ACLU: U.S. Constitution in GRAVE DANGER.

[Bluebear]

WASHINGTON, July 25 (UPI) -- The American Civil Liberties Union Wednesday said it is "do or die time" to save the U.S. Constitution.

The ACLU in a statement urged the U.S. Congress to "vote to hold White House officials in contempt for refusing to cooperate with legitimate congressional subpoenas."

The ACLU statement said the issue had become "a constitutional crisis that threatens to destroy the separation of powers."

"Presidents have tried in the past to overreach in claiming executive privilege," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "However, Congress has long served as a check to such abuses of power, slapping the president's hand when needed and pursuing contempt or enforcement actions that eventually resulted in the release of crucial information. Today's Congress must do the same if it wishes to remain a meaningful and independent branch of government."

The ACLU said it "rejected claims that Congress' responsibility to conduct oversight or investigate executive misconduct was somehow less important than its legislative function and therefore not worthy of compulsory enforcement."

"It's do-or-die time for the separation of powers," Fredrickson said. "Congress is facing a historic moment when it can fight for its rightful place in our Constitution or accept the president's continued and sweeping claims of supremacy."

http://www.upi.com/Security_Terrorism/Briefing/2007/07/25/aclu_us_constitution_in_grave_danger/3790/

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended

Thanks for the thread Bluebear.

[IChing]

2. No argument here..... a proud member of the ACLU

That is why the august recess is scary.

more from the news release.


The ACLU noted that U.S. courts "have long supported Congress' authority not only to pass laws, but also to investigate their application. The courts have asserted that claims of executive privilege are a potentially dangerous proposition that should only be applied, and can only be upheld, under narrow circumstances."

[AX10]

3. Proud ACLUer here!

:hi:

[bdamomma]

18. me too!!!!

[lonestarnot]

30. Me 3.

[DFW]

55. Me 4 !!

[Seabiscuit]

61. Me 5!!!

[Dollface]

62. Card Carrying Member

[truebrit71]

66. Me, um, 6?....

...which reminds me, I need to re-up soon....

[OnyxCollie]

19. I mailed my check and renewal form last week. nt

[BOSSHOG]

4. Happily recommended by a proud member of the ACLU

Destroying the constitution is a conservative value

[PA Democrat]

5. K & R.

Jonathan Turley, John Dean, and Bruce Fein, all constitutional law experts, have said pretty much the same thing.

[ooglymoogly]

36. To say nothing of my man John Conyers...

fighting valiantly for justice and the American way.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. Someone fax this to Tony Snow and WH mouth pieces, please.

[ooglymoogly]

37. They must be snowed under by now. nt

[onecent]

7. K and R. n/t

[Warren DeMontague]

8. Another reason the ACLU rocks.

I'm glad someone gets it.

[Anita Garcia]

9. ACLU lost Separation of Church of State case today

At the Fifth Circuit.
8-7 En Banc ruling.
Tangipohoa Parish School Board prayer case.
Fifth based it on standing (or rather lack thereof) and not substance.
Chief Judge Edith Jones said there was no proof of injury.
Hopefully the ACLU will take writs.

[Bicoastal]

10. Plus Nicholas Cage wants to steal it....

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[ooglymoogly]

40. If it were only that benign and glamorous...nt

[mimitabby]

11. ya think? what was your first clue? n/t

[ooglymoogly]

38. my sentiments exactly....nt

[Solly Mack]

12. say it ain't so

[EFerrari]

13. Yes it is. K&R

[Blue_In_AK]

14. Card-carrying member here

and I send them $$ every chance I get.

[ooglymoogly]

42. off and on again card carrying member here.

some times I don't agree....what can I say?....but this time it is out of the park....though I know nothing of baseball either

[Blue_In_AK]

50. I don't always agree either

but I think we need them now more than ever...that's why I'm supportive.

[tnlefty]

15. To anyone who is sane and paying attention, this has been the

case for quite some time. Another card carrying member and monthly donor to the ACLU.

Have I mentioned how much I despise these Constitution and Bill of Rights bustin' asswipes lately? And for now, Sen. Spector, you get a pass.

