Progressive Democrat Issue 63: NATIONAL ACTION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES

From the ACLU:

In this week's State of the Union message, the president clung to the same basic untruths that have fueled all his attempts to justify illegal spying on Americans.

Despite his statements, the president has not been granted the power to authorize his program of warrantless NSA spying. Neither Congress nor the Constitution gave him that authority.

We can expect more of the same when Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testifies before Congress on Monday.

The facts are this: the program violates laws against unreasonable search and seizure without probable cause, as well as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) - which specifically prohibits the president from spying on American citizens without judicial oversight.

And we now have reason to believe that the Pentagon, too, is illegally spying on peace groups and law-abiding Americans who have attended anti-war protests, in a direct attack on citizens' rights of free speech and association.

President Bush's illegal surveillance is part of a wide-ranging pattern of abuse of power, abuse that threatens the very foundation of our democracy.

The mounting alarm over the President’s reckless acts crosses the political spectrum. Our nation is based on separation of powers and the rule of law. President Bush has dishonored these principles and violated our trust.

Go to the ACLU website and TAKE ACTION to protect our civil liberties!