Kucinich to Speak on PATRIOT Act and War
The following is a press release from December 29, 2003, by the Kucinich campaign
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Kucinich to Speak on PATRIOT Act and War
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 29, 2003
Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich will speak on the "PATRIOT Act" and the war in Iraq tomorrow, Dec. 30th, in Tampa, Fla.
At 4 p.m. ET, Kucinich will hold a press conference at the Islamic Society of the Tampa Bay Area, 7326 East Sligh Ave, Tampa, Fla.
At 5:15 p.m. ET, Kucinich will address a gathering of Muslim activists and leaders at the Islamic Society of the Tampa Bay Area. The event is sponsored by the Florida office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
From 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. ET a Kucinich rally, including music and poetry, will be held at Viva La Frida restaurant at 5901 Florida Ave., Tampa, Fla. Kucinich will speak at 8:30 p.m.
Congressman Kucinich announced today that he will introduce legislation to repeal a section of the FY '04 Intelligence Authorization Act that expands powers granted to the federal government in the USA PATRIOT Act, allowing the government greater power to acquire financial records without judicial oversight from car dealers, pawnbrokers, travel agencies, and many other businesses. Traditional financial institutions like banks and credit unions are already subject to such demands, but this dramatic expansion of government authority will mean that records created by average citizens who purchase cars, plan vacations, or buy gifts will be subject to government seizure and analysis without the important requirements of probable cause or judicial review. This provision initially appeared in a leaked draft of the so-called "PATRIOT II", a proposal the American public and Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate rejected.
Kucinich today released this statement:
"If we allow this Administration to continue this trend of expanding governmental powers at the expense of our civil rights our very democracy is at stake. Today, I join with over 229 communities in 35 states that represent over 29 million citizens, that have passed resolutions opposed to the law, in standing up to this abuse of power. It is now clear the administration's strategy is to pass PATRIOT II in separate pieces with little public debate, in secret, and surreptitiously attached to other legislation. This is far from an appropriate or democratic way to handle issues that affect the fundamental liberties and freedoms of Americans."
For more information: http://www.kucinich.us
For Rep. Kucinich's Schedule: http://www.kucinich.us/schedule.htm.
Local Contacts:
Kris van Ingen, Tampa Media Coordinator. Email: klvi@ij.net Telephone: 727-595-7165 or
Stephanie Donald, Florida State Media Coordinator, Email: stephanie.donald@kucinich.us Telephone: 772-335-2469
National Contacts:
David Swanson 301-772-0210, cell 202-329-7847, fax 301-772-7293, swanson@kucinich.us
Susan Mainzer 213-840-0077, susan.mainzer@kucinich.us
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