[ooglymoogly]

43. Senator Specter is playing his usual bait and switch....

Yanking the football at the last minute for Charlie Brown (us) to fall on our collective asses. Specter puts on a show for his angry constituents but when push comes to shove his is an ass licking bushbot who works against his constituency.

[BlooInBloo]

16. "Is there any other kind?"

[Toasterlad]

17. I Love That Line. Nicholson...He Just Rocks.

[camusrebel]

20. Rove just got his today! I hope we all know

how to get past the executive privledge dodge. Demand your Rep. is signed on to house Res. 333 to impeach cheney.

Don't wait for the corporate media to tell you he has 15 signed on and only needs a few more to start the ball rolling. When an impeachment investigation is underway, no more executive privledge is recognized. Thats why Nixon resigned, he knew the jig was up.

Picket your reps office with signs like, "Not signing 333=Complicity", go door to door, the time is now, do something. If your rep is a complicit coward and you do nothing.....
well, you answwer that honestly for yourself, looking in the mirror. Think how in 50 years you will explain your decision to your great grand child.

Act now, start painting your sign NOW! Call up some friends to join you now. We must stop them before Iran's "Gulf of Tonkin" moment brings on their long wet dreamed of police state, WW3 and the start of the draft.

The shit could hit the fan ANY DAY. Please, i'm begging you, this is no joke. Read the Presidential Directive on National Security 51, signed on May 9. Read the Executive Order signed last week, July 17. The die is cast people, we need to get very serious very quickly.

[creeksneakers2]

28. Impeachment does not bar executive privilege claims

White House communications are presumed privileged by the courts. For Congress to overcome the privilege, Congress must show need. Need can be shown for oversight purposes or for getting information to be used in writing laws or impeachment. Impeachment creates the strongest need. Impeachment is therefore, the best argument Congress would have to overcome executive privilege in the case of information sought for impeachment. However, this doesn't mean the president can't claim it and can't go to court.

[ooglymoogly]

41. now here is a piece of useful informatoion....thanx

[BlooInBloo]

27. I love Cruise parodying it. lol!

[ProudDad]

21. Proud, Card Carrying Member Here! (n/t)

[porphyrian]

22. This is it. - n/t

[Atman]

23. Those crazy bastards at the ACLU? Who the f*ck cares what they say?!

Just ask my freeper neighbor. The ACLU is trying to use our tax money to sandblast crosses and Stars of David off tombstones in public cemeteries. Really. He believes this shit. Republicans are fucking stupid.

.

[Bluebear]

24. And NAMBLA. Don't forget, they support NAMBLA.

:crazy:

'Republicans are fucking stupid.' .... you said it.

[ooglymoogly]

46. Yes they are but their handlers are not and they are armed to the

teeth and dangerous

[youthere]

57. Isn't there a leash law for them?

[Warren Stupidity]

25. Shouldn't one of our grown ups here be lecturing the ACLU

for their childish hyperbole?

[Bluebear]

26. "They're making us LOOK BAD!"

;)

[Imagevision]

29. This backs me up and think about what the Bush gang knew about 9-11 before it happened...?

[defendandprotect]

31. It's difficult enough to keep track of all the damage Bush has done --

how long will it take Dems to set it all aright again?

Also ACLU member/contributor -- a bit behind and now feeling guilty!!!

[bobbolink]

32. Oh NO! The ACLU = Far Left Looney Fringe!!

:rofl:

[provis99]

33. How dare they stand up for the Constitution

What are these ACLU people? Communists? :sarcasm:
Anytime the ACLU yells at the Bush administration, I feel uplifted.

[mzmolly]

34. Indeed, "do or die."

Thanks Bluebear.

[Vilis Veritas]

35. Crisis? What crisis?

Oh...you mean the one people around here have been warning about for...like...weeks? Months? Years?

Peace.

[ooglymoogly]

47. YEARS.....It has been the sound of one hand clapping in the dark for people to wake up.

and the tree falling in the forest that no one hears. But now....it is a new ballgame and millions of hands are clapping for the impeachment of this cloven hoofed evil that has usurped this holey grail that is our constitution

[orleans]

39. yeah, tell us about it... n/t

[Cha]

44. Good ol' ACLU.. goin' to bat

for us is a double time job for them. Front line people :patriot: :patriot: :patriot:

[sarcasmo]

45. No more Constitution, so says the Decider.

Kick and Nom. I guess this must be a CT right all of you deniers.

