It's true. Dick Cheney and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) have agreed that the government should be able to access Americans' conversations and emails without getting an individualized warrant. But that isn't all they're after.
Under the guise of responding to the NSA spying scandal, the Bush administration and its allies in Congress are actually pushing for new ways to invade your privacy, with unprecedented and dangerous spying legislation crafted under Dick Cheney's supervision.
The bad news is, if these bills pass, our homes, cell phone records and email inboxes will be laid bare to new kinds of government spying that are currently completely illegal. The good news is that we have a chance to stop these bills now, before White House pressure drives them to a speedy vote.
This August you can help generate a public outcry that will make Congress think twice before they hand over even more power to the Bush administration. Call your member of Congress today, and get the word out in your local community with a letter to the editor.
This legislation is being characterized by some as "surveillance we can live with," but the fact is it would vastly expand the government's power to search and spy on Americans without any judicial checks, including reading any email you send if the government does not know where all the recipients are physically located.
Don't be deceived by claims the Cheney-Specter bill restores judicial review. The legislation really tries to make warrants optional while allowing a secret court to rubber-stamp surveillance of Americans, without even knowing the names of Americans to be wiretapped or whether they've done anything wrong. We are running advertisements and working with every contact we have in the major news outlets to counteract the government's spin, but we need your help.
If you've had enough of an administration that's proven itself grossly indifferent to the rule of law and the balance of power time and time again, on issues from warrantless spying, to secret kidnapping, to the unlawful treatment of Guantanamo detainees, now is the time to say "NO MORE."
Just last week, President Bush and Attorney General Gonzales were pushing Congress to rubber-stamp a new plan for military commissions at Guantanamo that would violate U.S. law and the Geneva conventions, flying in the face of the recent Supreme Court ruling striking down the entire Bush-sponsored system of detainee trials.
Use the links above to learn more about the Cheney-backed proposals and get involved during this critical month of action. You can help get out the truth about this bill and the dangers it poses.
Throughout August, we'll be calling on you to help cut through the White House spin and tell Congress how toxic these bills are to our basic freedoms. They need to hear the wave of opposition while they're on their summer break. And we're counting on you to help turn the tide, by speaking out at home and online.
Thank you for standing with us.