A Timeline
Dec 5th, 2007 by jeremy
The Bill of Rights under President Bush.
Yikes.
Excerpted scary parts.
2001
October
Attorney General John Ashcroft announces change in Department of Justice (DOJ) policy. According to the new policy DOJ will impose far more stringent criteria for the granting of Freedom of Information Act requests.
October
The USA Patriot Act becomes law. Among other things the law: makes it a crime for anyone to contribute money or material support for any group on the State Department’s Terror Watch List, allows the FBI to monitor and tape conversations between attorneys and clients, allows the FBI to order librarians to turn over information about patron’s reading habits, allows the government to conduct surveillance on internet and email use of US citizens without notice. The act also calls for expanded use of National Security Letters (NSLs), which allow the FBI to search telephone, email and financial records of US citizens without a court order
2002
Spring
Secret executive order issued authorizing NSA to wiretap the phones and read emails of US citizens.
May
Department of Justice authorizes the FBI to monitor political and religious groups. The new rules permit the FBI to broadly search or monitor the internet for evidence of criminal activity without having any tips or leads that a specific criminal act has been committed.
2005
January
Supreme court rules that police do not need to have probable cause to have drug sniffing dogs examine cars stopped for routine traffic violations.
2006
September
US Congress and Senate approve the Military Commissions Act, which authorizes torture and strips non- US citizen detainees suspected of terrorist ties of the right of habeas corpus (which includes formal charges, counsel and hearings). It also empowers US presidents at their discretion to declare US citizens as enemy combatants and subject to detention without charge or due process.
I thought the patriot act was it. Wow, that is scary. Hopefully our new president elect will give us some of our rights back.
And this list does not include the nightmare it has created for banks and credit unions.
Regardless of actual terrorist threats or planned attacks that may exist, the combination of exciting a state of fear and exercising increased power to reduce freedoms is scary to me. And, it’s all done in the name of protection. Thanks, Mr. President! I feel safer already! Does anyone else think that the course our country has taken since 9/11 (and is now taking) will make terrorist groups just want to attack us more than they already did?