OurAmericanInitiative - Less freedom doesn’t make anyone safer

Friends,

Why is it that Government almost always responds to a crisis or tragedy by attacking the rights and privacy of law-abiding citizens?  

After 9/11, we got the Patriot Act, which put into motion one of the most unpatriotic attacks on the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and individual liberty in our lifetimes.  Everything from our phones to our emails to even our library cards and bank accounts became the government’s “business”.  Under this continuing attack, the NDAA and other laws have taken us to a point where citizens can be detained indefinitely and, in fact, assassinated in the name of protecting us.

Now, in the aftermath of Newtown and other recent tragic and senseless crimes, Obama and his friends in Congress are reacting by -- you guessed it -- doing two basic things:  First, they are rolling out Executive Orders and legislation to further chip away at a Second Amendment that even the Supreme Court has ruled grants us individual rights to keep and bear arms to protect ourselves.  And second, they are clamoring for deeper and broader background checks and looking for ways to get more information about our “mental health”.  

In short, their solution is more government, less freedom for us, and more of our information going into massive government databases.  Somebody has to say: STOP.

Somebody has to speak the truth and stand up for the fact that, even in the wake of despicable criminal acts, less freedom for us and more power for government does NOT MAKE ANYONE IN AMERICA SAFER.  

Speaking these truths -- and mobilizing Americans who don’t want to let an ever-growing government take away more of their freedoms -- is the entire idea behind the Our America Initiative, of which I am the Honorary Chairman.

Today, it is the Second Amendment and our privacy.  Tomorrow, it will be greater government control of the Internet.  And in the weeks ahead, it will be critical decisions about the debt ceiling and whether Washington will finally have the guts to cut spending and face the reality of an unsustainable $16 Trillion debt.  

My intent as the Honorary Chairman is to help the Our America Initiative defend our liberty and our economic freedom from the nonstop attacks by the government.  But we need your help as well.  Our planned campus tours, advertising, media appearances and events all require the financial support of friends and activists such as you.

We have worked very hard to put an organization in place that can have a very real impact on the public and policy debates of the day -- but not without your help.  

I am more convinced than ever that America is ready to reject Big Government as the solution to all our problems, and return to the idea that a strong and prosperous America is one where freedom and liberty are valued and protected -- not taken away by the politicians.

I hope you will take a moment to go to www.OurAmericaInitative.com today and make a contribution that will help us give liberty a voice in the conversation as the politicians make decisions that will shape our futures for decades to come.  You have my personal assurance that your contribution will be used wisely and carefully to give voice to the principles and concerns we share.

Since the Our America Initiative is a non-partisan advocacy organization, contributions are not limited and can be accepted from not only individuals, but also corporations and other organizations.  Every dollar counts! Please contribute today at www.OurAmericaInitative.com, or send your check to the address below.

Our America Initiative
PO Box 1985
Salt Lake City, UT 84110-1985

I hope to hear from you soon.  We have a lot of work to do!

Thanks,

Governor Gary Johnson
Honorary Chairman
Our America Initiative

P.S.  Check out CafePress.com/OurAmerciaInitiative for some great gear, posters, etc. from Our America!

GOV. GARY JOHNSON: 30,000 DRONES OVER THE U.S. – GOVERN MENT SNOOPING AT AN ENTIRELY NEW LEVEL

February 15, 2012, Santa Fe, NM – Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson is calling congressional approval of legislation making it easier for the government to operate unmanned drones over U.S. soil an “ominous step that raises serious concerns about individual freedom and privacy.”

The FAA Reauthorization Act, signed into law by President Obama Tuesday, includes a provision directing the Federal Aviation Administration to develop rules for the testing and licensing of drones to be flown in U.S. airspace and to expedite the process for authorizing their use by federal, state and local agencies.  The FAA projects that as many as 30,000 drones could be in use over the U.S. by 2020.

In a statement, Johnson said, “The threats to privacy in America – from our own government – seem to never end.  Does Congress really think they can just stick an ‘oh-by-the-way' provision in an obscure piece of legislation directing the FAA to clear the way for 30,000 drones to fly over our neighborhoods, and have no one notice?

“Big Brother is alive and well, and now we’re talking about making it easier for him to fly remote control planes loaded with cameras over our neighborhoods.  Based on our experience with the Patriot Act, the National Defense Authorization Act, and several other laws Congress has enacted in recent years, it is not alarmist to fear or assume that when we give the government the power to snoop, they will indeed snoop.

“The government, through the FAA, already has the power to permit specific uses of drones, such as in fighting forest fires, looking for lost campers, or helping deal with natural disasters.  And right now, they are being used to patrol the border.  Some of those uses may be justified and legit, and the rules allow for that today.  But directing the FAA to come up with a system that will allow federal, state and local law enforcement to deploy 30,000 drones is a very different proposition, and should absolutely not be allowed to proceed without a serious conversation about a very real threat to fundamental privacy.


“The ACLU, the Electronic Freedom Foundation and numerous other groups are expressing serious concerns about Congress’ action, as they should.  I share those concerns.  The idea that the air above our heads and homes should be turned into a wide-open playground for government snooping is an insult to freedom and to what remains of privacy in this country.”

 
 

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About Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson: Gary Johnson, two-term Governor of New Mexico from 1994-2002, has been a consistent and outspoken advocate for limited, efficient government and personal liberty.

