Date: Tue Sep 18 17:42:11 2001
Subject: Protect Liberty From Terrorism
From: Matthew Belmonte <belmonte@MIT.EDU>

Thank you for using American Civil Liberties Union Mail System

Message sent to the following recipients:
Senator Kennedy
Senator Kerry
Representative Capuano

Message text follows:

Matthew Belmonte
[address]

September 18, 2001

[recipient address was inserted here]

 [recipient name was inserted here],

As your constituent, I urge you to slow down and be thoughtful and 
thorough in your consideration of legislative proposals designed to 
respond to and prevent terrorist attacks.

When the government acts in haste and fear, it can take steps that do not 
protect our safety, but instead lead to the long-term loss of liberty for 
everyone. The fundamental decisions that you are on the verge of making 
will determine how government and law enforcement in the United States 
function in the years ahead.  I implore you to weigh carefully what an 
expansion of government authority really means for the safety, privacy and 
freedom of all people in this country. 

Do not allow the guarantees of the Bill of Rights to become the next 
victims of terrorism.  Liberty and safety are not mutually exclusive.  It 
is important to recognize that the terrorist attacks in New York and 
Washington should prompt a re-examination of the ability of law 
enforcement to protect against terrorists. However, this re-examination 
should be conducted carefully, and any new proposals should be narrowly 
focused on the problems that they purport to address. 

Finally, all legislative proposals must be allowed to see the light of 
day.  Members of Congress are representatives of the people and as such, 
they must make their action accessible to public debate, scrutiny and 
comment.  We are all concerned about preventing terrorist attacks in the 
future, but please don't pass legislation without adequate evaluation.

One of the best ways to prevent terrorist attacks in the future is to stop 
allowing the United States to commit its own atrocities against the people 
of other nations -- we cannot forget that it was the United States, in the 
form of the CIA, that originally trained Osama bin Laden to commit 
terrorist attacks against Soviet forces occupying Afghanistan.  The United 
States has also been a party to human rights abuses in Israel, Colombia, 
and Iraq -- and these are only some of the most recent cases.

I look forward to hearing you thoughts on this important matter.

Sincerely,


Matthew Belmonte