TSA's Naked Power Grab, FBI and Internet Wiretapping and More from the ACLU 22NOV10

INCLUDED in this e mail newsletter from the ACLU (I am a proud member) is a piece about the new TSA security measures. I do not agree with the ACLU on this issue. I feel the scanners and alternative to being scanned, the pat-down, are the best we have to offer right now to provide air travel safety and security. At least everyone is subject to the same security measures, people are not being profiled and singled out for enhanced security screening, and if someone refuses to be screened then they do not fly, their loss, not mine. I think the ACLU is choosing the wrong battle here, I do not feel the screening or pat down is not a violation of my civil rights as long as everyone else is subject to the same. The question of civil rights violations comes into play if the TSA adopts profiling as the method to determine who is subjected to enhanced screening. FYI, I do know something about being profiled....I am white, but with long (below my shoulders) hair, full beard, wear ear rings in both ears, have 2 tats and often wear tie-dye and beads. Cops and airport security often select me as the druggie and I have had some very unpleasant experiences with cops until they find out I am clean. They are judging me by my looks, and that is wrong. So I am fine with the current TSA procedures to keep us safe in the air. 

Traveling this Holiday Season? Some Things Have Changed. FBI Wants Expanded Internet Wiretapping Capabilities Defense of Marriage Act Challenged in Lawsuit Don't Let Big Telecoms Trade Your Free Speech for Their Own Profit Civil Liberties Minute: Net Neutrality Walgreens Continues Gender Discrimination at the Pharmacy Civil Liberties Minute: Net Neutrality Might you turn on your computer and find that the Internet as you've known it, has vanished? >> Listen to the podcast. Walgreens Continues Gender Discrimination at the Pharmacy Couples who work together to make healthy decisions about contraception should be supported. So, why is it that local Walgreens stores in Texas have repeatedly refused to sell contraception to men, despite corporate headquarters policy and federal guidelines to the contrary? That is exactly what happened to Adam Drake, who tried to purchase emergency contraception from a Walgreens in Houston. He was shocked when the pharmacy unequivocally denied him the product because he is a man. When he complained to the store manager, she stood by the pharmacist's decision. What happened to Mr. Drake is very troubling: no one should face gender discrimination at the pharmacy. But the incident is even more troubling given that the ACLU had already asked Walgreens earlier this year to ensure that its stores sell emergency contraception to men after we learned that men in Texas and Mississippi were prohibited from buying the product. In June, we received an encouraging response from Walgreens headquarters saying that it distributed a bulletin to all its stores telling them that emergency contraception can be sold to men. It further stated that a male customer who asks to purchase emergency contraception does not need to be "accompanied by a female and does not need to identify the individual for whom he is purchasing the product." Apparently, the Walgreens that Mr. Drake went to did not get that message. It's time for Walgreens to do more. The ACLU asked Walgreens last week to train its pharmacists and store managers — and send secret shoppers to its stores to ensure that corporate policy is followed. Luckily, Mr. Drake was able to purchase emergency contraception from a competitor — a pharmacy that doesn't discriminate based on gender and that knows that the Federal Drug Administration has approved emergency contraception for sale behind the pharmacy counter for men and women ages seventeen and older. Time is of the essence when accessing emergency contraception. Experts stress that emergency contraception is most effective the sooner a woman takes it, and its effectiveness decreases every 12 hours. It is therefore crucial that a customer can get access to emergency contraception as soon as it is needed. >> Sign the petition. Tell Walgreens that they must sell emergency contraception to men. back to top Do you know somebody who would be interested in getting news about the ACLU and what we're doing to protect civil liberties? Help us spread the word about ACLU Online — forward this newsletter to a friend.

