billl4's blog

Actions For Restoring America:
How to Begin Repairing the Damage to Freedom in America After Bush
http://www.aclu.org/transition/

The next president will become chief executive of a nation that has been greatly weakened - in particular, our freedoms, our values, and our international reputation have been greatly undermined by the policies of the past eight years.

Presidents have enormous power not only to set the legislative agenda, but also to establish policy by executive order, federal regulation, or simply by refocusing the efforts and emphases of the executive agencies. The new president must use all of these tools to restore our freedoms and move the country forward.

Doing so will require determined action in the face of inevitable opposition. It will require conveying to the American people why grants of unchecked power do not actually make us safer, and why Americans must stand firm in protecting the values that at our best we have always represented and defended at home and around the world.

Always Practice Safe Voting

Do you practice safe voting? The ACLU presents its top 10 “safe voting” tips. Voting is fun and exhilarating, but never to be taken lightly. Be sure to always act safely and responsibly when exercising your right to vote. It’s how to make your vote count.

UPDATE: Check out the ACLU’s Voter Empowerment Cards for specific information about voting in your home state. Go to www.aclu.org/vec.

This is the video produced for the September 28, 2008, annual meeting of the Sacramento County Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union putting together several clips documenting some of the activities of the chapter during the last year.

Would you allow a stranger to sift through your purse or wallet and take your driver’s license? Would you want your children or grandchildren to tell passers-by on the street what school they attend or their student ID numbers?

Of course not. You know it is important to protect your and your family’s personal information.

But any time that tiny computer chips called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are included in California IDs, like drivers’ licenses, student badges, or medical and benefit cards, your and your family’s personal information can be at greater risk of being read and recorded without your knowledge.

Anyone with an RFID scanner can read the data stored on insecure RFID chips, from a distance, without you ever knowing, exposing you and your family members to the risk of tracking, stalking, and identity theft.

Take Action Here

Right now, two bills authored by State Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) that would help protect the privacy of you and your family are on the governor’s desk. Please send a letter to the governor urging him to sign the bills.

Click Here to sign the pledge and get your bumper sticker. https://secure.aclu.org

I Am a Constitution Voter

* I believe that no one -- including the President -- is above the law.
* I oppose all forms of torture, and I support both closing the Guantánamo Bay prison and ending indefinite detention.
* I oppose warrantless spying.
* I believe that government officials, no matter how high-ranking, should be held accountable for breaking the law and violating the Constitution.
* I believe that the Constitution protects every person's rights equally -- no matter what they believe, how they live, where or if they worship, and whom they love.
* I reject the notion that we have to tolerate violations of our most fundamental rights in the name of fighting terrorism.
* I am deeply committed to the Constitution and expect our country's leaders to share and act on that commitment -- every day, without fail.

ACLU Charges Sacramento County Policy is 'violent attack' on Constitution
Published: July 29, 2008
http://newsblaze.com/story/20080729082642tsop.nb/topstory.html

ACLU charges Sacramento County policy is 'violent attack' on First Amendment that would turn County Buildings into 'No Free Speech Zones'

SACRAMENTO - The ACLU of Sacramento today said a proposed countywide policy to be heard by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors calendar Tuesday is a "direct assault on the First Amendment of the United States and California Constitution" that would make County buildings "No Free Speech Zones."

The policy would, among other things, ban any flyer, brochure or other printed materials not produced by the County from County facilities. The proposed policy is on the Consent Calendar at the Supervisor's meeting Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. at 700 H St.

The ACLU, in a letter emailed to members of the Board of Supervisors Monday, strongly urged the Board to take the item off the Consent Calendar and reject the proposal.

Watch this video to see who is taking big money from the Telecom Corporations and who wants to grant them immunity for allowing the Bush administration (and possible future administrations) to illegally spy on us.

Click here to include your name in the ACLU's FISA newspaper ad.

Congress & GW Bush are giving away your rights!

They don't get it. We want Congress to stand up for our freedom, but they keep caving in to fear mongering! Help the ACLU spell it out for them.

Our lawyers are preparing to challenge the unconstitutional FISA Amendments Act in court and protect your right to privacy.

There has never been a more important moment to demonstrate to our leaders that we believe in freedom -- not fear. We will run a full-page ad in a national newspaper that carries that simple message.

Americans United, ACLU File Brief Objecting To Government Promotion Of Prayer In Texas’ ‘Moment-Of-Silence’ Law

Promotion Of Religion Is Not Legislators’ Job, Say Civil Liberties Groups
June 9, 2008

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Texas submitted a friend-of-the-court brief today to a federal appeals court urging the court to rule against a religiously motivated 2003 amendment to Texas’ “moment-of-silence” statute. The amendment added “pray” to the statute’s list of activities for students during the moment of silence.

“Students were already allowed to pray, meditate, or reflect under the statute before it was amended,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “The addition of the word ‘pray’ where it wasn’t needed clearly shows that legislators intended to promote religion, and that’s not their job.”

In 2003, the Texas legislature enacted amendments to Section 25.082 of the Education Code, making the moment of silence mandatory and changing the list of designated options for students during the moment of silence from “reflect or meditate” to “reflect, pray, meditate, or engage in any other silent activity that is not likely to interfere with or distract another student.”

Dear ACLU Supporter,

We need your help sharing the message of rights and liberty across the Web. Visit Blog of Rights and become a part of our effort to educate Americans about how we can reclaim our liberties.

Today, we launched a blog that is for you and about your rights -- a truth telling, down-and-dirty go-to source you can trust for a breakdown on our issues. The Blog of Rights will make it easy for you to learn about the issues from voices you can trust to tell you what’s really going on. And we need to do more. We need more expert voices, more ACLU members and more people all across America spreading the word that we can reclaim our liberties and forge a better America.

Coverage of Issues You Care About:

• The authorization of the use of torture by top Bush administration officials,
• The fight for due process at Guantánamo Bay,
• Warrantless wiretapping and domestic surveillance,
• The continued struggle to ensure equality and civil rights for all Americans.

California Declares Marriage Equality for All
Maya Harris - Executive Director, ACLU of Northern California
Statement on In re Marriage Cases Decision
May 15, 2008

Today is the day we’ve been working for—a watershed for basic fairness and human dignity. The California Supreme Court has recognized that equality means that everyone must be free to marry the person they love.

Profound social change starts in California, and does not end here. It influences the rest of the nation. Today’s decision means that Californians will extend the franchise of fairness to gay and lesbian couples who enter into the committed, loving relationship we call “marriage.” And this decision will take its rightful historic place alongside those that have formally recognized what we, as Americans, have always aspired to: a more perfect, more egalitarian union of free people, free to choose our destiny, including whom to marry.

Californians consider bans on interracial marriage an embarrassing relic of bigotry—and so does the rest of the country. But in 1948, when the California Supreme Court struck down the state law barring interracial marriage, it blazed a brave new path for California and the nation. That decision changed California, and then it changed America.