slow on the uptake but slowly getting up in arms
Primarily of interest to you club kids (urbanwulf, android5, rsteigel I'm looking at you), but I thought this would strike a cord with enough of you that it's worth posting. A friend of mine sent me a long e-mail railing against two recently proposed bills that are likely to affect our lives, indirectly or otherwise.
One is an expansion on the Amber Alert Bill or RAVE Act, currently monikered the Ecstasy Awareness Act, under which "...whoever profits monetarily from a rave or similar electronic dance event, knowing or having reason to know that the unlawful use or distribution of a controlled substance occurs at the rave or similar event, shall be fined not more than $500,000 or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. If the defendant is an organization, the fine imposable for the offense is not more than $2,000,000." It also increases funding specifically designated for prosecution of E-related crime. While it hasn't garnered much congressional support on its own, it's expected to be tacked onto the widely-supported CLEAN-UP Meth Act.
Even more disturbing, the Bush administration is seeking to expand provisions of the PATRIOT Act under the new "VICTORY" Act, under the guise of reducing drug-related crime. Note that this is not the same bill as the Domestic Security Enhancement Act, aka "PATRIOT Act II.") Essentially, this new bill would:
Raise the threshold for rejecting illegal wiretaps. The draft reads: "A court may not grant a motion to suppress the contents of a wire or oral communication, or evidence derived therefrom, unless the court finds that the violation of this chapter involved bad faith by law enforcement."
Extend subpoena powers by giving law enforcement the authority to issue non-judicial subpoenas which require a person suspected of involvement in money laundering to turn over financial records and appear in a prosecutor's office to answer questions.
Extend the power of the attorney general to issue so-called administrative "sneak-and-peek" subpoenas to drug cases. These subpoenas allow law enforcement to gather evidence from wire communication, financial records or other sources before the subject of the search is notified.
Allow law enforcement to seek a court order to require the "provider of an electronic communication service or remote computing service" or a financial institution to delay notifying a customer that their records had been subpoenaed.
We have received reports that police are using the RAVE Act to pressure promoters into canceling festivals and events. Unbelievably, the first event targeted by the law was a political fundraiser in Montana.* Taxpayer dollars have already been used on an expensive ad campaign calling marijuana users terrorists. Now, in an even bigger grab for control, Senators are working on a controversial bill that could punish nonviolent drug offenders as terrorists. We can't afford any illusions. If the war on terrorism is as unsuccessful as the failed war on drugs, we're all in big trouble.
RAVE ACT II
In the fight to repeal the RAVE Act we have come up against another piece of anti-rave legislation. If made into law, this latest attack on our civil liberties would open more doors for the prosecution of innocent business owners unable to stop drugs coming into their venue. Thousands of our supporters have already faxed their representatives about what we are calling the RAVE Act II (officially known as the Ecstasy Awareness Act) and groups across the country, like EM:DEF and ROAR, are mobilizing voters against the bill.
If you haven't faxed your Representative about the Ecstasy Awareness Act, please do so at:
http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/ctt.asp?u=22478&l=4336
For more on what you can do to stop threats to hip hop and electronic
music see: http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/ctt.asp?u=22478&l=4338
NEW DRUGS AND TERROR ACT IN THE NAME OF 'VICTORY'
Two years ago, with the very real experience of terrorism in our lives, Senators rushed to pass the PATRIOT Act. Essentially a license for the government to spy on its own people, the Act has become one of the biggest threats to our civil liberties. Now, without urgency, Senators are about to make an even bigger mistake. The misnamed Vital Interdiction of Criminal Terrorist Organizations Act of 2003, or the VICTORY Act, contains numerous disturbing provisions including laws that could charge non-violent drug offenders as terrorists. It has not even been introduced yet and civil libertarians are commanding their battle stations. Judging by the title of the Act the government is more concerned about propaganda than dealing with real issues of terrorism or drugs. This legislation will undermine the country's struggle with terrorism by conflating it with the war on drugs. This legislation will become the next battle ground for civil rights in the U.S.
Stay tuned, as you can be sure the Drug Policy Alliance, with your help, will be mounting a concerted and persistent campaign against this act.
