[Active-l] (ACTION ITEM) (CALL) (TODAY!) Support S.185 / restoration of Habeas Coprus

[Dara (R'ykandar Korra'ti)]

	I do not like linking to DailyKOS. However, this is one of the small  
number of Most Important Things this Congress had _damned well better  
pass_, or there is, as far as I'm concerned, _no_ fucking point in  
voting Democratic, either. Seriously, if they can't even manage this  
unwinding of one of the worst assaults on the Constitution in  
decades, there's absolutely no fucking point. This is a very mild  
bill that restores habeas corpus rights to detainees.
	Washington State residents should note that Sen. Maria Cantwell is a  
co-sponsour, but Sen. Patty Murray is _not_. I suggest writing to ask  
why the hell she isn't. I'm certainly going to do so.
	Bill here:
	http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:S.185.IS:
					- Dara

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Restoring Habeas
by mcjoan

Wed Jun 06, 2007 at 04:10:09 PM PDT



http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/6/1997/94188



Senators Leahy and Specter have introduced the Habeas Corpus  
Restoration Act (S. 185). The legislation restores habeas rights to  
foreign nationals who are detained as enemy combatants or who are  
awaiting determination of their combatant status. It's a critical  
piece of legislation to undo the most egregious wrong of the Military  
Commissions Act. The bill is going to be marked up in the Judiciary  
Committee tomorrow.



Senator Leahy is asking for our help in garnering support for the  
legislation:



Many of you may recall the hasty passage of the Military Commissions  
Act in the weeks leading up to last year's election, a bill that set  
new rules for trying detainees, in particular those currently being  
held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.



The passage of this bill was a profound mistake, and its elimination  
of habeas corpus review was its worst error. Righting this wrong is  
one of my top priorities, and on the first day of this Congress I  
joined with Senator Arlen Specter to introduce the Habeas Corpus  
Restoration Act (S. 185).  This bipartisan bill already has 17  
cosponsors, but it faces a crucial vote in the Judiciary Committee  
this Thursday so we need your help.



Please e-mail your home-state Senators today and urge them to protect  
our fundamental liberties by supporting the Habeas Corpus Restoration  
Act!



Via Christy at FDL, here are the members of the Judiciary Committee  
who haven't already signed on as cosponsors of the bill:



Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD)
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ)
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS)
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)



Call or e-mail the offices of these Senators to urge them to support  
S. 185 in committee tomorrow. Here are the toll free numbers for the  
Capitol Switchboard:



1 (800) 828 - 0498
1 (800) 459 - 1887
1 (800) 614 - 2803
1 (866) 340 - 9281
1 (866) 338 - 1015
1 (877) 851 - 6437



Even if your Senators aren't on the Judiciary Committee, call and ask  
them to support this legislation. Given that Specter is a sponsor, it  
will probably get enough support to get out of committee and get a  
vote in the full Senate. Or, if your Senator is one of the following,  
thank them for cosponsoring this critical bill: Biden, Brown,  
Cantwell, Clinton, Dodd, Durbin, Feingold, Feinstein, Harkin,  
Kennedy, Kerry, Lautenberg, Leahy, Levin, Obama, Rockefeller,  
Salazar, Whitehouse.