Eugene weekly., July 03, 2003, Page 12, Image 12

Patriot,
Watch Your Back!
THE FIGHT AGAINST USA PATRIOT ACT CONTINUES — ARE YOU IN?
BY BOBBIE WILLIS
ore than 10 years ago, during the
Gulf War/George Bush I crisis, I sat
with friends in the UC San Diego
Price Center auditorium waiting to
hear a spoken word performance by
former Dead Kennedy’s frontman Jello
Biafra. As a tag-along, I didn’t know much
about Biafra and was unsure of what to
expect.
So it was a little alarming when, in the
middle of our pre-show chitchat, the house
lights dropped to darkness, spotlights
beamed up to balcony level, and a dozen
agent-types in motorcycle boots, leather
pants, leather gloves, trench coats, and Ray-
Bans sauntered forth, assembling themselves
at attention above and surrounding the audi-
ence. They looked down at us with what felt
like menace and disgust behind the lenses of
those dark glasses. One last spotlight lit up
big and bright from above, down to a raised
walkway, and out came Biafra, also garbed
agent-style. He bellowed into a microphone:
“We interrupt this program with a special
M
“Presidents come and
go, but I stand with
the Constitution...”
- DAWN BALZANO PEEBLES
happening?”
Though the government today hasn’t
necessarily adopted the Ray-Ban drama and
caricature of Biafra’s performance, I have
thought often of the prophetic nature of that
opening monologue — and there isn’t any-
thing even uneasily funny or giggly about it
now.
In the fervor to “fight terrorism” since
Sept. 11, the current administration has
adopted the USA PATRIOT Act (UPA),
which allows governmental access to more
and more information, not only about possi-
ble terrorists, but about each and every one
of us. Everyday citizens become increasing-
ly exposed in terms of private information;
the Bill of Rights is sidelined in the name of
“protection;” and this administration seems
to function deeper and deeper in secrecy and
shroudedness. They may not be dropping the
lights and bellowing into microphones, but
this is really happening. The time to fight is
now.
EVERYDAY CITIZENS BECOME INCREASINGLY EXPOSED IN TERMS OF
PRIVATE INFORMATION; THE BILL OF RIGHTS IS SIDELINED IN THE
NAME OF “PROTECTION,” AND THIS ADMINISTRATION SEEMS TO
FUNCTION DEEPER AND DEEPER IN SECRECY AND SHROUDEDNESS.
bulletin. America is now under martial law.
All constitutional rights have been suspend-
ed. Stay in your homes, do not attempt to
contact loved ones, insurance agents or attor-
neys. Shut up … ”
“Obey all orders without question. The
comforts you demanded are now mandatory.
Be happy. At last, everything is done for
you.”
In the gray light of the spot-lit auditori-
um, I remember turning to my friend and
sharing an uneasy giggle, then an exaggerat-
ed grimace of, “What is this?” But I was
momentarily shaken, spooked by the words,
“America is now under martial law. All con-
stitutional rights have been suspended.” My
stomach knotted; I wondered, “Is this really
12 JULY 3, 2003
FRIDAY NIGHT FREEDOM FIGHT
It’s 7 pm on a late-June Friday night that
is perfect, except that it is hotter than Hades.
It’s a night you might expect to find people
sipping amber ales on the back porch at High
Street, or heading to the coast with the kids
for a weekend of camping.
It’s not a night you’d expect people to be
congregating around the fight for the Bill of
Rights. Yet here they are, in the Annex on
River Road, a little over two dozen people
— including County Commissioner Bobby
Green — gathered for the Lane County Bill
of Rights Defense Committee’s (LCBOR-
DC) public forum, “Assaults on Human
Rights Since September 11.” Speakers
include Hope Marston and Dawn Balzano
Peebles of LCBORDC, Fahrid Hassan,
owner of Ali Baba’s Restaurant on River
Road and Cara List of the Oregon Library
Association. They’ve come together out of
love of country and in defense of the Bill of
Rights.
The Bill of Rights protects us from those
who would govern with too heavy a hand. It
gives the American public a voice in the
processes of government. The Bill of Rights
protects regular people and their property,
should there be any run-ins with the fed’s (or
even with more local branches of the gov-
ernment — hello, EPD).
The Bill of Rights guarantees, among
other things, each of us security in our
homes, safe from unreasonable search and
seizure. It guarantees that the government
must have probable cause and a court order
before we have to submit ourselves or our
property to search and seizure. It guarantees
our right to bear arms, should we choose. It
guarantees us due process of law — that we
cannot be punished, or have things taken
away from us without the process of a fair
and open trial. It guarantees each of us a
speedy trial; an impartial jury; the right to
confront witnesses against us; equal protec-
tion under the law. It guarantees us freedom
of speech, freedom to assemble and to peti-
tion the government for redress of griev-
ances.
It’s important to be clear about these
rights, that we have them, because they’re
just about the only things between us and the
prying eyes and ears of the current adminis-
tration. And with the fear, confusion and
mixed information following Sept. 11, we
could be in grave danger of having these
rights pulled right out from under us, leaving
us wondering, “Hey, didn’t this [fill in a gov-
ernmental act of privacy invasion] used to be
unconstitutional?” Used to be, until UPA.
The UPA widens the scope of the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and
weakens 15 privacy laws. Law enforcement
agencies can now cast much wider nets, with
far fewer checks and balances to ensure that
innocent people aren’t getting caught in
those nets.
According to Marston’s forum presenta-
tion, the UPA allows law enforcement to
take all sorts of liberties with your actual lib-
erty: They may tap your phone lines and
monitor your Internet use; they may even