Card-Carrying Member of the ACLU

Last week, I signed up to join the American Civil Liberties Union. It's something I've been thinking about doing for at least 8 years now, and it was high time to put my money where my mouth is.

I encourage anyone else who values freedom, liberty and democracy to do the same. You can become a card-carrying member of the ACLU for a donation as little as $20.

I went 11 steps better, and pledged $20 a month, but you don't have to do the same. Anything you can give is helpful.

Cool thing is, I can already start to see return on my investment...

In a little-reported brief filed late Tuesday with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the Bush administration asked the court to keep any review of the warrantless wiretapping law passed earlier this year by Congress secret.

The administration also asked that the court refuse to accept legal briefs from anyone other than the Justice Department itself.

The filing, made by the Justice Department, comes in response to a motion filed by the American Civil Liberties Union earlier this month asking the court to ensure that any proceedings relating to the "scope, meaning or constitutionality of the FISA Amendments Act" be as transparent as possible.

I want the ACLU to have the funding and support it needs to fight those assholes in D.C. and save our Constitution from the politicians and criminals.

Subject: No laughing matter

This sounds so outrageous, it seems like a joke or something out of "The Onion."

Attorney General Michael Mukasey is demanding that Congress issue a new declaration of war so that anyone that this president or the next one declares to be an "enemy combatant" can be held indefinitely without a trial.

The new declaration of war would make the entire globe — including the United States itself — a “battlefield” where the president decides who will be locked up forever.

With only four weeks left in the Congressional schedule and only six months left in the Bush presidency, Mukasey’s ridiculous power grab should be laughed out of town. But given this Congress’ track record, the Mukasey proposal is no laughing matter. Especially because it also includes a cover-up of the Bush administration’s systemic torture and abuse of detainees.

We can’t take for granted that Congress will reject this outrageous proposal. We have to meet it with an immediate wall of protest that says to Congress: “Don’t you dare.”

I just told my members of Congress to reject the dangerous Bush/Mukasey plan. You can do the same thing here:

http://action.aclu.org/mukasey