The Usa Patriot Act, a Controversial Public Policy, Julius Taka Essay Example

The Usa Patriot Act, a Controversial Public Policy, Julius Taka Essay The USA Patriot Act of 2001 is a controversial public policy, which greatly undermines the civil liberties and constitutional freedom of the American people. This essay will moved from an overview of the USA Patriot Act to a review of the critical literature regarding the importance of the Act to the safety of Americans and shows how the Act violates the civil rights and liberties of citizens and noncitizens alike. After presenting sufficient evidence that the Patriot Act violates many of the basic principles that have been articulated in the U. S. Constitution, particularly within the Bill of Rights, I will, propose recommendations that if implemented scrupulously could help to restore American confidence in governments determination to continue functioning as the protector of civil liberties and rights. In the wake of the worst terrorist attacks in U. S. history on September 11, 2001, just six weeks later with little Congressional resistance or analysis; the U. S. Congress passed into law the USA Patriot Act. The Patriot Act titled â€Å"Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism† granted an unprecedented and vast power to federal investigative services, which greatly undermines the civil liberties and constitutional freedom of the American people. The main objective of the Patriot Act is to deter and punish terrorist acts in the U. S. and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes, (Act, 2001, p. 1). We will write a custom essay sample on The Usa Patriot Act, a Controversial Public Policy, Julius Taka specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Usa Patriot Act, a Controversial Public Policy, Julius Taka specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Usa Patriot Act, a Controversial Public Policy, Julius Taka specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Despite this purpose, the Act represents both good and bad points with respect to fighting terrorism and negative consequences on the civil liberties of U. S. citizens. For the most part, I believe the USA Patriot Act does little to combat terrorism and represents a threat to the liberties of the American people. There is no denying that the hastily passed Patriot Act does have provisions and measures that help the U. S. Government expand its surveillance of suspected terrorists and their activities. For example, Section 101Establishes a new counter terrorism fund without fiscal year limitation and of unnamed amount, to be administered by the Justice Department for its own use. Section 103Re-invigorates the Justice Departments Technical Support Center (established by the Anti Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996) and gives it $200 million for each of the next three years, 2002 through 2004. Section 105: Establishes a national network of electronic crimes task forces o be set up by the Secret Service throughout the country to prevent, detect, and investigate various electronic crimes including potential terrorist attacks against critical infrastructures and financial payment systemswhich can mean a wide variety of computer crimes. (Michaels Van Bergen, 2002). Moreover, section 203 of the Act combined forces of domestic law enforcement and foreign intelligence, previously separate collection operations on separate tracks, (Podesta, 2002, p. ). Furthermore, the Act pro vides U. S. authorities with expanded powers to freeze suspected terrorist assets in foreign countries and increases their ability to gain access to offshore banking records. The Act amended what is known as the Bank Secrecy Act. The funding of terrorism is a criminal offense and those who fund terrorists are often able to conceal their activities. The Act is good in resolving this issue, as Section 312-319 stipulate as follows: (1) sets a 120-hour deadline for financial institutions to respond to certain information requests by federal investigators involving wide range of accounts; (2) creates new forfeiture provisions for those charged or convicted of certain terrorist crimes especially including money laundering, setting forfeiture authorities virtually unheard of in federal law to this point, and (3) permits access by federal investigators of records of certain correspondent accounts with foreign banks. (Michaels Van Bergen, 2002). To facilitate the job of the Justice department and other federal agencies involved in this counter terrorism mission, the Act makes it mandatory upon banks and domestic financial entities a new minimal and enhanced due diligence requirements on certain accounts, as a way of revealing possible use of accounts for terrorist financing. In addition, Section 412 of the Act provides for mandatory detention of suspected aliens, lists seven bases for such detention, allows a person to be held for seven days without any charge, permits possible indefinite detention for aliens deemed not removable, and ensures limited court review. Despite these and other positive aspects of the Act, which do, indeed, help U. S. officials combat terrorists and their activities, many other provisions violate civil liberties, the U. S. Constitution, and jeopardize the privacy of U. S. citizens without recourse for challenge. The arrest of suspected terrorists or their sympathizers has seen the arrest and detention of many Americans without due process of law. Basic rights of privacy have been eroded by the Act, including expanded search and seizure and surveillance laws. Responding to the Patriot Act, groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) (Congress takes aim, 2003) have filed legal challenges to the Act and have