Tax Day on Public Square

January 2007

 CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS

 1. Revoke key sections of the Military Commissions Act to preserve constitutional rights and ban torture

      S. 4060, Effective Terrorists Prosecution Act of 2006,  Sen. Christopher Dodd, Nov. 16, 2006

 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s109-4060        

Statement of US Senator Russ Feingold In Opposition of the Military Commissions Act, As prepared for delivery from the Senate floor, September 28, 2006

http://feingold.senate.gov/~feingold/statements/06/09/20060928.html  

    United States of America Military Commissions Act of 2006     – Turning bad policy into bad law, Amnesty International,         September 29, 2006   http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGAMR511542006

 2. End warrantless domestic spying

 Is the Pentagon spying on Americans?: Secret database obtained by NBC News tracks ‘suspicious’ domestic groups, Lisa Myers, Douglas Pasternak, Rich Gardella and the NBC Investigative United, December 14, 2005   http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10454316/pr9int/1/displaymode/1098/

 War protests likened to terror: Military database details revealed,  The Plain Dealer, Friday, October 13, 2006

 Documents Shed New Light on Pentagon surveillance of Peace Activists,  ACLU Press Release, October 12, 2006   http://www.aclu.org/safefree/spy files/27050prs20061012.html

3. Restore Congressional power and executive branch oversight 

With more than 750 signing statements and unilateral actions the President has:

·    Limited Free Speech to "Free Speech Zones";

·    Spied on peace & environmental organizations, intercepted phone calls and will now open mail without a warrant;

·    Rewritten Congressional Acts regarding torture, privacy, environment & labor  laws;

·    Started a war without a congressional declaration and continues to fund it with  "emergency" spending requests that circumvent congressional oversight.

 Bush challenges hundreds of laws: President cites powers of his office, Charlie Savage, Boston Globe, April 30, 2006

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/04/30/bush_challenges_hundreds_of_laws/