ACLU Statement on the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 (11/28/2007) Washington, D.C. â The ACLU continues to have serious concerns regarding the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 (H.R. 1955). Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the Washington Legislative Office of the ACLU said, "Law enforcement should focus on action, not thought. We need to worry about the people who are committing crimes rather than those who harbor beliefs that the government may consider to be extreme." The framework established by the measure will unavoidably make the focus of the commission the bill creates more likely to lead to unconstitutional restrictions on speech and belief â in addition to more appropriate restrictions on actions. Experience has demonstrated that the results of such a study will likely be used to recommend the use of racial, ethnic and religious profiling, in the event of a terrorist attack. We believe this approach to be counter-productive, and it will only heighten, rather than decrease, the spread of radicalization. The ACLU has raised multiple concerns with H.R. 1955 at different points during the last 13 months. We appreciate the steps that have been made to improve the legislation, but we still have reservations. As an organization dedicated to the principles of freedom of speech, we cannot in good conscience support this or any measure that might lead to censorship and persecution based solely on oneâs personal beliefs. Fredrickson explained that during hearings on the legislation called, "Using the Web as a Weapon: the Internet as a Tool for Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism," the focus on the internet was problematic. "If Congress finds the Internet is dangerous, then the ACLU will have to worry about censorship and limitations on First Amendment activities. Why go down that road?" The ACLU is working with senators to improve First Amendment and civil liberties protections in the Senate version of the legislation.
I agree and share your passion for the Country and the Constitution. Mainstream media is an enigma. The more I learn real history, the more I understand mainstream media juxtaposed to that. The Military Industrial Complex The USS liberty. The Federal Reserve. Weather Modification. The New World Order / One World Government agenda (via Bilderberg, Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations). The North American Union. Open Borders in a Post apocalyptic America. All real, 100% provable, rocking the foundations of this Country to its Core. Yet the American Media will not discuss it. The conclusion then becomes obvious. Its not a sinister conspiracy of silence, as Ron Paul so eloquently put last Wednesday (cheap plug Good people from Media and Politics have fought - and sometimes won - disclosure of these nefarious conspiracies over the years. Its how we know now what we do. Its the after effect - the editors, executives and gatekeepers (the old guard), that ignored, suppressed and spun the truth to make it unpalatable, unbelievable or untenable to the American public or its own newscasters and journalists. So in a way, yes, its a conspiracy. But committed by the upper echelons of Mainstream Media to protect the Establishment against a popular revolution. Their entire fortune is staked on that. Think what would happen if a major media outlet fixed their crosshairs on the parasitic Federal Reserve and dedicated week-after-week of educational segments until the Public forced its disintegration. Would that media outlet last a day? A week? A month? The only thing saving this Country is the last vestiges of the Constitution. And the faint inkling held by the American public - although impalpable - that the Constitution is something 'good' that, in some strange yet undiscernible way, ought to be 'protected'. The Country is really on its last legs... I would honestly and truly bet the farm this Country will not last the next terror attack. America will emerge from that as a Fascist Dictatorship under the guise of a counterfeit Democracy. People like you and I (im serious) will be put in camps. Or worse. Police State. Theres a reason why the NSA coopted AT&T and routed every single megabyte of State-side internet traffic through an Agency splitter. Its not for Osama Bin Laden. No. He's not important anymore... Its for these Homegrown Terrorists, the radical defenders of the Constitution, who are the 'real threat' now. <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qrBapXsLcro&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qrBapXsLcro&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
i just discovered the Committee on Homeland Security's fact sheet on HR 1955 http://homeland.house.gov/sitedocuments/hr1955factsheetpdf.pdf they repeatedly assert the obvious... that this bill doesn't create any new laws or crimes, and only aims to study them. this bill is basically a gateway to far more divisive legislation i can save this committee some time. instead of studying why so many Americans are incensed, you should be studying why the president and vice president resisted an investigation of 911 in every conceivable sense. the entire premise for this committee's existence is questionable, as well as the rest of the last 6 years of national security policy