Today we saw what most feel was a bitter defeat for the Constitution and Civil Liberties. The Democratic base had to take it on the chin regarding the Alito nomination.
We have tomorrow to sit through the confirmation vote and the President's State of the union speech - more pain!
But, we have had some victorious moments and will continue to gain wins in the future!
I call on all to look back at a recent victory to be reminded that we still have a big job ahead in order to cement a victory for civil rights-
The Patriot Act reauthorization is next up.....
Just over a month ago everyone was energized by Russ Feingold and the call to filibuster the Patriot Act reauthorization. It was an exciting time. The House had Stomped on the legislation and tossed the Senate's version into the trash bin.
We all worked hard to stop this monstrosity in the Senate through filibuster.
We were victorious!
The victory got us an extension of the act. The reauthorization is still before Congress and has some things "tucked in" that you may want to examine...
Going to a demonstration any time soon?
A new provision tucked into the Patriot Act bill now before Congress would allow authorities to haul demonstrators at any "special event of national significance" away to jail on felony charges if they are caught breaching a security perimeter.
This from a Fox news story that makes sure to get in swipes against the ACLU:
But not everyone agrees that rights are being trampled on by the additional provision. In fact, some say the ACLU is the problem when it comes to protecting national security.
You don't need to go to the link (why give them the site hits) just use the "Patriot Act" tag to look through all the fantastic diary's on this from a month ago.
Also read up at the ACLU site which has plenty of info.
This battle is not won yet. Take time tomorrow to rest, then dive in Wednesday to defeat the new provisions of the Patriot Act!