Viewers of PBS’ new series Constitution USA join Peter Sagal, host of Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! on his motorcycle tour of the United States and its constitution.  Episode one gave viewers a brief summary of the constitution’s role and the role that each branch of government plays in our system of checks and balances.  With the help of political figures and legal scholars, Sagal highlighted two important themes in the series’ introductory episode.

First, that the constitution is by no means a complete and exhaustive political document; rather, it leaves plenty of room for interpretation, debate and additions (which we know as amendments).

Second, Sagal highlighted the fact that presidents in particular, though bound to the constitution, often choose not to play by its rules, or bend and reinvent rules to suit their needs.  Sagal spent the latter half of the episode tracing the first example of this executive overreach (the Watergate scandal), to a more contemporary one (the Patriot Act).

The ardent defense of our constitution (which so many political figures employ in trite political rhetoric) actually invokes the question of whether or not the four page document should evolve from generation to generation or be preserved in its original state.  The Founding Fathers were the first to debate this question – while James Madison believed the constitution should remain unchanged, Thomas Jefferson argued, “The earth belongs to the living,” and that therefore each new generation should be free to alter the constitution to suit its needs.

(more…)

This week, the California State Assembly voted nearly unanimously to approve Assembly Bill 351 (AB351). The final tally was 71 in favor and 1 opposing. The law is the most recent in a string of state laws opposing indefinite military detention as allowed by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

This is very exciting news for those of us in the SF 99% Coalition and our local allies who’ve been working to oppose the indefinite detention provisions of the NDAA for the past year or so.  It’s great to see the California legislature stepping up and standing up for the civil liberties of everyone who lives in our state.  With this  vote for AB 351, and with our diverse statewide coalition of allies, I am now confident that we can get this bill through the Senate and onto the Governor’s desk for his signature.

• 5/29, The Associated Press, Las Vegas Sun (Nevada), Column: A nation of co-existing, conflicted values
• 5/29, Kate Brumback, Marietta (GA) Daily Journal, Protesters call for end to drone attacks, surveillance
• 5/28, Kathleen Parker, Washington Post, War on terror isn’t over just because Obama says so
• 5/28, Josh Gerstein, Politico, Public Citizen to represent jailed ex-CAIR spokesman
• 5/28, Micah Zenko, Foreign Policy, Confront and Confuse
• 5/28, The Associated Press, CBS (LA), Bill Seeks To Ensure Privacy As Drone Use Rises
• 5/27, Eyal Press, New York Times, Silencing the Whistle-Blowers

• 5/27, Wendy Kaminer, Cognoscenti – wbur, The Imperial Presidency: How The Expansion Of Executive Power Is Eroding Our Civil Liberties
• 5/27, Mac Thornberry, Wall Street Journal, The President’s Welcome Overture to Congress
• 5/27, Glenn Greenwald, Guardian (UK), Obama’s terrorism speech: seeing what you want to see
• 5/25, Ethan Bronner, Charlie Savage and Scott Shane, New York Times, Leak Inquiries Show How Wide a Net U.S. Cast
• 5/25, Tom Gjelten, NPR, Obama Keeps Distance From Torture Debate, At Least For Now
• 5/24, Al Hunt, Bloomberg, Powell Says Military Not CIA Should Direct Drones
• 5/24, Patricia Zengerle and Matt Spetalnick, Reuters, Obama wants to end ‘war on terror’ but Congress balks

Each month, BORDC honors an individual who has made remarkable contributions in his or her community to restoring civil liberties. This month, the Patriot Award goes to Jayel Aheram from Alaska, who is currently living in Southern California pursuing a degree in Journalism. Aheram is a libertarian journalist, blogger, photographer, anti-war activist, and US military veteran who has taken on grassroots activism across California to protect civil liberties.

Among his other projects, Jayel blogs at Young Americans For Liberty, as well as RedState Eclectic. He also offers occasional political commentary on international multilingual television networks like RT International andPressTV. He also founded the antiwar organization Come Home America, Los Angeles and edits the online libertarian magazine Against Power.  Aheram’s writing has been featured byThe Huffington Post and The Bradley Manning Support Network, among others.

Jayel is also gifted photographer whose work has been widely recognized by a variety of artists. In 2008, The Desert Sun wrote, “Aheram’s photographs, like deserts themselves, depict scenes of beauty and desolation. ‘The Harsh Desert’ goes beyond the theater of war to reveal an Iraq few Americans have seen.”

