enter your property to do a “sneak and peek”
search, all without your knowledge. As well,
Marston explains, “On the order of the FBI
director, police can search medical, finan-
cial, educational, library records and book-
store purchases with little, if any, judicial
oversight and without evidence that you’ve
been involved in criminal activities.” The
keepers of the records cannot deny access
and they cannot inform you of the search,
because according to the UPA, they will be
committing a felony.
“We have to take the helm at this point,”
Marston says. “We need to be working
together in creative ways to shine a spotlight
on what’s really going on, naming things for
what they really are. Because what’s hap-
pening is our government has become a very
secret and closed place.”
In his talk, Hassan says he has lived in the
U.S. since 1961, in Eugene since 1991.
“There are no better people … People here
are powerful because they are free.” In spite
of some incidents of harassment after Sept.
11, Hassan stands firm that people’s rights
must be protected, that the beauty of the U.S.
is its firm foundation on justice.
“With the punishment of these people
[who bombed the Trade Center],” says
Hassan, “we are being punished too, by the
curtailing of our freedoms …” He insists we
must first understand one another so that we
may stand together, unified in the fight
against a disappointing government attempt-
ing to limit freedom. “I love this country,” he
says. “I will fight for it. I will die for it, and
certainly, I will die in it and become part of
the soil of this country … We the people
have more power than we think … ”
If you think that the UPA doesn’t really
apply to you, that there really isn’t any rea-
son the government would even request such
information, consider Peebles’ story.
Recently she had her wisdom teeth pulled. In
the oral surgeon’s office, she was asked to
sign a “privacy” document. She looked at the
piece of paper, and politely told the recep-
tionist she didn’t feel she had the legal back-
ground to sign such a document.
After the surgery, when Peebles went to
pick up medication at the pharmacy, she was
again offered a “privacy” document.
Reading through, she found that signing the
document permitted the pharmacy to “ …
disclose your health care information to the
following entities … to authorize federal
officials’ use for intelligence, counter-intelli-
gence and other national security activities
authorized by law …”
“I’m just really not sure,” Peebles says,
“what the FBI wants to know about my pre-
scriptions …” Such a document, however,
will be presented to anyone who goes to the
pharmacy to fill a prescription. This was not
happening five years ago.
Peebles emphasizes the work that
LCBORDC is doing to protect everyone’s
rights, explains that though her status as a
“young, white female” might make it easy to
ignore governmental infractions, she cannot
feel truly free until we are all truly free, and
that UPA keeps us all from that true freedom.
Peebles says, “I was told that the
Constitution is the law of the land. Presidents
come and go, but I stand with the
Constitution …”
Cara List explains that implicit in the
right to freedom of speech is “the freedom to
listen, the freedom to read, the freedom to
have an education …” She says,
“Democracy has its strongest foundation in
an educated electorate.”
List says that part of an education is see-
ing an issue from different sides, finding out
about maybe less-than-politically correct
perspectives. “If you want to see both sides
of an issue … if you want to have some
understanding, you have the right to do that
without anyone looking over your shoulder
and making the assumption that your knowl-
edge is somehow … creating an action that
you have not participated in …” To pursue
these things, List explains, privacy and pro-
tection guaranteed by the Bill of Rights is
key. On June 13 of this year, the Oregon
Library Association signed a resolution to
protect library users’ privacy from the UPA.
TAKING A STAND
There are more than 100 cities, towns and
counties that have taken a stand against the
UPA. Three states — Alaska, Hawaii and
Vermont — have also rejected the act.
Things closer to home look hopeful: Last
November, the Eugene City Council voted
unanimously to adopt a resolution rejecting
the USA PATRIOT Act. LCBORDC has
been working recently on a similar effort to
pass a resolution at the county level.
East Lane County Commissioner Tom
Lininger says, “I strongly support the idea
that we should reaffirm our commitment to
civil liberties. I think Hope Marston and the
rest of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee
have done a great job showing that people
throughout Lane County are concerned
about this issue.”
But Lininger also touches on the com-
plexity of the issue: “This county has a proud
history of standing up for civil liberties … At
the same time, we need to be careful that
we’re not villifying the federal prosecutors
and FBI agents in Lane County. These peo-
ple have done a good job protecting our
community and prosecuting important
crimes such as white collar crime, violence
against women, civil rights violations, envi-
ronmental crimes, and organized crime. I am
very concerned about John Ashcroft’s poli-
cies, but I’m thankful that our local federal
law enforcement officials have shown some
restraint by comparison to other areas.”
When asked about the resolution,
Springfield Commissioner Bill Dwyer
replied simply, “I love it. The Bill of Rights
and Constitution are tremendously impor-
tant.”
The BCC heard public testimony earlier
this week and as Lininger says, “We’ll need
to hammer out the details of the resolution,
but you can bet that the Lane County Board
of Commissioners won’t be on the sidelines
of this debate.”
For more information about the UPA and
what you can do to protect your rights, visit
www.lanerights.org If you are in a position
to donate time or money to the LCBORDC,
please contact Dawn Balzano Peebles at
485-8972.
ew
DEFEND THE BILL OF RIGHTS!
HOPE MARSTON
‘We have to take
the helm at this
point...what’s
happening is our
government has
become a very
secret and
closed place.’
Your McKenzie River
FAHRID HASSAN
‘I love this
country...I will fight
for it. I will die for
it, and certainly, I
will die in it and
become part of
the soil....’
CARA LIST
‘Democracy has
its strongest
foundation in an
educated
electorate.’
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JULY 3, 2003 15