FYI for people who are lazy but still want to do something...letter generator to tell Washington to stop the spying

https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/su...-state-repeal/


Representative Rush Holt of New Jersey (D) has done a good thing. He has introduced the "Surveillance State Repeal Act (HR 2818)" This bill...
  • Prohibits the government from requiring that surveillance "back-doors" be built into your electronic devices and software
  • Mandates that the FISA courts utilize technologically competent "Special Masters" -- experts who can challenge the veracity of government claims about the need for surveillance
  • Repeals the PATRIOT Act
  • Repeals much of the FISA Amendments Act
PATRIOT was the rationale for the telephone-metadata harvesting provision. FISA Amendments was the basis for harvesting your emails. This bill would kill these Snowden-revealed programs!
But these repeals don’t gut intelligence gathering. They just make it look more Constitutional. The bill still…
  • Ensures that any FISA surveillance of a US Person can only happen with a valid warrant based on probable cause. This was the original FISA standard from 1978 to 2001
  • Retains the ability to surveil a specific natural person, based on a warrant, regardless of the type of communications being used
  • Retains provisions dealing with the acquisition of intelligence about weapons of mass destruction from entities not composed primarily of U.S. Persons
Use the form at right to send your elected representatives a letter about this issue. It's easy!
  • Your position will be counted by each Congressional office,
  • Will educate the Congressional staffer who reads it,
  • May be passed up the chain of command,
  • May receive a reply (many DC Downsizers get them). If you receive such a letter, please share it with us at Comments@DownsizeDC.org.