Politics: Defending the Constitution
The Washington Post this morning features a well-drawn profile of a progressive city council taking bold steps to oppose the USA Patriot Act. The initiative in Arcata, Ca. passed the council by a 4-1 vote and is extremely popular with the townspeople. More importantly, 89 cities have passed similar resolutions or laws, some making it illegal to voluntarily comply with the USA Patriot Act, and others simply noting the municipality's opposition to the law. In each case, the locality acts in response to the grave threat the USA Patriot Act poses to the constitutional freedoms of the town's citizenry.
The Arcata freshman city council member who authored the legislation is named David Meserve. As the Post tells it, he's a dyed in the wool true patriot, speaking out when the Constitution is threatened by the irresponsible actions of our government in the post-September 11th era: "Meserve, a weather-worn builder and contractor in his fifties who wears a ponytail and flannel shirts, hasn't felt so popular since he won his council seat running on the platform, "The Federal Government Has Gone Stark, Raving Mad." "The ordinance went through so easily that we were surprised," he said. "We started going up to people asking what they thought. They thought, 'great.' It's our citywide form of nonviolent disobedience."
To learn more about the national effort to coordinate this type of action and educate localities on what they can do if they are concerned about the civil liberties under threat, check out The Bill of Rights Defense Committee.
The Washington Post this morning features a well-drawn profile of a progressive city council taking bold steps to oppose the USA Patriot Act. The initiative in Arcata, Ca. passed the council by a 4-1 vote and is extremely popular with the townspeople. More importantly, 89 cities have passed similar resolutions or laws, some making it illegal to voluntarily comply with the USA Patriot Act, and others simply noting the municipality's opposition to the law. In each case, the locality acts in response to the grave threat the USA Patriot Act poses to the constitutional freedoms of the town's citizenry.
The Arcata freshman city council member who authored the legislation is named David Meserve. As the Post tells it, he's a dyed in the wool true patriot, speaking out when the Constitution is threatened by the irresponsible actions of our government in the post-September 11th era: "Meserve, a weather-worn builder and contractor in his fifties who wears a ponytail and flannel shirts, hasn't felt so popular since he won his council seat running on the platform, "The Federal Government Has Gone Stark, Raving Mad." "The ordinance went through so easily that we were surprised," he said. "We started going up to people asking what they thought. They thought, 'great.' It's our citywide form of nonviolent disobedience."
To learn more about the national effort to coordinate this type of action and educate localities on what they can do if they are concerned about the civil liberties under threat, check out The Bill of Rights Defense Committee.
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