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Shahid-Buttar68 karma

the Surveillance State Repeal Act, introduced by Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ). Hands down. See http://www.constitutioncampaign.org/blog/?p=14922 for more info.

Shahid-Buttar22 karma

Absolutely! The need for a movement to remain "ready and willing to take action" is critical.

In the near-term, I would simply caution us not to overlook legislation given (a) a chance to shift the goalposts and (b) the likelihood of co-optation by legislators eager to curry favor with netroots but hesitant to meaningful resist the national security establishment.

There are over a dozen bills in Congress, most of which would do relatively little, a handful (Amash, Leahy, Wyden-Udall) that would do a lot, and one (Holt) that would completely change / restore the constitutional paradigm. See http://www.constitutioncampaign.org/blog/?p=14922 for more....

Shahid-Buttar10 karma

You're onto something here. Clapper is a criminal of the worst kind, as we and others have said before, in more than a few places:

-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDEieNZfpsI

-- http://www.progressive.org/snowden-nsa

-- http://www.constitutioncampaign.org/blog/?p=14458 (juxtaposing the wanton impunity for severe executive crimes against the ongoing atrocity of mass incarceration)

-- http://www.citizensforethics.org/legal-filings/entry/crew-calls-on-doj-to-investigate-dni-clapper-for-lying-to-congress (ie don't just take our word for it)

Shahid-Buttar8 karma

In my view, the key is to mount decentralized resistance that, by virtue of its decentralization, becomes ubiquitous. Mass rallies and protests are important (which is why we're all organizing the 10/26 actions together), but more important are the things that happen in between mobilizations.

See http://constitutioncampaign.org/campaigns/lawenforcement/ for an example of a campaign model predicated on building local coalitions across the partisan aisle. And feel free to reach out to us at organizing[at]bordc[dot]org if we can help provide training, coaching, resources, technical assistance, or further materials to help.

Shahid-Buttar8 karma

The first thing I'd recommend is to share the link to the rally details (https://rally.stopwatching.us/) with your online social networks.

You could also consider organizing a solidarity rally wherever you live, or even just a public education event to pull people together, provide information and updates, and build a sense of community among them. A private screening of "Terms & Conditions" may be one relatively light lift that, if you promote it in advance and then collect information from attendees, could help you start a local grassroots base to continue building over time.