patriot act: do you reauthorize it?

making this call takes no more time than the gossipy conversation you could be having in the staff lounge. and the person you're talking to isn't trustworthy anyway. she wants your job. so you may as well make this call. make the call. make the call!

from pen america:

As you probably already know, House and Senate negotiators reached an agreement on the USA PATRIOT Act's extension last week. The agreement would extend for four years Section 215, which permits secret warrants for books, records, and other items from businesses, hospitals, and organizations such as libraries. No changes were made to the standards for obtaining these orders, nor for those for obtaining National Security Letters (NSLs). Section 505 of the PATRIOT Act, authorizing NSLs, still has no sunset.

While we do appreciate that the conference report now sunsets Section 215 in four years instead of seven, this change is not sufficient to protect the privacy of library users from fishing expeditions by the FBI.

As the reauthorization approaches its 12/31 deadline, the White House is pressuring Congress to pass the inadequate "compromise" reauthorization bill. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has stated his support for a bipartisan filibuster in the Senate.

NOW is the time to call your senators! Please call your senators' Washington offices to ask them to:

1) Vote NO on cloture and SUPPORT a filibuster.
2) Vote YES for a three-month continuing resolution.
3) Vote NO on the conference report (if it comes to a vote).

We are particularly eager to generate calls to the following senators who have not indicated how they will vote:

Alaska: Ted Stevens (202) 224-3004
Arkansas: Blanche Lincoln (202) 224-4843 and Mark Pryor (202) 224-2353
Connecticut: Joseph Lieberman (202) 224-4041
Delaware: Thomas Carper (202) 224-2441
Florida: Bill Nelson (202) 224-5274
Idaho: Mike Crapo (202) 224-6142
Indiana: Evan Bayh (202) 224-5623 and Richard Lugar (202) 224-4814
Kansas: Sam Brownback (202) 224-6521
Louisiana: Mary Landrieu (202) 224-5824
Maine: Susan Collins (202) 224-2523 and Olympia Snowe (202) 224-5344
Montana: Conrad Burns (202) 224-2644 and Max Baucus (202) 224-2651
North Dakota: Kent Conrad (202) 224-2043 and Byron Dorgan (202) 224-2551
Nebraska: Ben Nelson (202) 224-6551 and Chuck Hagel (202) 224-4224
New York: Charles Schumer (202) 224-6542 and Hillary Clinton (202) 224-4451
Ohio: Michael DeWine (202) 224-2315 and George Voinovich (202) 224-3353
Oklahoma: Tom Coburn (202) 224-5754
Oregon: Gordon Smith (202) 224-3753
Rhode Island: Lincoln Chafee (202) 224-2921
South Dakota: Tim Johnson (202) 224-5842
Virginia: George Allen (202) 224-4024
West Virginia: Robert Byrd (202) 224-3954

Please also call the following senators to thank them for leading the fight against conference report:

Alaska: Lisa Murkowski (202) 224-6665
Colorado: Ken Salazar (202) 224-5852
Florida: Mel Martinez (202) 224-3041
Idaho: Larry Craig (202) 224-2752
Illinois: Dick Durbin (202) 224-2152
Massachusetts: Edward Kennedy (202) 224-4543
Michigan: Carl Levin (202) 224-6221
Nevada: Harry Reid (202) 224-3542
New Hampshire: John Sununu (202) 224-2841
Vermont: Patrick Leahy (202) 224-4242
West Virginia: Jay Rockefeller (202) 224-6472
Wisconsin: Russ Feingold (202) 224-5323

Thank you for your support!