worked to lobby members of Congress to reconsider many of its provisions. The ACLU has argued that measures contained in the Act such as the right to obtain so-called sneak and peak warrants under a low evidentiary standard are direct violations of the intent and principle of Fourth Amendment protections. The Fourth Amendment was designed to protect the public against unreasonable searches and seizures. Consequently, law enforcement officials have until passage of the Patriot Act have needed to present a reasonably strong case to a court in order to obtain a warrant to enter a private home or business, confiscate certain types of property, or eavesdrop electronically on private conversations and communications. An ACLU spokesperson maintains that the Act represents an overnight revision of the nations surveillance laws that vastly expanded the governments authority to spy on its own citizens, while simultaneously reducing checks and balances on those powers like judicial oversight, public accountability, and the ability to challenge government searches in court, (Surveillance, 2005, p. 3). From arrests without evidence to random search and seizure, the Act represents a potential danger to the rights and civil liberties of the American people much more than it helps as a practical tool in combating terrorism. Consequently, cities across the United States, according to Schabner (2003), have begun to revolt against provisions of the Act, saying that it gives law enforcement too much power and threatens civil rights. In Massachusetts, the cities of Cambridge, Northampton, and Amherst and the township of Leveret have passed resolutions characterizing the Act as a threat to the civil rights of community residents. Berkeley California and Ann Arbor Michigan have also adopted such resolutions, while police in Portland and Oregon have refused to cooperate with the FBI on investigations of Middle Eastern students in their city. Schabner (2003) states that these resolutions and actions may be largely symbolic in that local governments or agencies have no authority to compel federal law enforcement to comply. Many Americans and units of government are concerned that the Act goes too far. For example, libraries, workplaces, private homes, schools, and other institutions which have e-mail services available to the public or a PC owner are vulnerable to surveillance by federal agencies (Sanders, 2003). The legislation enables the FBI to require libraries and other institutions to turn over data on individual activity, including book purchases and library check-outs, e-mail traffic, and so forth all without a showing of probable cause. The problem, says Robert Levy (2003) of the Cato institute, is that while the rationale for the Act and expanded investigative powers is that national security is at stake, the provisions of the Act are already being employed in matters that have little to do with terrorism or anti-terrorism investigations. Nancy Talanian (2002), a spokesperson for the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, identified the effects of the Patriot Act with respect to specific Amendments contained in the Bill of Rights. It is with respect to these basic civil liberties and protected rights that the policies changed by the Act will have the most impact. Earlier in this report, an overview of Fourth Amendment effects was offered, but Talanian (2002) pointed out that the Patriot Act also affects the First Amendment, Fifth Amendment, Sixth Amendment, and Eighth Amendment. The First Amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, infringing on the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. (Talanian, 2002, p. 2). As elucidated elsewhere in this paper, the Patriot Act is a complete violation of the First Amendment. The Fifth Amendment reads no person shall be held to answer for a crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law (Talanian, 2002, p. 7). The Patriot Act removes the requirement of obtaining judicial permission before listening in on conversations between prisoners and their attorneys, thus forcing prisoners to effectively be a witness against himself or herself. The Act establishes trials by a military tribunal at the discretion of the president for noncitizens, denying due process of law and permitting secret evidence and hearsay to be used against the accused. Talanian (2002) contends that the Fifth Amendment is impacted because the Patriot Act allows a committee composed of the Attorney General, the Secretary of Defense, and the CIA Director to label citizens and on citizens as enemy combatants placing them in military custody, holding them indefinitely, interrogating them, and denying them communication with outsiders or judicial review. Further, the FBI gains the ability to monitor and survey religious groups and political groups without evidence of wrongdoing, potentially compelling an unsuspecting participant in such gatherings to be a witness against himself. Finally, the broad powers given to the Attorney General to certify immigrants as risks deprives immigrants of liberty without due process of law. The effects of the Patriot Act on the Sixth Amendment are also significant. The Sixth Amendment establishes the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the state and district where a crime is alleged to have occurred; the right to be informed of the nature and cause of an accusation; the right to be confronted with witnesses, and the right to have compulsory process for obtaining defense witnesses and the assistance of counsel in constructing a defense (Talanian, 2002). Under the Patriot Act, each of these rights are suspended. Similarly, the Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and the infliction of cruel and unusual punishment. As Talanian (2002) has commented, Section 412 of the Patriot Act gives the Attorney General broad powers related to mandatory detention of suspected terrorists and suspension of habeas corpus and judicial review. This has the potential to result in the cruel and unusual punishment of deportation. Taken together, Talanian (2002) asserts that each of these attacks on civil liberties and rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights creates a situation in which the Executive Branch enjoys excessively broad discretionary powers. As public policy, therefore, what the Patriot Act does is that it effectively undermines the fundamental tenets of the American democratic system. With the possible exception of some critics, there are few in the United States today in and out of government who do not believe that terrorism continues to present a very real threat to national security or that government has both the obligation and the responsibility to take affirmative action to protect the security of the nation and its citizens. However, allocating virtually unlimited powers to the Executive Branch, with the potential to permit dilution of the rights and liberties guaranteed by and enshrined in the Constitution, is not appropriate and may well be extremely threatening to the American democratic system. Consequently, alternative policies must be examined. Among these alternative policies is the elimination of the provisions within the Patriot Act that seek to reduce the oversight authority of courts with respect to all types of surveillance. Schabner (2003) intimated this abuse of power is not necessarily out of any deliberate attempt to diminish civil liberties but rather in an overzealous effort to identify potential terrorists or other criminals. By requiring that federal investigative agencies follow standardized procedure for obtaining court warrants for surveillance activities and showing probable cause; greater attention to the right of individuals to be free from excessive searches and seizures will be established and guaranteed. A second policy initiative is the creation of a Congressional task force or oversight committee that works directly with the coalition of federal investigative agencies headed by the Department of Justice. Creating a mechanism for Congressional involvement in the activities of these task forces will help to restore the balance of power within the government as provided for by the Constitution. Michaels and Van Bergen (2002) believe that creating coalitions of this type will help to render the entire process of combating terrorism more transparent. Transparency will also introduce new elements of accountability and help to prevent any Executive Branch abuses of new powers. To maintain the provisions of FIS and to ensure equality between the various organs of government, section 218 of the Patriot Act should be eliminated. Under FISA, a specifically created federal court must approve electronic surveillance of citizens and resident aliens believed to be acting on behalf of a foreign power (Levy, 2003). Under FISA, approval for a warrant is lower than probable cause but higher than other standards. Finally, the Patriot Act must have the provisions regarding Executive Branch powers of detention removed. Under Section 412 of the Act, noncitizen suspects linked to possible terrorist activities can be held without counsel for seven days. The Act effectively allows expanded detention simply by permitting a detainee to be charged with a technical violation (Van Bergen, 2002, 2002 b, 2002c, 2002d). Levy (2003) contends that more than 1,000 detainees to date may have been denied access to their attorneys under this section of the Act. The USA Patriot Act does little to ombat terrorism and represents a threat to the liberties of the American people. Since the passage of the USA Patriot Act, there have been numerous terrorist attacks around the world. The worst terrorist attack after 911 was the Fort Hood killings right here in the U. S. While legislation like the Patriot Act is required to help provide authorities with the tools they need to combat terrorism, such legislation must endur e lengthy congressional review, public debate, and stop at the place where U. S. citizens rights and civil liberties begin. If not, we risk creating a government whose ultimate power may represent more of a threat to the American people than any terrorist group. This essay has moved from an overview of the USA Patriot Act to a review of the critical literature regarding the importance of the Act in relations to the potential of the Act to lead directly to violations of the civil rights and liberties of citizens and noncitizens alike. The unintended and intended public policy consequences of the Act have been analyzed, along with recommendations for perfection of the Act. As a type of public policy, there appears to be sufficient evidence that the Patriot Act violates many of the basic principles that have been articulated in the U. S. Constitution, particularly within the Bill of Rights. Because this is the case, it is now important to reconsider whether or not the Patriot Act should be allowed, modified or to remain in place. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is the leading organization calling for fundamental changes in the Patriot Act. The policy recommendations presented above address the fundamental changes to Americans legal rights that are contained in this Act. Schabner (2003b) has suggested that these types of changes to the procedures outlined or permitted in the Patriot Act can help to restore American confidence in governments determination to continue functioning as the protector of civil liberties and rights.

Anthology Submissions A Good Idea or Not

Anthology Submissions A Good Idea or Not Thinking of submitting to an anthology? I’d say if you have time to write an essay based on the submission guidelines, aren’t looking for great financial reward but are seeking to be published in a â€Å"real† book, there’s nothing to lose. I noticed a small ad in Poets Writers for submissions to an anthology devoted to lessons learned from our mothers. The editor, Eric Bowen, had decided to create an anthology of essays and poems and donate half of the proceeds to shelters for women and children affected (amazon.com/Wisdom-Our-Mothers-Stories-daughters/dp/1453631011) I was delighted to have my essay about my mother and knitting selected and the book has been a wonderful gift item. And it was my first time published in a book so a great credential to add to my resume. Shortly after, I was invited to submit an essay to a book being compiled (amazon.com/Im-Going-College-Not-You-Surviving/dp/0312607296 ) While these opportunities weren’t high paying, I felt they were important and a chance to have my work judged Without giving the writers any themes, I received submissions that span the entire citrus spectrum, from sour to sweet.   Inside are poems and essays about parents, families, jobs, food, and memories.   The title, Tangerine Tango: Women Writers Share Slices of Life, came from my love of the color orange and love of alliteration. I offered to pay the writers $50 for their submissions and have decided to donate the proceeds from the sales to fight Huntington’s Disease, which honors one of the writers who lost her mother to the disease this year. I loved working with the writers and shaping the book, seeing the themes that emerged.   I hope to do it again! So, I’d encourage you to submit to an anthology if you see one that speaks to you as a writer. Not for the money, but to be included in a book that you can be proud to be part of and will give you a chance to be published. I’d be wary of offers that don’t pay at all, or are for total commercial gain. Be sure you maintain the rights of your work too. You never know, being in an anthology could be a steppingstone to more acceptances.  

Music in Arts Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Music in Arts Education - Research Paper Example Everywhere you look, someone is listening to music. In today’s day and age, children starting at the young ripe age of six, all the way to nineteen have ear buds permanently glued to their ears. Parents can hardly get a word in because they know their son or daughter is lost in their own world of music. Music varies, and it varies because children have different tastes. Each child has its own perception of what music should look, feel, sound, taste, and even smell like. For many, music brings back memories. Some of them are good, but much too often, bad. Without music, children feel that their world is being invaded. So they may use music as a safety net; a way to connect with their inner souls, and with people around them. Music is a window into the next dimension. Each child adapts to their own style, genre, and even musical essence. A lot of music is used to depict feeling, sensory connection, and telling of a story. Without music today, young children, preteens, and adoles cents feel disconnected from the world. We educators and adults may not understand why students are hooked on music, but if we take time to reflect, we too will remember the importance of our own quiet times we spent being enthralled with the newest album, CD, or cassette tape featuring our favorite group; boy, girl or singles band. All we must do is reminisce and we too will be transported back to what we now may see is â€Å"foreign† and not as important. When music is taught in the classroom, it can at times be considered boring, redundant and trite. Students lose heart because teachers are lacking the connection. Many times students are told what instrument they will play, when they will play it or how. But, when does the creativity begin to flow? When can students create their own rules when learning about music? Music is often taught via a textbook. Students learn about the baroque time, the neo-classical time, and the more prominent times that seem to be less pertinent to students today. Teachers stay away from time periods they are unfamiliar with mainly because they were not taught it in â€Å"teacher† college. But they are missing the connection with students. They fail to bridge the gap between music from the past and music today. If we want our students to appreciate music for what it is worth, it is important for us to start becoming more relevant for the students. Instead of focusing so much on standards and benchmarks required, maybe think about branching out and having a little bit of fun. National testing and school performance tables have been focusing so much on the core subjects that they have left out other subjects that seem less important such a music and the arts. Just because students are not tested on these things, does not mean they are less important. Unless of course a school is only focused on scores. When students study music, they learn about many different cultures. An appreciation for diversity comes to the foref ront and students learn to get along in a more harmonious manner. Students don’t only learn to get along but they learn self-discipline which is a very hard thing to do today because of the amount of overly stimulating activities students are involved in on a daily basis. Take T.V. for example. When kids watch TV, they do just that; watch. They do not interact with the television; they become complacent and are fed information. They are