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Restoring the Constitution in the Wake of the 'War on Terror'
Thursday, September 17, 7 pm
Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies Auditorium
213 N. King St., Shepherd University
Shepherdstown, WV 25443
David Cole, Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center, will present the fifth annual Tom E. Moses Memorial Lecture on the U.S. Constitution, as part of Shepherd University's observance of Constitution Day.
You may have heard Professor Cole on NPR or Democracy Now or read one of his commentaries in The Nation, where he is the legal affairs correspondent. A graduate of Yale University and Yale Law School, he began his career as a law clerk to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He then joined the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York City where he litigated several major First Amendment cases. He is author of five books, including Less Safe, Less Free: Why America Is Losing the War on Terror (2009) with Jules Lobel, and Terrorism and the Constitution: Sacrificing Civil Liberties in the Name of National Security (2006).
The Tom E. Moses Memorial Lecture on the U.S. Constitution is named for the late Tom E. Moses. Tom was a committed defender of the Bill of Rights who founded the Eastern Panhandle branch of the American Civil Liberties Union and served on the board of the ACLU-WV. The Moses Memorial Lecture brings distinguished speakers to Shepherd University each September to discuss major issues related to the US Constitution and civil liberties.
A discussion, reception and book signing will follow the lecture. The event is free and open to the public.
Her awesomeness leaves me speechless.
John Yoo:)Orange County Something about Berkeley being a hippie magnet.
Update: (by Clem G.) Money quote from Harpers article:
But Yoo musters some defense nevertheless:
These memos I wrote were not for public consumption. They lack a certain polish, I think-would have been better to explain government policy rather than try to give unvarnished, straight-talk legal advice.
Of course, under the Judiciary Act of 1789, OLC memos fix government legal policy and are binding on all government agencies. The Justice Department has made a practice of publishing them for more than a century. But Yoo does not feel constrained by these facts when he speaks with the popular media; the facts might complicate things.
Our Nation's first President, George Washington, referred to the Constitution as "the guide which I never will abandon." President Thomas Jefferson, one of the Founding Fathers, described the Constitution as "the result of the collected wisdom of our country."
During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln warned Americans to "never interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties."
Later, President Calvin Coolidge said that "to live under the American Constitution is the greatest political privilege that was ever accorded to the human race." And President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who led our Nation through World War II and out of the Great Depression, stated that "the United States Constitution has proven itself the most marvelously elastic compilation of rules of government ever written."
But my favorite quote about our Nation's Constitution belongs to West Virginia's own Senator Robert C. Byrd: "Our Constitution embodies the vision of the Framers, their dream of freedom, supported by the genius of practical structure which has come to be known as checks and balances and separation of powers. But we cannot defend and protect this dream if we are ignorant of the Constitution's history and how it works. Ignorance is ultimately the worst enemy of the people who want to be free."
Sen. Byrd knows how important this document is; he keeps a well-worn copy of the Constitution in his pocket and refers to it in all types of situations, from the Senate floor to backyard barbecues. In 2004, Sen. Byrd authored legislation designating September 17 as Constitution Day and requiring schools that receives federal money to teach about the Constitution on September 17, the day the document was adopted in 1787.
While it may not have the fireworks or fanfares of the Fourth of July, Constitution Day marks an event of equal importance. Given its long and much-celebrated history of success, it is only appropriate that we celebrate the Constitution and the day on which the efforts of our Forefathers came to fruition just as we mark the day our Nation declared its independence.
In honor of Constitution Day, my office is offering all Third District residents who, like Sen. Byrd, understand that the Constitution, as enduring as it has been, is only as strong as the support of the citizens it represents, free copies of the U.S. Constitution. To receive your copy, contact my Washington, DC office at (202) 225-3425 or email me at nrahall@mail.house.gov.
The Constitution is a living, breathing work of art, which protects and preserves the liberty that defines our Nation. Today, more than 200 years after its ratification, this historic document, which contains the fundamental laws of the United States, continues to bring us closer- through compromise and self-correction-to "a more perfect union." I encourage all West Virginians to join me, Senator Byrd, and all Americans in celebrating Constitution Day and the joyous freedoms enshrined in it by our Founding Fathers.
After President George W. Bush signed the Congressional capitulation known as the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, who was the first hand he reached for--None other the Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
I think every West Virginian should take a good look at this picture, and then give the Senator a good piece of your mind. 202.224.6472
Also, send this picture to everyone you know. The Senator needs to know there are consequences for this kind of behavior.
