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UPHOLDING FREEDOM IN CHALLENGING TIMES
It's now been six years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, and Americans have successfully kept the light of freedom shining, even as the Bush administration dismisses the rule of law and shows its willingness to trample our Constitution.
Building on the fear and uncertainty that followed the September 11 attacks, the government has repeatedly violated the spirit and the letter of our laws, broadening the powers of law enforcement to secretly search our homes and to spy on our phone records, reading activities and medical and financial information -- all without a court warrant.
The ACLU has not stood by while the president diminishes the light of American values. In response to the administration abuses of power, the ACLU has challenged the NSA's illegal wiretapping program, the Supreme Court has struck down President Bush's military commissions system for detainee trials at Guantánamo Bay, and a federal court recently rejected the National Security Letter provision of the Patriot Act. We've had successes in these years, but there is more to do. Congress must now join the courts in the demand that the president uphold the Constitution and our system of checks and balances.
Since 1920, the ACLU and its members have shown that the people are ready to fight to preserve our democracy, our America. The September 11 attacks changed many things in America, but it is still our freedoms that define us, not our fears.
Abuses of Power
The ten top assaults on civil liberties since 9/11/01
Victories for Democracy
Ten reasons to take heart in the fight for freedom
The Road Not Taken
Security measures the Bush administration has ignored
Editorial Cartoons (click image to see)
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