[nmglug] Fwd: The Senate has rejected Patriot Act spying...But it’s not dead yet

[Jason Schaefer]

Sorry if you got this already. For those who haven't.


-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: The Senate has rejected Patriot Act spying...But it’s not dead yet
Date: Wed, 27 May 2015 06:06:29 -0700
From: Nadia Kayyali | EFF Activism Team <action at eff.org>
Reply-To: Nadia Kayyali | EFF Activism Team <action at eff.org>
To: jason schaefer <schaefer.jason at gmail.com>

Dear Jason,
Good news! We're not the only ones who think one more day of NSA spying
is one day too many. The Senate agrees. Last week, in a dramatic late
night session, the Senate rejected reauthorization of Section 215 of the
Patriot Act.

The Senate's refusal to reauthorize Patriot Act spying has proven just
how wrong the NSA's defenders are. They've acted as though
reauthorization of bulk phone records collection of millions of ordinary
people was inevitable. But S.1357, Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell's two-month reauthorization of Section 215 of the Patriot Act,
failed by 45-54. In a desperate last-ditch effort to save mass
surveillance, McConnell asked for the program to be extended to the 8th
of June, then the 5th, then the 3rd, and then the 2nd. He was denied
every time.

That means, thanks to the powerful voices of people like you, 54
Senators voted against rubber stamping reauthorization of Section 215 of
the Patriot Act. That's a major victory for civil liberties.

But surveillance defenders will do anything they can to protect the
NSA's powers. Senator McConnell is forcing the Senate to reconvene on
Sunday, May 31, mere hours before Section 215 expires. Even though
leadership in the House of Representatives has said that the House would
reject short-term reauthorization, he's attempting to bully the Senate
into a last minute extension of the program.

Fortunately, we've got four days to make sure that those 54 Senators
don't change their minds. We've got four days to remind the House that
no reauthorization is acceptable, no matter how short. We've got four
days to ensure that when Section 215 of the Patriot Act dies at midnight
on June 1st, it's dead for good.

Please join us in demanding an end to NSA mass surveillance. Call
Congress now:
https://act.eff.org/action/not-one-more-day-of-nsa-mass-spying-on-our-phone-records.

You can also do more. This week, many Senators and Representatives are
at home. Face-to-face visits are a chance for you to challenge your
elected representatives on NSA spying. We've created a printable
one-pager you can leave at their offices. We also have a guide to
setting up a meeting with your elected representatives. If you can't
get a meeting, you can just drop in at their office.
One-pager:
https://www.eff.org/document/top-four-reasons-reject-section-215-patriot-act
Meeting Guide: https://www.eff.org/congress.

We've got just four days. Join us to tell Congress--It's time to let
Section 215 of the Patriot Act die the death it deserves. Vote no on any
reauthorization of Section 215.

Sincerely,

Nadia Kayyali
EFF Activism Team
Electronic Frontier Foundation, 815 Eddy Street, San Francisco, CA 94109 USA

EFF appreciates your support and respects your privacy:
https://www.eff.org/policy