November 22, 2010 Traveling this Holiday Season? Some Things Have Changed. Learn more about the practices that you are likely to encounter when undergoing a new TSA pat-down. You've likely heard that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has rolled out a new screening policy. As a result, many airline passengers are being forced to undergo an extremely intrusive and humiliating "pat down" search that is unlike anything most Americans have ever experienced while traveling. In the few weeks since the policy came into effect, the ACLU has received hundreds of complaints from travelers who have been subjected to these invasive and suspicionless searches. These complaints have come from men, women and children who reported feeling humiliated and traumatized by these searches and, in some cases, compared their psychological impact to that of sexual assault. Are you — or someone you know — traveling this week? Here are some important resources for travelers: >> The ACLU compiled a list of practices that you are likely to encounter when undergoing a new TSA pat-down, based on reports we've received. Share this with your friends on Facebook. >> If you think your rights have been violated while you're traveling, please let us know about it by filling out our complaint form. >> Take action: Tell the Department of Homeland Security to respect passengers' privacy rights. back to top FBI Wants Expanded Internet Wiretapping Capabilities The FBI is lobbying tech companies including Google and Facebook to win support for an Obama administration proposal to expand its Internet wiretapping capabilities, according to a report in the New York Times. The administration is urging Congress to revise the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), claiming that law enforcement needs to keep pace with technological changes. The original law, passed in 1994, compels telecommunications and broadband companies to make their services wiretap-ready. The report states that the administration is hoping to submit proposed legislation to Congress early next year to overhaul CALEA in order to ensure that telecommunications companies' networks can be wiretapped as soon as they receive a government order. According to the report, the proposal could also mandate that any communications service based overseas ensure its communications are routed through an American server so that the government is able to collect and wiretap those communications. The administration's proposal could grant the government the means for extensive surveillance and is urging Congress to reject any proposal that does not protect Americans' privacy and civil liberties. "It is important to realize that this proposal isn't simply applying the same sort of wiretap system we have for phones to the Internet; it would require reconfiguring and changing the nature of the Internet," said Laura W. Murphy, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. The ACLU remains very concerned that this proposal is a clear recipe for abuse and will make it that much easier for the government to gain access to our most personal information. Americans should not simply surrender their privacy and other fundamental values in the name of national security. We strongly encourage Congress to not rubberstamp this proposal that will grant the government the ability to conduct broad surveillance on innocent Americans. back to top Defense of Marriage Act Challenged in Lawsuit Photographs courtesy of Edie Windsor and the creators of the documentary, "Thea and Edie: A Very Long Engagement," distributed by Breaking Glass Pictures. Watch a video to learn more about Edie and Thea's story. The ACLU filed a lawsuit last week on behalf of Edie Windsor. The lawsuit aims to strike at one of the underpinning efforts to deny LGBT Americans their constitutional rights — the "Defense of Marriage Act." At the heart of our lawsuit is a beautiful story of love and commitment of a couple that was together for 44 years. And there is no one who can tell that story better than Edie herself. >> Take action: Watch a video to learn more about Edie and Thea's story and the challenge to the "Defense of Marriage Act." back to top Don't Let Big Telecoms Trade Your Free Speech for Their Own Profit Tell the FCC that you want them to act strongly to protect Internet freedom and Net Neutrality. The Internet has become so much a part of the lives of most Americans that it is easy to imagine that it is immune to change — that it will always remain the free and open medium that it is now. But there are no such guarantees. If the telecommunication companies have their way, "Net Neutrality" could be a thing of the past; profits and corporate objectives could determine what you see and how you see it. Some of the strongest supporters of Net Neutrality lost their seats in the recent election; so unfortunately, telecom lobbyists will have more power than ever. >> Take action: Tell the FCC that you want them to act strongly to protect Internet freedom and Net Neutrality. >> Learn more about Net Neutrality and get the tools you need to help us fight to keep a free and open Internet. back to top Join us on...

American Civil Liberties Union 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, New York 10004-2400 Lisa Sock and Joe McLaughlin, Editors

Privacy Statement This mail is never sent unsolicited. You, or someone on your behalf, has subscribed to receive this information from the American Civil Liberties Union. At the ACLU Web site, the ACLU gathers anonymous summary statistics on the responses to our email newsletters in order to better serve list subscribes and ACLU members. To review our Privacy Statement, click here. Click here to forward this message.