Preface: I’ve sent this letter to my parents and a few close friends. If you didn’t receive one, I probably thought you already believed as I do about this issue (this will make sense once you’ve read it). After changing the salutation, I now present this as an open letter to Hand Coding readers.
Dear Readers,
As you know, the presidential elections are coming up on November 2nd. And, the two leading candidates are John Kerry and George Bush. But, this letter isn’t about John Kerry.
In the aftermath of September 11th, George Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act into law (which stands for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism”). Among other provisions, the USA PATRIOT Act:
Allows the FBI to obtain search warrants which would permit phone and Internet surveillance on every office and residence that an individual has visited over an entire year — without ever having to identify the suspect in question. This “roving” surveillance allows investigators to monitor those media whether or not other people who are not suspects also regularly use it. [Section 206]
Reclassified voice mail to be governed under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). Before this step, if the FBI listened to your voice mail illegally, it couldn’t use the messages as evidence against you. But the ECPA has no such rule; so even if the FBI gains access to your voice mail in violation of the statute, it can freely use it as evidence against you. [Section 209]
Allows your phone company or Internet provider to hand over your messages (such as e-mail and voice mails) to any law enforcement agent without your knowledge or consent, so long as they reasonably believed that the immediate danger of death or serious physical injury required it to do so. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 later amended those requirements from “reasonable belief” to “good faith belief” and dropped the requirement that the threat to life or limb be immediate. [Section 212]
Authorizes the use of “sneak and peek” search warrants in connection with any federal crime, including misdemeanors. A “sneak and peek” warrant authorizes law enforcement officers to enter private premises without the occupant’s permission or knowledge and without informing the occupant that such a search was conducted. [Section 213]
Allows the FBI to request your personal information from businesses — including financial records, medical records, student records, even your library records — without ever having to prove that they have probable cause to suspect you of a crime, or even that your records are relevant to an investigation. Furthermore, these demands for records come with a “gag order” which prohibits the business from telling anyone, ever, that they received such an order. [Section 215]
While this wouldn’t be the first time that federal government passed dubious legislation, I took specific exception to the USA PATRIOT Act. Though I supported the Bush administration up until this point, I found that I could no longer stand behind a president that championed the removal of so many of our freedoms.
I’m not necessarily asking you to vote for John Kerry. But, I am urging you to not to vote for George Bush. Personally, I’ll be voting for Michael Badnarik, the Libertarian candidate. I can imagine what you may be thinking — if John Kerry is elected, might he raise our taxes or otherwise increase the size of government? Yeah, that is possible. But would you rather have higher taxes or fewer freedoms?
All the best,
[signed] Alex
To put this letter in context, both of my parents are registered Republicans (as Pennsylvania law requires registering with a political party in order to vote in primaries). They’re both conservative and have voted for Republicans for as long as I’ve known them.
I agree with some things that the Republican party stands for (lower taxes, for instance). But, this time around, I felt that I had to make an effort to change their minds — this election was just too important. And, if you would like to write a similar letter to your friends or relatives, I’m also granting permission for use of this letter as a starting point.
So how did your parents and other folks respond?
I can understand how you feel, and I feel the same way about the USA PATRIOT act. I have major concerns about it. But, I will still vote for George Bush. As much as I’d like to think a third party can win, right now it just isn’t possible. Hopefully one day, but right now it just isn’t possible. And I think the overall risk to the country is greater if John Kerry is president.
What I plan to do, immediately following the election, is do whatever I can to make sure Congress doesn’t extend it. IIRC, it will expire soon, and will need to be extended by Congress, correct? If that is the case, the more effective route is to work with your Sentators and Congressman to get it overturned, or at least not extended.
Thakn you for sharing your thoughts with us.
Um, Kerry is only for rolling back the tax breaks if you make over $200K a year. And if Bush gets re-elected, those people are going to be the first ones up against the wall when the economy collapses and the revolution comes. Plus don’t forget The Bush Tax. And Bush has increased the size of the government more than any President in U.S. history, even if you subtract the Homeland Security Department and the invasion of Iraq.
Garrison Keillor had a great piece about the election:
We’re Not in Lake Wobegon Anymore.
Josh: One friend who received it only had time to briefly look it over, though he said he’d read it more in depth and call me again. Nonetheless, after reading it briefly, he said that he still supported Bush as he felt that another terrorist attack would be less likely under Bush (and I wasn’t sure how to respond to that).
I mailed the letter to my parents about a week ago, but I haven’t heard from them about it. I’ve talked with them over the phone a couple times recently, but they didn’t bring it up. I would think that it would have arrived, but maybe they don’t want to talk about it.
jmikec: I understand what you’re saying. And, I can’t say that Kerry would be an ideal candidate. But, I can’t respect anyone who voted for the USA PATRIOT Act — I can only consider it a substantial lapse of judgment to have done so. Some of Bush’s other ideas may be sound, but I don’t feel that I can trust his decision-making process anymore.
Charles: You’re right that Bush has increased the size of federal government significantly. However, I chose to mention that in the closing of my letter to offer a counterpoint to what voters may perceive as a potential weakness in Kerry (that he might increase the size of federal government, even if Bush might not be much better).