For more on where the ACLU is taking this fight, click here.
You have once again served West Virginia, our country, and our constitution well. We need more people like you, those who protect our rights and liberties, representing us in Congress.
I'm still struggling to figure out how the majority of Congress has given away so much constitutional authority to the executive branch over the last seven years.
It's bad enough when the legislative branch totally fails to provide effective oversight of the executive branch.
If the matters at hand were merely a matter of divvying up powers between Congress and the President, that would be one thing. What is truly disheartening is the loss of fundamental personal freedoms enshrined in our bill of rights.
Any one of us could--because of what we say on a phone conversation, because of a book we check out at the library (or what we buy on eBay), because of a meeting we attend, because of an Internet search we perform, or, even because of similar actions by someone we are thought to know--literally, any one of for any reason the President says is okay, can now be picked up off the street, sent to a foreign detention facility, and held indefinitely without charges.
I wish this were hyperbole. Sadly, it is not. President Bush had continually enacted through signing statements and through unchallenged concrete actions the principle of unified executive power.
President Bush claims the open-ended war on terror gives him reason to suspend any individual constitutional rights he sees necessary to engage in that war.
The reaction from the majority of Congress is as laughable as it lamentable. The majority of Congress has agreed to simply trust the President. This stance is the total antithesis to our Constitution, an insult of the founding principles of our country, and a complete abdication of Congressional responsibility.
How has this happened?
All I can figure is, the majority of Congress is afraid of confrontation. There is a constitutional crisis underway. Instead of dealing with it head on, today Congress is once again appeasing the President.
Few in Congress are willing to call a spade a spade. Few in Congress are willing to stand up for the constitution. Few in Congress are willing to do fully do their job.
The House passed a version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) last week that included retroactive immunity to the telecom companies that conspired in Bush's warrantless wiretapping program. And now, as the bill heads to the Senate, it looks like we have one last chance to stop this massive erosion of the rule of law.
Thankfully, we have a few champions, like Russ Feingold and Chris Dodd, who look poised to fight this to the very end, but they can't do it alone. They need both strong support from progressive senators and the vote of those senators currently sitting on the fence. This is where you come in.
Sen. Byrd could be the deciding voice and vote on stopping retroactive immunity. Please take a minute right now to give him a call and ask him to strip the retroactive immunity provision of FISA.
You can call either by dialing the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, or by using our list of direct number for target senators.
After you are done with the call, please take a moment to let us know how the call went.
Senator Feingold effectively summed up the insanity of retroactive immunity yesterday by saying, "It doesn't simply have the impact of potentially allowing telephone companies to break the law. It may prevent us from ever getting to the core issue...which is the president ran an illegal program that could've been an impeachable offense."
I hope that you'll join me and do what you can to help prevent this from happening.
Attempts to find out what Congress actually knew about the 2002 torture of detainees held by the CIA are running right into the brick wall of classification. Only this time, it's not just CIA stonewalling that's keeping the facts concealed. Members of Congress are quick to put the classification muzzle on themselves.
In February 2003, Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) wrote a letter to the CIA cautioning "against destruction of any videotapes" of al-Qaeda interrogations. It's not clear whether she objected to any actual interrogation techniques in the letter, and she says that because the letter is classified, she was "not free to mention this subject publicly until Director Hayden disclosed it yesterday." Harman is seeking to have the CIA declassify the letter.
Similarly, Jay Rockefeller said he wrote to the CIA in May and September 2005 to seek clarification about interrogation techniques. Unfortunately, those letters are also classified, and neither Harman nor Rockefeller appear inclined to release them.
snip
That may not be the end of the story. Via Matt Yglesias -- longtime ally of snitches and creator of the logo you see above -- comes this Michael Froomkin analysis finding that the Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause gives members of Congress, if they're so inclined, the ability to put classified information into the public sphere with Constitutional protection. It's an esoteric argument and not at all a matter of settled Constitutional law, but it's an option. Apparently then-Sen. Mike Gravel (D-AK) used the clause to enter the Pentagon Papers into the Congressional Record.
Given that classification is used as a political cudgel to cut off debate, perhaps Harman and Rockefeller would be interested in putting the clause to the test by releasing their letters -- minus sources-and-methods -- and daring the administration to prosecute.
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