News Briefs

Coalition Urges Maine Senators to Support PATRIOT Act Filibuster
Reauthorization Would Severely Erode Civil Liberties
From Maine Civil Liberties Union

Portland: A broad coalition of Maine organizations today urged Senators Snowe and Collins to support a bipartisan Senate filibuster of the USA PATRIOT Act Conference Report. The Report, issued last week and supported by the Bush administration, is expected to come before the Senate as early as Wednesday. It falls short of fixing the civil liberties violations of the original version of the PATRIOT Act and, in some cases, actually expands them. A bipartisan group of three Republican and three Democratic senators vow a filibuster to stop the Conference Report from being approved.

"Groups on the right and left agreed that it was time to fix the Patriot Act to bring it back in line with the Constitution, but Congress refused to listen," said Shenna Bellows, executive director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union. "This reauthorization squanders any opportunity for reform."

Several Maine groups that represent the constituents of Senators Snowe and Collins, including the NAACP, the Maine Library Association, the Maine Civil Liberties Union, the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Peace Action Maine and Tengo Voz, have sent a coalition letter to the Senators, urging them to vote no on a cloture vote that would halt filibuster efforts. The letter asks the Senators to support the filibuster and oppose any attempt at PATRIOT ACT reauthorization that does not include real reform.

The Conference Report instates four-year sunsets on three provisions of the Act that are due to expire, while making the rest of the provisions permanent and expanding the power of the FBI to issue National Security Letters (NSL). Increasing the ability of the FBI to obtain the personal records of any American without due cause or any checks and balances severely erodes civil liberties and is a threat to the personal privacy of all Mainers.

"It's time for the Senators of Maine to stand up for their constituents - from librarians to gun owners to civil libertarians - to support the bipartisan filibuster of Patriot Act reauthorization until a real compromise is achieved." said Bellows. "We hope Congress will reject this bill and embrace the call for meaningful checks on these powers to preserve America's legacy of liberty."

Christmas tree safety

The State Fire Marshal is urging Mainers to use caution with live Christmas trees inside homes. Fire Marshal John C. Dean said Christmas trees should be fresh and placed in a study tree stand after, at least , an inch has been cut from the tree trunk. The tree should be given plenty of water and located in an area not blocking exits. Dean said trees should be kept away from all sources of heat, such as wood stoves, fireplaces, heating ducts and heat registers.

"A dry Christmas tree is the most flammable item found inside a home this time of year and once ignited will literally explode and be consumed by fire within seconds," Dean said.

The Fire Marshal also urged caution with holiday candles citing candles as the cause of about 6 per cent of all Maine house fires. Dean said candles should never be left unattended, should be kept away from Christmas trees, decorations and wrapping paper and should be out of reach of children and pets.

The Fire Marshal also suggested that Christmas is the ideal time to replace batteries in all smoke detectors in a house. For more information on Christmas tree safety in public locations and other fire safety tips, the State Fire Marshal web site is www.maine.gov/dps/fmo

US Representative Tom Allen Announces $85,000 in Land & Water Conservation Fund Grants to Maine

Washington, D.C.---U.S. Representative Tom Allen announced today that the National Park Service has awarded a total of $85,000 to the Towns of Kittery and Appleton under its Land & Water Conservation Fund program. Kittery will receive $50,000 in matching funds toward the Town's $160,000 development of Haley Athletic Fields, an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant recreation facility. Appleton will receive $35,000 in matching funds to assist in the renovation of outdated playground structures at Appleton Community School to meet ADA requirements.