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| Balancing security and civil liberties: "These are the moments that are the greatest tests of our commitment to Constitutional liberties" |
September 12 @ 9:31am |
 WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, the Wisconsin Democrat who chairs a key Senate subcommittee dealing with Constitutional matters, says he will struggle to assure that the response to Tuesday's terrorist attacks on New York and Washington will balance security concerns with respect for the Constitution. "These are the moments that are the greatest tests of our commitment to Constitutional liberties," says Feingold, who heads the Constitution Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "The worst thing that we could do to reward our enemies is to compromise our commitment to civil liberties." Feingold says that, for the most part, he was impressed with the initial restraint of members of Congress in the aftermath of deadly terrorist assaults on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon here in Washington. "I have not heard anything that suggests that kind of kneejerk reaction that would put people's freedoms at risk," says the senator. "But I think we have to be alert. We have to make sure that we do not see the sort of suspension of civil liberties that does not make America more secure but that simply divides us." Feingold's concerns were echoed by veteran defenders of civil liberties on Capitol Hill. U.S. Rep. Lane Evans, D-Ill, a senior House Democrat who has long been one of the most thoughtful defenders of civil liberties in the Congress, said, "In a situation like this, you always have to worry about the Bill of Rights being tossed out the window." Recalling the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II and the targeting of Arab-Americans in the immediate aftermath of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, Evans said, "We've seen in the past a willingness on the part of many in government to sidestep the Bill of Rights. I'm always concerned, in a moment like this, about gross violations of human rights, especially violations of the rights of immigrants, of people with dark complexions, of people with foreign-sounding names." American Muslims shared Evans' worries. Imam Hassan Qazwini, religious leader of the Detroit-based Islamic Center of America, expressed concern about threats to Arab-Americans in the aftermath of the attacks. "We are no exception to American society," the Imam said, noting that Muslims in the United States share the sorrow and horror of other Americans in the aftermath of Tuesday's attacks. Hopefully, the Imam said, there will not be a rush to treat Muslims as suspects, rather than citizens. Evans said he was hopeful that past experience had made Americans more aware of the need to preserve basic freedoms even in the most difficult moments. "We're a much more sophisticated nation. I am hopeful that we will not see pressure for censorship, for limits on information," the congressman said. "The best way to counter terrorism is by making sure that citizens have access to information and that they have the freedom to discuss that information." Feingold argues that open and free dialogue will be particularly important in coming days, as the U.S. determines how to respond to the terrorist attacks. "If a foreign power attacks our country, there is no question that we should react," said Feingold, who in the past has raised concerns about U.S. military adventurism abroad. "But to just attack some country because we think it may be responsible for an attack on U.S. soil is wrong," said Feingold. "Obviously, we have to react with a degree of certainty." |
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| Bush on Labor Day: "An embarrassment" |
September 3 @ 11:49pm |
 DETROIT -- President Bush's attempt to present himself as the champion of Americans workers on Labor Day fell flat with many of the very workers he was courting. The president's speech to the annual Teamsters union picnic in this historic labor stronghold was greeted with a mix of tepid applause and boos. Noting the booing of Bush at the picnic, Norleen Hyder, of Tecumseh, Mi., said of the union members surrounding her: "I don't think a lot of them are happy he's here." Outside the Teamsters headquarters, dozens of pickets let it be known that, even if Bush was able to get an invite to some unions events on Labor Day, he was not necessarily welcome. Activists from the United Auto Workers and Steelworkers unions protested outside the picnic, carrying placards that accused Bush of attempting to destroy Social Security with privatizations schemes. They were joined by some Teamsters, who objected to the invitation of Bush by officials of their union. Hand-lettered signs held up by some of the union members at the protest suggested that Bush's strategy of reaching out to unions that might back his energy plan and other initiatives has not been entirely successful. "We're being used," one sign declared. "This is divide and conquer," claimed another, in obvious reference to Bush's attempts to win favor with more conservative unions. "It's an embarrassment for him to be here," Teamsters Local 372 union members Gordon Adams said of the Bush visit to the union's picnic. |
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| Union Blues: Bush stirs more anger than enthusiasm with "staged media events" on Labor Day |
September 3 @ 10:20am |
| President Bush’s Labor Day goal was to suggest that he enjoys at least a measure of popularity among rank-and-file union members. Hence, he interrupted his post-vacation vacation at Camp David to fly to Wisconsin and Michigan for tightly controlled events at which he would actually meet people who hold union cards. It was a given, however, that the most anti-labor president in American history was not heading to the midwest to hearing the voice of the majority of trade unionists. Both of Bush's stops --a brief morning visit to the Northern Wisconsin Regional Council of Carptenters training center in Kaukauna, Wi., and less than an hour at a Detroit picnic sponsored by Teamsters Joint Council 43 -- were designed for maximum political spin and minimum contact with working Americans. Even before he landed, Bush was taking his hits. United Auto Workers President Steve Yokich, the leader of the most politically active and powerful union in Michigan, dismissed Bush’s visit to that state as “a staged media event.” "We're surprised that President Bush even celebrates Labor Day given his obvious hostility toward America's working families and their unions," said Yokich. Rather than attend the Bush event in Detroit – a city where 94 percent of the votes in last fall’s presidential election were cast for Democrat Al Gore – UAW members planned to march in the city’s annual Labor Day Parade. Instead of Bush, the politician at the head of that parade was set to be House Minority Whip David Bonior, the Michigan Democrat who is one of Bush’s fiercest congressional critics. (Bonior is running for governor of Michigan next year with the backing of the UAW and the AFL-CIO.) The attitude toward Bush was similar across Lake Michigan in Wisconsin. “His (Bush’s) concerns are for business not for workers, strictly for business,” says Tom Derrickson, president of United Auto Workers Local 1102, which represents workers in the Green Bay area. The Carpenters with whom the president was to meet in Kaukauna were planning to “educate” him. Like other buildings trades union workers, they are particularly concerned about Bush’s moves to restrict union representation on federal construction sites. “One of the first things President Bush did was ban project labor agreements (with unions) on federal projects,” said Frank Schmechel, president of the Carpenters Union Local 1146. “That’s one of the things we need to educate him about.” Another of the education topics, Schmechel said, would be health and safety regulation. The union local president said Bush’s moves to scrap federal ergonomics rules pose a serious threat to working Americans. No one expected a great deal of education to take place amid all the posing for television cameras. With Bush’s advance team carefully structuring events to avoid contact with workers who might confront the president, Al Garrett, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 25 in Michigan said: "It's always nice to have the president visit the state of Michigan, even one whose his policies leave out working families I suspect he will be treated with the utmost respect in spite of his policies that will leave this country in worse circumstances than when he came in.” |
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