For more information on the VICTORY Act see: http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/ctt.asp?u=22478&l=4340
* I couldn't find additional info on this. Can anyone else??
At first, that e-mail struck me as alarmist hyperbole, but the more I think about it the more it deeply concerns me. I've been link-hopping for an hour now and found decent articles from several major, fairly mainstream news sites re: the Ecstasy Awareness Act and/or "VICTORY" Act, but if anyone reading this wants to suggest other activist sites or publications I can check out please do so. (I'm already down with the ACLU and Indymedia, yo.)
One is an expansion on the Amber Alert Bill or RAVE Act, currently monikered the Ecstasy Awareness Act, under which "...whoever profits monetarily from a rave or similar electronic dance event, knowing or having reason to know that the unlawful use or distribution of a controlled substance occurs at the rave or similar event, shall be fined not more than $500,000 or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. If the defendant is an organization, the fine imposable for the offense is not more than $2,000,000." It also increases funding specifically designated for prosecution of E-related crime. While it hasn't garnered much congressional support on its own, it's expected to be tacked onto the widely-supported CLEAN-UP Meth Act.
Even more disturbing, the Bush administration is seeking to expand provisions of the PATRIOT Act under the new "VICTORY" Act, under the guise of reducing drug-related crime. Note that this is not the same bill as the Domestic Security Enhancement Act, aka "PATRIOT Act II.") Essentially, this new bill would:
We have received reports that police are using the RAVE Act to pressure promoters into canceling festivals and events. Unbelievably, the first event targeted by the law was a political fundraiser in Montana.* Taxpayer dollars have already been used on an expensive ad campaign calling marijuana users terrorists. Now, in an even bigger grab for control, Senators are working on a controversial bill that could punish nonviolent drug offenders as terrorists. We can't afford any illusions. If the war on terrorism is as unsuccessful as the failed war on drugs, we're all in big trouble.
RAVE ACT II
In the fight to repeal the RAVE Act we have come up against another piece of anti-rave legislation. If made into law, this latest attack on our civil liberties would open more doors for the prosecution of innocent business owners unable to stop drugs coming into their venue. Thousands of our supporters have already faxed their representatives about what we are calling the RAVE Act II (officially known as the Ecstasy Awareness Act) and groups across the country, like EM:DEF and ROAR, are mobilizing voters against the bill.
If you haven't faxed your Representative about the Ecstasy Awareness Act, please do so at:
http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/ctt.asp?u=22478&l=4336
For more on what you can do to stop threats to hip hop and electronic
music see: http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/ctt.asp?u=22478&l=4338
NEW DRUGS AND TERROR ACT IN THE NAME OF 'VICTORY'
Two years ago, with the very real experience of terrorism in our lives, Senators rushed to pass the PATRIOT Act. Essentially a license for the government to spy on its own people, the Act has become one of the biggest threats to our civil liberties. Now, without urgency, Senators are about to make an even bigger mistake. The misnamed Vital Interdiction of Criminal Terrorist Organizations Act of 2003, or the VICTORY Act, contains numerous disturbing provisions including laws that could charge non-violent drug offenders as terrorists. It has not even been introduced yet and civil libertarians are commanding their battle stations. Judging by the title of the Act the government is more concerned about propaganda than dealing with real issues of terrorism or drugs. This legislation will undermine the country's struggle with terrorism by conflating it with the war on drugs. This legislation will become the next battle ground for civil rights in the U.S.
Stay tuned, as you can be sure the Drug Policy Alliance, with your help, will be mounting a concerted and persistent campaign against this act.
For more information on the VICTORY Act see: http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/ctt.asp?u=22478&l=4340
* I couldn't find additional info on this. Can anyone else??
At first, that e-mail struck me as alarmist hyperbole, but the more I think about it the more it deeply concerns me. I've been link-hopping for an hour now and found decent articles from several major, fairly mainstream news sites re: the Ecstasy Awareness Act and/or "VICTORY" Act, but if anyone reading this wants to suggest other activist sites or publications I can check out please do so. (I'm already down with the ACLU and Indymedia, yo.)