North East Digital Village

December 15^th, Bill of Rights Day

:: COMMON LAW :: ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION :: DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE :: THE CONSTITUTION :: BILL OF RIGHTS :: BILL OF RIGHTS FORGOTTEN :: FIRST AMENDMENT :: FREEDOM OF THE PRESS :: DUE PROCESS ::

Bill of Rights Day is celebrated on December 15^th of each year. Created by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on December 15, 1941, one hundred and fifty years after the signing of the Bill of Rights. The United States Constitution was written in 1787, and two years later the ten Bill of Rights were added. And sometimes, the Bill of Rights seems to have been forgotten. . ..

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Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights are:

1. Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Right to Assemble, Religious freedom: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
2. The right to bear arms: A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
3. No forced housing of soldiers: No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
4. Limits searches or seizures: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
5. No self incrimination, and right to due process: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
6. Everyone has a right to a trial by a jury and to have attorney provide a defense: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
7. Right to a trial under common law: In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
8. Limits on confinment & punishment by government: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
9. The Constitution cannot deny rights of others: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
10. States rights to govern: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

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Learn more About the Constitution and the Bill of Rights

• National Archives and Records Administration
• Amendments 11 through 27
• Bill of Rights in Action: When Rights Conflict
• Bill of Rights in Action: Voting & Discrimination
• ACLU North Carolina
• Libertarian Party of California Bill of Rights Info
• President Bush Proclaims Human Rights Day & Bill of Rights Week 2001
• President Clinton's Bill of Rights Proclamation 1999

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Learn More about Common Law

• History of the Common Law of England
• The Common Law by Oliver Wendell Holmes
• The Common Law

Bill of Rights Forgotten?

USA PATRIOT Act

PLEASE READ ABOUT the USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism).

In our humble opinion, the USA PATRIOT Act is the single most dangerous threat to our liberty and freedom. If you have not read the Act or commentary about the full ramifications of the Act, please do so. Until you have, how can you come to an informed understanding?

We hope that each of you will read the Act and the commentary linked here as well as all the other sources available on the 'Net and in print. We sincerely ask that you not to take our opinion as gospel, but, rather, truly inform yourself and come to your own conclusions. We invite you to drop us a note at "About the PATRIOT Act" and tell us what you think about the USA PATRIOT Act. Thank you!

Learn More About the USA PATRIOT Act

OpenTheGovernment.org
In response to the 9-11 terrorist attacks, Congress passed the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act or Patriot Act), which significantly increased the surveillance, and investigative powers of law enforcement agencies. The law also reduces the system of checks and balances on law enforcement that traditionally safeguards civil liberties. Many are troubled by the shroud of secrecy the government uses to cover its operations under the expanded powers from the Patriot Act. Others have raised strong concerns that provisions of the Patriot Act will cause a chilling effect on the first amendment, reducing media reporting on government activities. [READ MORE]
cite: http://www.openthegovernment.org/article/articleview/52/1/16/

PATRIOT ACT: The Home Version
A new board game that brings the thrill of trampling the Constitution right into your home . . . just where John Ashcroft wants to be! The Home Version's a game inspired by the historic abuse of governmental powers of the same name. Many of the hypothetical situations in the game are based on real-life events. Either as a game to be played or as a statement to be read, Patriot Act: The Home Version educates the user to the current erosion of our civil rights by the government while claiming to be protecting our freedoms. cite:http://www.graphix4change.com/portfolio_PA_game.html

Now They Check the Books You Read
by Joan E. Bertin. In the post 9/11 world, there is undoubtedly a government official whose job is to invent innocuous-sounding, if not reassuring, acronyms for government initiatives against terrorism. Operation TIPS is a case in point. The Terrorism Information and Prevention System will recruit millions of utility, transportation and other workers to report on "potentially unusual or suspicious activity in public places." In other words, Operations TIPS is using private citizens to spy on each other. [READ MORE]
cite: http://www.ncac.org/issues/tips.htm

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Japanese-American Internment

• Children of the Camps: this documentary captures the experiences of six Americans of Japanese ancestry who were confined as innocent children to internment camps by the U.S. government during World War II. The film vividly portrays their personal journey to heal the deep wounds they suffered from this experience.
• Japanese-Americans Internment Camps: from the Special Collections Department, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, and Private Collections
• Masumi Hayashi Photpgraphy: panoramic photo collages show the remnants of sites of Japanese American Internment camps during World War II, an archeological memory.
• Conscience and the Constitution: delves into the heart of the Japanese American conscience and a controversy that continues today.

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