Gov. Gary Johnson to ACLU: Repeal Patriot Act Now

January 30, 2012, Orlando, FL -- Speaking Sunday night to a national ACLU conference, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson called for repealing the Patriot Act in its entirety.  The two-term governor and presidential candidate’s remarks were delivered in Orlando, FL, at the ACLU’s annual National Staff Conference.

Johnson said, “Ten years ago, we learned that the fastest way to pass a bad law is to call it the ‘Patriot Act’ and force Congress to vote on it in the immediate wake of a horrible attack on the United States.  The irony is that there is really very little about the Patriot Act that is patriotic.  Instead, it has turned out to be yet another tool the government is using to erode privacy, individual freedom and the Constitution itself.

“Benjamin Franklin had it right. ‘Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety’.

“Absolutely, protecting the American people from those who would do us harm is the federal government’s most basic duty.  Everyone gets that.  But when harm is done, as on 9-11, it is the nature of government to ask for more power and more  authority in order to protect us.  That’s how we get laws like the Patriot Act.

“In fact, we now know that intelligence ‘failures’ of the sort that perhaps allowed 9-11 to happen were not due to a lack of authority, but were most likely the result of dysfunction.  We can and should fix the dysfunction, but that can be done without granting the government broad new powers to dig in to American’s lives, demand financial records from banks and businesses, and monitor your cell phone because your kid goes to school with a kid whose father might be associated with what might be a terrorist-supporting organization.

“Thoughtful review and actual experience over the past ten years under the Patriot Act have given us the wisdom of hindsight.  That hindsight leads me to the firm conclusion that it is a law that we do not need in order to protect ourselves, and that is itself a threat to the very constitutional guarantees of freedom it purports to preserve.

“After many promises to review, revise and make the Patriot Act less abusive, Congress last year extended its most troubling provisions until 2015.  That is too long to wait for another serious discussion of the essential liberties the Patriot Act threatens.  Congress should repeal it, and focus on restoring freedom rather than eroding it.”   

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About Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson: Gary Johnson, two-term Governor of New Mexico from 1994-2002, has been a consistent and outspoken advocate for limited, efficient government and personal liberty.

CEI Daily - The Patriot Act and Another Train to Nowhere

Patriot Act

In The Los Angeles Times last week, Jonathan Turley talks about President Obama's record on civil liberties.

Fellow in Regulatory Studies Ryan Young comments on a new roll-back of provisions of the Patriot Act.

 

"MSNBC reports that the U.S. Circuit Court struck down two PATRIOT Act provisions dealing with probable cause-less searches. The case centered around Brandon Mayfield, an attorney in Portland, was falsely linked to the 2004 Madrid bombings. Mayfield was arrested and fingerprinted. His fingerprint was falsely matched to a print found in Madrid. After that, the FBI put him “under 24-hour surveillance, listened to his phone calls and surreptitiously searched his home and law office.” This, according to Judge Ann Aiken, crossed the line."

 

Train to Nowhere

 

Sen. Dan Inouye of Hawaii has pushed forward with his dream of a high-speed Honolulu train, despite complaints from Honolulu residents. 

 

Policy Analyst Marc Scribner comments.

 

"Critics of the multi-billion dollar elevated rail project have noted that it would destroy the views of Honolulu’s famous waterfront, ruin some of Oahu’s best farmland, cost far more than service that could be delivered by bus rapid transit, fail to provide access to major population centers, and fail to address congestion issues. According to the recent “2011 Urban Mobility Report” [PDF] from the Texas Transportation Institute, traffic congestion costs the Honolulu area $287 million per year — putting it at number six among medium-sized metro areas with the most costly congestion problems."

 

CEI - Free Market Think Tank Urges House to Reject Patriot Act Extension

CEI Legal Experts Say the Act Threatens Individual Liberties

Washington, D.C., February 8, 2011 – Today, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on an extension of three provisions of the Patriot Act, a bill enacted in 2001 to strengthen government’s ability to combat terrorism.

However, the Competitive Enterprise Institute urged members of Congress to reject the Patriot Act extension, arguing that the provisions up for renewal hinder individual liberties; lack meaningful safeguards; and likely violate the U.S. Constitution.

“Ensuring that U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies possess the tools needed to safeguard the American people and combat terrorism is very important, but provisions of the Patriot Act that allow government to secretly monitor and track our private communications are fundamentally at odds with our free society,” said CEI Senior Attorney Hans Bader.

“Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which allows the government to secretly obtain citizens’ private records without any judicial review whatsoever, is ripe for abuse for political purposes. The Act’s broadly written ‘roving wiretap’ provision is also deeply troubling for individual liberties, especially because the secrecy that surrounds foreign intelligence investigations precludes meaningful public oversight,” Bader added.

“If the wireless and broadband sectors---the economic engines of the information age---are to realize their full potential, the federal government must respect the rights of law-abiding citizens to communicate in private, free from unwarranted surveillance,” said CEI Associate Director of Technology Studies Ryan Radia. “As digital communications grow ever-more ubiquitous and privacy concerns surrounding the sharing of electronic information intensify, the evolution of e-commerce and cloud computing will be stymied if legitimate fears of government snooping continue to fall on deaf ears in Congress.”

“If the House renews the Patriot Act today without adding in robust safeguards, it would send a signal to Americans – and to foreign firms that conduct business in the United States – that Congress is unwilling to perform its duty under the Constitutional to meaningfully balance privacy interests against national security concerns,” Radia added.