| By Colin Gallagher on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 3:48 am: Edit Post |
WHY YOU SHOULD BE CONCERNED -- These Senate Bills deal with the issue of monitoring of both U.S. persons and non-U.S. persons. If you care about privacy and personal freedoms, or simply wish to make sure Peace Corps is not compromised by the proposed actions, read on. YOUR ACTIONS ARE NEEDED AT THIS TIME to "send the message" to our elected officials!
HOW TO VIEW THE LANGUAGE OF S.2586 and S.2659 ONLINE -- Go to thomas.loc.gov and type in S.2586 or S.2659, and click on the search button. Don't want to read it? The issue has been analyzed and a sample letter prepared for you (Step 1, below), with a direct link which allows you to e-mail the letter to YOUR Senator(s) online (Step 2, as shown below).
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIAL ONLINE ABOUT THIS ISSUE
1. Highlight with your mouse and "COPY" the following sample letter.
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Dear Senator _________,
It is critical that S.2586, or any legislation being considered, should only be approved if its language offers greater protection for U.S. citizens, not corporations -- which are part of United States intelligence agencies' definition of a "U.S. person."
Additionally, in considering S.2659, which would amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to modify the standard of proof for issuance of orders regarding non-United States persons from
probable cause to reasonable suspicion, I ask that you consider the impact of this legislation on the activities of Peace Corps Volunteers, who daily are in the proximity of "non-U.S. persons."
It would be unacceptable to allow legislation to move forward which would have even the smallest and remotest possibility of opening the door to monitoring of U.S. citizens on peaceful missions abroad.
Thank you for your consideration of my request.
Sincerely, ______________
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2. You've "copied" the letter. Now click on the below link, and just follow the instructions it gives you. The link allows you to locate your Senator(s) and contact them by entering your zip code. In minutes you will be able to customize and send the letter by "pasting" it to an online form.
http://yahoo.capwiz.com/y/dbq/officials/