The citizens of the United States of America need to know what the government is doing. To hold government accountable, the public must stay informed of the activities of their government. The Electronic Privacy Information Center effectively uses the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to inform the public of excessive government secrecy in using the USA PATRIOT Act, government surveillance of individuals, and more. EPIC has compiled a handy list of the most interesting revelations.

From the Electronic Privacy Information Center

EPIC Alert 11.06 (March 24, 2004):
"... EPIC launched its Freedom of Information Act Gallery 2004 in recognition of Freedom of Information Day. The Gallery includes some of the most significant records obtained in the past year by EPIC through the FOIA, including documents showing that Northwest Airlines handed over millions of passenger records to NASA; U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay used the Federal Aviation Administration to track Texas state legislators; the Department of Justice resisted disclosing basic, statistical information about its use of USA PATRIOT Act powers; and consumer complaints about credit reporting agencies increased dramatically in recent years." Read the article at Epic's site

Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
--William Pitt-- (1759-1806)

HERE IS THE LEGAL DECISION THAT HAS BEEN HIDDEN FROM US! THEY CANNOT ABOLISH THE 4th AMENDMENT, or any of the first 10 amendments, for any reason, at any time! Below you will find word for word, the exact judicial decision of Robert H Jackson, Supreme Court Justice.

"The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. One's right to life, liberty, and property, to free speech, free press, freedom of worship & assembly, and other fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections."
Jackson, J., West Virginia State board of Education v Barnette 1943
319 US 624,638 87L ed 1628, 1638, 63 S Ct 1178, 147 ALR 674

Forward this to everyone on your list. DEMAND repeal of the --"Patriot Act!"--Now!

If you still think there is freedom of the press, and no coverup, then read what some prominent people in the news media have said.

      1. Richard Salant, Former President of CBS news said: "Our job is to give people not what they want, but what we decide they ought to have."

      2. John Swinton, Chief of Staff, New York Times, New York Press Club in 1953: "There is no such thing at this date of the world's history, in America, as an independent press. You know it and I know it. There is not one of you that dares to write his honest opinions, and if you did, you know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid weekly for keeping my opinions out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar salaries for similar things, and any of you who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the streets looking for another job. If I allowed my honest opinions to appear in one issue of my paper, before twenty-four hours my occupation would be gone. The business of journalists is to destroy truth; to pervert; to vilify; to fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread. You know it and I know it and what folly is this toasting an independent press? We are tools and vassals for rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes."

If you don't believe the government is behind the secrecy then check out these qoutes from government officials:

      1. Senator George Malone of Nevada, speaking before Congress in 1957 - "I believe that if the people of this nation fully understood what Congress has done to them over past forty-nine years, they would move on Washington. It adds up to a preconceived plan to destroy the economic and social independence of the United States".

      2. John Danforth, Republican Senator from Missouri, on April 22, 1992 - "I have never seen more Senators express discontent with their jobs ... we have been accomplices to doing something terrible and unforgivable to this wonderful country... we have given our children a legacy of bankruptcy. We have defrauded our country to get ourselves elected."

Government secrecy is rampant, and journalists and news media are routinely denied access to obtain timely information from the federal government. This weakens our ability to protect ourselves from danger, and undermines our efforts to expose the coverup of wrongdoing within the government.

The situation is so bleak that reporters organized to fight for Freedom of the Press in 1970, forming a group called Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP). This is an organized group of journalists, and reporters who have banded together to fight for Freedom of Information, and to help each other with legal assistance when their First Amendment rights come under fire.

Shortly after it's inception, RCFP became involved in numerous free speech battles. The Committee was also involved in court battles trying to keep Richard Nixon from not having to divulge the contents of his presidential papers. and retaining sole custody of them. Among the memebrs of RCFP are some well known reporters such as: Walter Cronkite CBS News, Dan Rather CBS News, David Rosenbaum New York Times, Cristine Russell The Washington Post, Tim Russert NBC News, Carole Simpson ABC News, and Saundra Torry of USA Today.

To visit RCFP click HERE

Another site called Access Reports provides the most comprehensive coverage available of access issues in the United States, Canada, and abroad on issues such as:
      * The Freedom of Information Act
      * The Privacy Act
      * The Sunshine Act
      * The Federal Advisory Committee Act
      * Classification
      * Access to court records and proceedings
      * The cost and value of information dissemination       * The role of the private sector in information          policy

Visit Access Reports Click Here

"There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop."
--Mario Savio-- October 1st, 1964 a philosophy student at a Berkeley rally honoring the Free Speech Movement (FSM). All Content © Copyright 2004 potencia or In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

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