As a US Marine Corps veteran who served in the Iraq War, Jayel grew politically energized upon his return from Iraq in 2007, when he began blogging under the pseudonym Anonymous Marine and got involved in the anti-war movement in California.

He became interested in political writing in the election cycle of 2007, and in 2011, prompted by the Libya War, he began organizing rallies in his area. He eventually helped to organize the Occupy Coachella Valley protests in the Palm Springs area of California, culminating in one of his proudest accomplishments: in May 2012, he was awarded the “Silver Helmet Award” for outstanding service to the Occupy movement, and was recognized later in the same year both by the City of Cathedral City and the California State Assembly for his efforts.

Jayel’s political work has been profoundly influenced by his experiences abroad. Though born in Alaska, Aheram grew up in the Philippines, Japan, Hawaii and San Diego, and he explained that his “international upbringing instilled in [him] in a global point-of-view, plus it allowed [him] to learn history through other people’s perspectives.”

BORDC is proud to present Jayel Aheram with the May 2013 Patriot Award. Jayel’s work also employs many media, combining his ability to capture a visual experience with journalistic expertise, a broad range of experiences and activism and organizing work across several social movements. In addition to its inspiring breadth, Jayel’s work also reminds us that creative expression can dramatically strengthen political activism by making the issues more accessible, and the concerns more powerful, to public audiences.

• 5/24, Shahid Buttar, People’s Blog for the Constitution, President Obama vs. his administration’s legacy
• 5/23, Scott Wilson, Washington Post, Obama expresses regrets but seeks to retain anti-terror powers
• 5/23, Editorial Board, New York Times, The End of the Perpetual War
• 5/23, Michael Isikoff, NBC News, Holder OK’d search warrant for Fox News reporter’s private emails, official says
• 5/23, Carrie Johnson and Mellisa Block, NPR, Obama Pledges To Be More Transparent About Drone Program
• 5/23, Mark Mazzetti, New York Times, C.I.A. to Focus More on Spying, a Difficult Shift
• 5/23, Josh Gerstein, Politico, 5 questions about Obama’s counterterrorism speech

May 2013, Vol. 12 No. 05

View this newsletter as a webpage: http://www.bordc.org/newsletter/2012/05/

Department of Justice seizes phone records of journalists

BORDC News

• BORDC Board elects new leadership
• BORDC in the news
• Read the latest news & analysis from the People’s Blog for the Constitution
  • Round the clock surveillance: Is this the price of living in a ‘Free, Safe’ society? by John W. Whitehead
  • Heavy toll of drone killings illuminated at Senate hearing by Michael Figura
  • MA House & Senate to consider 5 pieces of privacy legislation by Dave Mitchell
  • Montgomery County Civil Rights Coalition proposes Rapid Response Network by Kyla Kuvach
  • The press fails yet again by Shahid Buttar
• BORDC announces 2013-2014 legal fellowship
• Summer 2013 internships available with BORDC
• Legal fellow Michael Figura speaks at events across Maine
• BORDC hosts receptions in San Francisco and Washington, DC
• Convening in Oakland, CA, informs activists and coalitions from across the country

Grassroots News

• May 2013 Patriot Award: Jayel Aheram
• Grassroots Updates
  • Alameda County, CA: County passes resolution against Secure Communities policy
  • Los Angeles, CA: Stop LAPD Spying continues to address pervasive surveillance
  • Charlotte, NC: Activists challenge statewide discriminatory policing and sentencing
  • California: AB 351 advances to challenge indefinite detention
  • Chicago, IL, mobilizes across several events
  • Dallas, TX, hosts events to greet Bush Presidential Center, challenges protest restriction
  • Albany, NY, responds to abusive paramilitary training exercise
  • Connecticut legislature tackles several civil liberties issues

Law and Policy

• Immigration reform proposals mask biometric assault on all Americans
• Gitmo hunger strike draws global attention to ongoing US torture
• ECPA reform aims to limit electronic searches
• DHS caught spying on Occupy movement as IRS discriminates against Tea Party
• Google reports increase in government censor requests
• Boston bombings: From surveillance to white privilege

New Resources and Opportunities

• Micro-grants offer opportunities for grassroots action
• BORDC announces 2013-2014 legal fellowship
• Summer 2013 internships available with BORDC
• War on Whistleblowers DVD and Action Guide
• Hold your elected officials and candidates for office accountable: pledge to support only those who defend your civil liberties

5/9, Peter Van Buren, Salon, The government whistleblower who wouldn’t be silenced

