Subject: civil liberties concerns in the implementation of recommendations from the 11 September Commission
To: "The American Civil Liberties Union" <belmonte@mit.edu>
From: "The American Civil Liberties Union" <belmonte@MIT.EDU>
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 12:40:21 -0400 (EDT)

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Message sent to the following recipients:
Senator Kennedy
Senator Kerry
Mr. Capuano
Message text follows:

Matthew Belmonte
[address]


August 27, 2004

[recipient address was inserted here]


 [recipient name was inserted here],

I urge you to undertake a thorough and careful 
assessment of the 9/11 Commission Report and ensure that any Congressional 
legislation to implement its recommendations protects core civil 
liberties.  I do not want to see Congress succumb to election year 
politics or a rush to act for the sake of acting.  We should not repeat 
the errors of the PATRIOT Act, which went too far, too fast, and 
sacrificed core civil liberties and rights in the name of security.

I am concerned that based on general recommendations in the 11 September 
Commission Report, some lawmakers are considering legislation that would 
dictate national standards for driving licences.  These federal mandates 
for driving licences would implement a national identity card through the 
back door, and would limit basic freedoms and endanger privacy by 
accessing and integrating huge amounts of personal information included in 
state and federal databases.

I am also concerned about proposals to expand controversial "no fly" and 
"automatic selectee" aviation security lists.  The process by which these 
lists are maintained allows no escape for innocent travellers who happen 
to share names with people on the lists.  If my name were to appear on 
such a list, I would be insulted and offended to have to spend my time 
obtaining an explanatory letter from the TSA, and to have to carry such a 
letter with me like a Soviet-style internal passport.

At the same time as it considers the other recommendations of the 11 
September commission, Congress should address the commission's criticism 
of pervasive secrecy and over-classification in government.  Legislation 
to fix this culture of "too many secrets" must include substantive reforms 
to reduce excessive secrecy, increase real public and Congressional 
oversight of intelligence activities, and provide for better protection of 
both whistleblowers and minority viewpoints during policy creation.

Again, I hope that you will make every effort to ensure that legislation 
responding to the 11 September Commission report does not sacrifice core 
liberties and freedoms in the name of security.

Sincerely,


Matthew Belmonte