Administration consider someone a 'suspected terrorist.'
These are just initial observations; it will take some time to fully understand the consequences of these proposals. The Act also would authorize the Justice Department to conduct secret searches of the home of any suspected terrorist for 15 days after any 'national emergency,' rather than after a formal declaration of war, as in current law. Wiretaps of U.S. citizens for longer periods and with less court oversight are another proposal.
When confronted with the leaked legislation draft, Justice Department spokesperson Barbara Comstock claimed that the document represented merely 'staff discussions.' You can see the draft legislation (120pp-requires the free Acrobat Reader program) yourself and decide if such claims by Bush Administration officials are credible. We urge you to at least scan the 'Security Enhancement Act' for yourself, especially if you think we exaggerate the threats to our freedom. Even a casual read should quickly dispel that idea. Then please join us in working to preserve our Constitutional rights.
-Chris Peck
