Peace Fresno Denounces Government Sponsored Spying

Peace Fresno Denounces Government Sponsored Spying
By Mike Rhodes

On the first day (January 9, 2006) of the US Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, Peace Fresno held a press conference denouncing the NSA/Executive Branch Violation of Civil Liberties. Peace Fresno also announced that they expect the report from the California Attorney General, about the infiltration by law enforcement of their group, to be released this week.

Below is the text of the Peace Fresno press conference held at the new Federal Courthouse in downtown Fresno. A video of the press conference can also be viewed. The following statement was read by Peace Fresno president Lisa Solomon:

PRESS CONFERENCE

All human situations have their inconveniences. We feel those of the present but neither see nor feel those of the future; and hence we often make troublesome changes without amendment, and frequently for the worse. (Benjamin Franklin)

The executive branch of this government, maintaining its attitude and belief that it is superior to all other branches of government and the will of the people, has admitted that it has engaged in the monitoring of communications made by American citizens. Such actions have been taken in the President's ongoing "war on terror" and criticisms of such actions have been denounced as statements made by those who support the "enemy". Yet contrary to the opinions of constitutional scholars, members of Congress and the judiciary, the President does not believe that he or his administration has engaged in any illegal or unconstitutional activity.

Those in power have tried to convince us that such violation of standing federal laws is necessary to protect American citizens from future attacks, that they are only focusing on people of interest and communications involving individuals contacting others in the Middle East. Yet, by the administration's own stated belief, this is supposedly a world-wide war on terror, which leads many people to believe that such monitoring of communications could be expanded to involve anyone who talks, writes or emails anyone anywhere in the world. How many of us living in the Central Valley today have friends or relatives living or traveling abroad? How willing are we to have our conversations monitored by the government?

We are here today to add our voices to those calling for an end to such actions, demanding that the checks and balances between the branches of government written into our constitution be used to protect the rights of all citizens, that the government act in a transparent and legal manner demanded by reasonable citizens of this country. It is the process of checks and balances that has maintained our level of freedom and the continuation of a democratic form of government in this country for over 218 years. The concept that no one branch of government could be, or would be, more powerful than the other two, is a process that this administration has been advocating for other countries around the world, yet refuses to abide by here at home.

This day is significant for two reasons. Today, the US Supreme Court returns to work after its holiday recess. It is also the first day of hearings by the US Senate Judiciary Committee in the confirmation process of Samuel Alito. Judge Alito has made his views well known regarding the powers of the executive branch, stating on several occasions over the past 20 plus years that he holds to the idea of an imperial presidency, one that has supreme authority. Mr. Alito has also stated that in wartime, the powers of the Commander in Chief trumps all others, including actions taken by the other branches of government. Such a philosophy runs counter to the design of our nation's governmental system, one in which all three branches are equal to, and maintain oversight of, the other two. What Judge Alito also forgets, and what the White House wishes to ignore, is that there has been no constitutional declaration of war with Iraq. The Bush administration is operating under a resolution passed by both houses of Congress that authorized the use of force, BUT DOES NOT STATE THAT THE UNITED STATES IS OFFICIALLY AT WAR WITH IRAQ! While the Administration returns to the opinion that we are in a war, it also neglects to admit that the President is also the chief law enforcement official in this country. That is as important an obligation as serving as Commander in Chief or as the Chief Executive.

At the same time, over the past few weeks a number of federal court justices, several of whom issued warrants based on information provided them by the federal government, are asking that the government prove to the courts that those warrants were not based on illegally gathered information. One justice has already resigned from the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act court, a body that issues such warrants, over the actions taken by the government. If it is proven that the government did, indeed, use such illegally gathered evidence when petitioning for the warrants, those cases could be thrown out.

It has been argued by some that those who are innocent have nothing to hide and therefore nothing to fear from the government. Yet the board of directors and members of Peace Fresno know first hand the dangers that arise when government, using the specter of fear, invades the privacy of its citizens and weakens the civil liberties that are to be enjoyed by all. Such unlawful surveillance violates our rights to freedom of speech and assembly, unwarranted searches and seizures, the protections against self-incrimination, and the right to privacy. The infiltration prompted an investigation by the California Attorney General office, which is due to release its report on that investigation some time this week. Who among you are willing to be the next target?

We must also remember that there have been other attempts made by the government of this country to monitor the actions of its citizens and to stifle the voices of dissent. We only need to look at the Alien and Sedition Acts of the 1780s that were used to deport unknown numbers of immigrants and arrest editors of newspapers that printed articles unflattering to the Adams administration. During World War I, the population was subjected to the Espionage and Sedition Acts. These made imprisonment possible for those considered to be aiding the enemy and outlawed any language thought to be disloyal, profane or abusive and caused contempt, scorn or disrepute to the government of the United States. Enforcement focused on pacifists, labor leaders and others who were considered to be unpatriotic.

In 1759, well before the Revolutionary War, Benjamin Franklin wrote the following: "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Author James Baldwin once stated that "Freedom is not something that anybody can be given. Freedom is something people take, and people are as free as they want to be." Peace Fresno calls on all responsible and reasonable residents of this valley to demand a full accounting of the actions taken by our government, continued oversight by the legislative and judicial branches of the government, and persistent vocalization of our civil liberties as citizens of the United States.

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For more information see www.peacefresno.org