You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: End Dragnet Government Surveillance.
President Obama has pledged to review and bring NSA surveillance in line with the Constitution. With his term running down, the clock is ticking for fulling this promise.
Executive Order 12333 is a Reagan-era spy program still on the books. And while action from Congress would be preferable as it would prevent subsequent administrations from reversing a reversal through new executive order, the White House can and should do what it can to bring domestic policy in line with the Constitution and international law.
The ACLU has sent a letter to the White House asking that the president prohibit dragnet surveillance and to make any exceptions as narrow as possible with clear time, purpose and geographic limitations. Visit WhiteHouse.gov/Contact to let the president know that privacy is a basic human right that the U.S. should respect abroad as well as domestically and you expect him to follow through.
Also, the law that the NSA uses to collect phone records of every single American — Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act — is set to expire on June 1 unless Congress acts. Sign the petition at ACLU.org to let your representatives know you oppose dragnet surveillance and therefore the extension of any part of the Patriot Act. We can’t rely on this Congress to pass a comprehensive law to end the practice, but with the entire House and part of the Senate in the midst of election season, we can let them know that we vote on this issue.
TAKE ACTION:
CONTACT the White House: Reverse EO 12333
SIGN: Cosmetic Changes Aren’t Enough: We need to END Dragnet NSA Surveillance via The ACLU
Sources/further reading:
"What President Obama Can Do to Stop US Dragnet Surveillance Around the World” via ACLU
"ACLU COMMENTS TO THE PRIVACY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES OVERSIGHT BOARD ON ITS REVIEW OF EXECUTIVE ORDER 12333” via the ACLU
Hear the segment in context:
Episode #797 "Trouble at the old pharm (Health Care)"
Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich
