TMRA2 Legislative Update

The following is a response received from Senator Hutchinson’s office, as you will see we need to make sure that she is receiving all the letters and calls possible letting her know that we do not want to see the patriot act renewed since it is abused by law enforcement to run over the rights guaranteed to us by the bill of rights in the united states constitution.  We can celebrate the fact that the vote yesterday in committee went our way in them saying no to extending the patriot act however they could and will still try to get this thru any way they can and we must stand ready to fight it .

Please remember that what I need  from you is to send copies of what you send in along with what you receive in response to that, if you call them a short narrative of who you visited with and what they said, this helps us keep track of who is on our side and who is not and lets us know where we need to concentrate our efforts

Here’s the letter from Senator Hutchinson’s office

Dear Friend:

Thank you for contacting me regarding S. 1686, the JUSTICE Act.  I welcome your thoughts and comments.

The provisions of the PATRIOT Act have served the nation well.  I would oppose any legislation that would weaken its provisions.  Two recent events right here in Texas provide a stark reminder that the War on Terror has not ended.  On November 5, Nidal Malik Hasan, an apparent jihadist terrorist, coldly gunned down 13 soldiers and one unborn child in a murderous rampage at Fort Hood.  On September 24, another accused terrorist, Hosam Smadi, was arrested for plotting to blow up a Dallas skyscraper.  Despite these horrific incidents, too many people remain complacent and fail to recognize the true nature of the threats we face as a country.

On September 17, 2009, Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) introduced S. 1686, the JUSTICE Act, to further revise the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978.  The legislation seeks to revise numerous requirements regarding national security letters, the procural of business records in counter-terrorist investigations, notification times for search warrants, and limitations on roving electronic surveillance.  It also seeks to repeal provisions granting retroactive immunity to telecommunication companies and prohibiting warrantless searches of persons known to reside in the United States.

S. 1686 was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee but was not considered by the full Senate prior to the adjournment of the 111th Congress.  Should this legislation be reintroduced in the 112th Congress, you may be certain I will keep your views in mind.

Please know that I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to safeguard the security of our nation while upholding our personal privacy rights and civil liberties.  I appreciate hearing from you, and I hope that you will not hesitate to contact me on any issue that is important to you.

Sincerely,
Kay Bailey Hutchison
United States Senator

284 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC  20510
202-224-5922 (tel)
202-224-0776 (fax)

http://hutchison.senate.gov

SPIRITRIDER

COIR UNIT COMMANDER REGION 2 NORTH TEXAS

It was brought to our attention this week by Jerry Rose, TMRA2 Legislative Task Force member and State Vice Chairman, that certain sections of the Patriot Act are due to expire February 28^th, 2011.  The three expiring provisions of the Patriot Act give the government sweeping authority to spy on individuals inside the United States, and in some cases, without any suspicion of wrongdoing.

All three should be allowed to expire with no sunset review at all because the provisions don’t require individual or fact-based suspicion as required by the Constitution and they don’t impose checks and balances. In addition we want to ask Congress to consider reforming the Patriot Act all together.

The Provisions that are set to expire are:

. Section 215 of the Patriot Act authorizes the government to obtain “any tangible thing” relevant to a terrorism investigation, even if there is no showing that the “thing” pertains to suspected terrorists or terrorist activities. This provision is contrary to traditional notions of search and seizure, which require the government to show reasonable suspicion or probable cause before undertaking an investigation that infringes upon a person’s privacy. Congress must ensure that things collected with this power have a meaningful nexus to suspected terrorist activity or it should be allowed to expire.

. Section 206 of the Patriot Act, also known as “roving John Doe wiretap” provision, permits the government to obtain intelligence surveillance orders that identify neither the person nor the facility to be tapped. This provision is contrary to traditional notions of search and seizure, which require government to state with particularity what it seeks to search or seize. Section 206 should be amended to mirror similar and longstanding criminal laws that permit roving wiretaps, but require the naming of a specific target. Otherwise, it should expire.

. Section 6001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, or the so-called “Lone Wolf” provision, permits secret intelligence surveillance of non-US persons who are not affiliated with a foreign organization. Such an authorization, granted only in secret courts is subject to abuse and threatens our longtime understandings of the limits of the government’s investigatory powers within the borders of the United States. This provision has never been used and should be allowed to expire outright

Last year, Congress passed a one-year extension of the three provisions without making much-needed changes to the overly broad surveillance law.

The Patriot Act has been used improperly again and again by law enforcement to invade Americans’ privacy and violate their constitutional rights. Rather than allow these provisions to be rubberstamped in February, Congress should seize this opportunity to make reforming the Patriot Act a priority.”  Write your officials in Congress and tell them we are against HR 67 which allows the Sunset review to be extended until 2012 and to let the provisions of the Patriot Act fade into the sunset and expire forever!

Start at the top, work your way down in contacting your Representatives!

http://www.congress.org/

Example Letter

The Honorable John Cornyn
United States Senate
517 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-4304

In Re:  Reauthorization of the Patriot Act- It’s Time to Fix the Patriot Act!

Dear Honorable John Cornyn,

There’s more evidence than ever that the rampant Patriot Act abuse is a real and present danger.  Although the original intent was to assist in fighting terrorism, the documentation confirms that this abuse has been used over and over again in Texas, trampling on our fourth amendment written for United States citizens on our Sovereign soil! In Texas there have been numerous reports of Law Enforcement stopping bikers, photographing their tattoos and patches and putting the information in the Fusion Center data base even if they are not suspected of a crime. What has happened to our Fourth Amendment?

The three expiring provisions of the Patriot Act give the government sweeping authority to spy on individuals inside the United States, and in some cases, without any suspicion of wrongdoing.   Section 215 . Section 206 . Section 6001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 are due to expire Feb. 28^th, 2011.  I feel all three should be allowed to expire if they are not amended to include privacy protections to protect personal information from government overreach.  I am against HR67 which allows another extension on the provisions until 2012, this matter needs to be dealt with now.

I also respectfully request that you promote Patriot Act reform. It is past time for our government to stop violating the rights of non criminal, law abiding everyday people who have nothing to do with terrorism. Please tell congressional leaders to include substantive National Security Letter reforms in any bill extending Patriot Act powers.

I look forward to your response on this important matter.

Sincerely,

Paul Landers

Republic of Texas

From Dozer:

And so it was, with a weary heart we buried our friend and mentor Sputnik in June of 2010. As a TMRA2 Chapter coordinator I wondered what would ever become of our organization with Sputnik’s passing. How would we handle the daunting task of fighting for motorcyclists rights in the State of Texas without our leader? Who would be our new leader and show us the way forward? As there were no others in the organization that I was aware of, who had the Charisma and Respect to lead the organization forward beyond that sullen day of Sputniks memorial on the South steps of the State Capitol in Austin. I was truly worried for our survival. Then out of thin air, Escondido Paul was gracious enough to take the reins of the organization. With his usual gusto and determination he showed us the way forward. He helped us regain our footing. Using the US Defender model that Gimmi Jimmy and he had nurtured and perfected for years he breathed a breath of hope into the organization that we thought was extinguished with Sputnik’s passing. We worked hard and had a new determination to see Sputnik’s hopes and dreams come true. I was shocked to learn there were so many special people in the organization that had been overshadowed by Sputnik’s rare personality. As bikers we don’t back up very easily so we had nowhere to go but forward. And so we planned to make Sputnik’s dream of 10,000 bikers at the Capitol for the Bi-annual Legislative Day celebration at the Capitol a reality. I cannot tell you that we had 10,000 bikers at the capitol on January 24th but I can tell you this. With the help of the Texas Confederation of Clubs, The Coalition of Independent Riders, US Defenders, and the TMRA2 we put on a pretty damn good show on Legislation Day that cannot be denied. We had overcome. We were taking back our house from the petty abuses of the career politicians in Austin. We are a force to be reckoned with. All the Legislators that were there that day know the strength of our numbers and the shear will and determination we bring to the cause. We have political power beyond our wildest dreams. The hopes and dreams of our grandchildren will be fulfilled. All the bikers that wouldn’t attend on their own behalf will bear the bounty of our hard work.

The preparations being over we prepared for our trek to the Capitol on Sunday January 23rd. Leaving Waco at 8:30 a/m in 33 degree weather you just knew it was going to be a cold trip. Dressed like scientists in the Antarctic we rode the 100 miles to Austin for the Legislative day preparation meeting sponsored by the Austin Confederation of Clubs at VFW 8787 in North Austin. There we heard from Bandido Lefty the Austin Region Chair, Bandido Big Kid State Director of Operations, Bill Smith the COC Lawyer, We were briefed on the pending Operation Defuse legislation by John Bush the Director of Texan’s 4 Accountable Government, Norma Chavez the TMRA2 Legislative Liaison, and Escondido Paul the National Lt. Commander US Defenders and Chairman of the TMRA2. Thousands of us stood in a misting rain to get our facts and talking points for the Legislative Day activities straight. Then on Monday we rode to the Capitol early to catch the arrival of all the bikers on film and at 10:20 they came …. What an amazing sight to see two rows of motorcycles arriving for 20 minutes straight. We amassed at the South entrance and with the Color Guard at the ready Gimmi Jimmy gave the “Forward March” and it was on. I still feel the goose bumps from that march. On the steps we had a moment of silence and prayed for Sputnik and all those who rode. I know Sputnik was looking down on us that day and smiling ear to ear. With the shout “This is your house. Come on in” we entered the Capitol and completed Sputniks dream. In 2013 it will be our dream we are living. Hope to see you all there. Thank you to Gimmi Jimmy, Escondido Paul, Bandido Lefty, Bandido Big Kid, The Texas COC, Norma Chavez, All my TMRA2 friends and family, Suds, Woody, and Curly from COIR, All the US Defenders, True Few, Leathernecks, and my SOTS brothers that rode with me there and back.

Steven “Dozer” Cochran

Sons Of The South V/P

Texas Lt. Commander US Defenders

TMRA2 District 22 Adviser