[april]

48. done****

[waldo_evans]

49. grave indeed

especially after Neocon Nancy pissed on the constitution by putting impeachment off the table.

What disrespect for the rule of law. Neocon Nancy, why are you protecting Bush?

Neocon Nancy, do you care that people are dying in Iraq because you failed to stop Bush?

Neocon Nancy, why are you protecting Bush?

Neocon Nancy, do you think impeachment will only jeopardize Dems chances to win more seats in 08? And the White House? Power is the only thing that matter, right? The hell with saving human lives, right?

Neocon Nancy, why are you protecting Bush?

Neocon Nancy, do you realize that by saying that impeachment is off the table, you have empowered Bush even more, that now he really feels free to destroy the planet?

Neocon Nancy, why are you protecting Bush?

[nam78_two]

51. K&R.nt

[Kurovski]

52. K&R.

:kick:

[vssmith]

53. I am sure a number of Republicans would agree with this

Imagine a Democrat coming into the Presidency and inheriting all these powers that have accrued to the executive.

[JTG of the PRB]

54. Kicked!

And recommended, for good measure.

[youthere]

56. ACLU: Water is WET.

they're just NOW figuring out the constitution is danger? DU'ers have been screaming it from the rooftops for the last six years!

[PATRICK]

58. This is THE moment

when the collapse of the administration must begin. In the view of the Nixonite holdovers, Rove and Cheney, the way to avoid the watergate process was to deny testimony and release of evidence, holding the line right at the beginning. So all rolled into one is this first stage with a breathtaking challenge to the Congress. It ALL happens now, not just another fizzle and creeping back toward that prime cut dem legislation and trying another investigation. The dice are rolled at the beginning far from the line where impeachment is born. Nor can they afford to lose their private lawyer in charge of the DOJ, either for the elections or mere self-preservation and the sustainability of a lot of illegal policy.

So either Congress backs down or the real fireworks commence, and maybe another war.

I suggest they not only do their duty but take the initiative and act fast for once. The cornered Bushco rats are still in charge.

[youthere]

60. So you're saying the tipping point is finally here?

*crosses fingers* pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease
pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease
pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease
pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease
pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease
pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease
pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease
pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease
pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease
pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease
pleasepleasepleaseplease!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PATRICK]

64. Unless the Dems

manage to evade it or string it out to the great damage to themselves and our nation. Unless some raw act of brutality adds something new. Presuming that the mythical past will simply move along to its previous conclusion(hyped up by misconceptions) is something the former Nixon people do not do. They will try mightily to control the pattern. This SHOULD be it and is an actual crux of actual power exchange to determine our destiny- not just another scandal investigation.

Nor will the Bushdick regime let us off lightly for avoiding the confrontation but take the most advantage and the quickest.

[Kurovski]

59. Kick. (nt)

[wicket]

63. K & R

:kick:

[closeupready]

65. They have failed to check, and will continue to disappoint us.

n/t

[L. Coyote]

67. ACLU Demands Answers from FBI Chief on abuse of National Security Letters (NSLs)

DISCUSS: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1451658

ACLU Demands Answers from FBI Chief
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Washington, DC (7/26/2007)
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/nationalsecurityletters/31055prs20070726.html

Today, the American Civil Liberties Union strongly urged the House Judiciary Committee to hold the FBI accountable for its abuse of National Security Letters (NSLs) and its role in warrantless wiretapping .....

[cyberpj]

68. Well THIS proud, card-carrying member says

contribute today!

Already paid your 2007 membership? Give MORE.

SUPPORT THE ACLU: Make a Tax-Deductible Gift to the ACLU Foundation
http://action.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FF_about_taxdeductiblegifts

The ACLU is one of the few last vestiges of hope we have against the Bush Cheney dictatorship.

I think Congress is too fearful, too political, or else knows what Bush Cheney might have on them via wiretaps.

The American people have no voice in government now.