5/9, Brian Bennett and Richard A. Serrano, Los Angeles Times, Intelligence report identified vulnerability before Boston bombing

5/9, Alicia A. Caldwell and Eileen Sullivan, Salon, Boston police commissioner: We need more cameras

5/9, Hazel Dukes, Amsterdam News (NY), NAACP condemns Quinn’s support of stop-and-frisk

5/9, Barbara Ross, Daily News (NY), Judge backs NYPD’s refusal to detail its surveillance of Muslim community under Freedom of Information Law

5/9, VIDEO, Huffington Post, FBI Planning To Revise Wiretapping Laws

As the hunger strike at Guantánamo has widened to include all of the men held there, President Obama recently announced that he would renew a push on Congress to close the prison and examine his administrative options. However, the implication that Congress is preventing the closure of Guantánamo is at best disingenuous.

Obama has the power to transfer prisoners from Guantánamo right now.  The president himself has placed a uniform ban on transferring any prisoners to Yemen, a collective punishment policy that he could reverse immediately. He could also release prisoners by issuing a certification through the Department of Defense and State that the administration has steps to assure the secure release and monitoring of the prisoners.

Moreover, President Obama’s seemingly newfound rhetorical opposition to indefinite detention runs counter to the policies of his administration. While he may have tried to move the prisoners to the United States, he still wanted them indefinitely detained, in violation of the Constitution and International Law. This has left even supporters of his detention policy befuddled.

The Guantánamo hunger strike can only be ended by the administration taking meaningful steps to close the prison. Those steps can begin immediately by releasing the 86 men who have been cleared for release by the government itself. The remaining men should either be given a speedy and fair trial or released as well.

The men at Guantánamo are resolute to peacefully protest through a hunger strike until they receive justice. One of them, Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi put it this way:

I do not want to kill myself. My religion prohibits suicide. But I will not eat or drink until I die, if necessary, to protest the injustice of this place. We want to get out of this place. It is as though this government wishes to smother us in this injustice, to kill us slowly here, indirectly, without trying us or executing us.

Currently, 21 of the men, including Mr. al-Alwi, are bring force-fed in violation of medical ethics. The force-feeding process is brutal, as was described by one prisoner in an New York Times op-ed and can constitute torture, if undertaken as a form of punishment.

As the hunger strike continues, people across the world are pushing for the closure of Guantánamo and an end to indefinite detention. A change.org petition started by a former Guantánamo prosecutor, calling for the prison’s closure, has gained over 100,000 signers in less that two days. From May 17-19, people of conscience will stand together to demand that President Obama close the United States’ forever prison.

The George W. Bush Presidential Library  and Museum opened to the public this week, a great unveiling that has  reignited the debate about the Bush-era “enhanced interrogation techniques” (read: torture).  One of the most controversial elements of the new museum is a video narrated by former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice.  The video explains that President Bush asked two “very important” questions in his decision to use torture in the post-9/11 “War on Terror”: was it legal?  And was it necessary?  When allegedly answered “yes” to both of these questions, President Bush proceeded in making detention and torture an instrumental part of his administration’s work.

The real surprise of the video, though, is in Rice’s suggestion that the United States was spared further terrorist attacks because of Bush’s detention and torture policies.  Rice argues that, “The fact that we have not had a successful attack on our territory traces directly to those difficult decisions in a new kind of war after September 11th.”  This is a dangerous allegation to make, and it underscores the need for our government to reconsider the effectiveness of detention and torture, a fight of which Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) has been at the forefront.

Udall correctly commented that the video in the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum “could potentially leave thousands of visitors to the library with the false impression that this wrongheaded program prevented terrorist attacks here in the United States.”  Udall seeks to correct the record on the Bush administration’s detention and interrogation program and to declassify the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence more than 6,000 page report on that program.

Understanding the effectiveness of Bush’s detention and interrogation programs is particularly crucial as the U.S. now faces a new moral dilemma posed by the Obama administration’s drone programs and the new executive power to legally authorize the targeted killing of American citizens.  To move forward without rectifying past misuses of executive power would likely make any hope of future executive accountability unattainable.  In order to hold the Obama administration to a higher humanitarian standard and reject the executive power to assassinate American citizens, we must demand truth and accountability from past administrations as well.  It is for this reason that Udall’s push to correct the record on the post-9/11 detention and interrogation programs and declassify the 6,000 plus page report is so crucial.  You can support Senator Udall’s fight by signing BORDC’s petition to declassify the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report.