Seeking to bolster support for his USA Patriot Act against Congressional attempts to weaken it, Attorney General John Ashcroft recently called the Act “al-Qaeda’s worst nightmare.” and delivered a 29-page report to Congress citing ways in which the Act has, according to Ashcroft, been instrumental in helping to combat terrorism.
The Patriot Act, passed overwhelmingly by Congress in the weeks after the 2001 terrorist attacks, gave the government significant new powers to conduct searches and surveillance in terrorism investigations and allowed more information sharing among law enforcement agencies.
The release of Ashcroft’s report is part of an effort by the Bush Administration to shore up support for the law in the wake of numerous reports and critics’s suggestions that many of the Act’s provisions are both ineffective and unconstitutional.
One of the most effective (and creative) critiques of the abuses of the Ashcroft Justice Department was recently released by the DC-based group Alliance for Justice, a national association of environmental, civil rights, mental health, women’s, children’s and consumer advocacy organizations. AFJ has created an online animated movie, Spy-der-man, which uses humor to convey the grave danger of Ashcroft’s intrusions on free speech, privacy, due process and religious pluralism.
Click here to watch the movie. It’s fun and informative. And click here to sign the AFJ’s petition urging Ashcroft to resign.
