MKULTRA
09-11-2004, 02:34
A Bridgewater State College professor plans to urge voters at Bridgewater's Special Town Meeting tomorrow night to pass a resolution protesting the USA Patriot Act.
Vernon Domingo, who teaches geography and is also a longtime Bridgewater resident, belongs to Citizens for an Informed Community, a local group that submitted the article through a petition.
Domingo, 54, said he was prompted to act by his experiences in South Africa, where he was raised. "I was classified as mixed race," he said. He describes himself as part African, Indian, Indonesian, and Portuguese.
"South Africa was governed by an authoritarian racist government that allowed the police to come into our house and take us for questioning without a warrant," Domingo said. He came to the United States in 1975 as a graduate student and took a teaching position at Bridgewater State College in 1986. He became a US citizen in 1990.
"I chose to live in this country because of the civil liberties that are written into the Constitution," Domingo said.
The Patriot Act violates those liberties by allowing government agents to conduct searches without warrants or notice, to obtain a person's medical, financial, library, and education records, and detain noncitizens indefinitely, he said. "My position is that America can do a lot better than the Patriot Act. What's the use of fighting terrorism and giving up these liberties at home? History has shown when liberties are taken away, they are rarely given back."
The resolution proposal is the last of 20 articles on the warrant. The text is about two pages long. Domingo said his group would work to simplify the issue with handouts and explanations on Town Meeting floor.
"We'll try to bring it down to its elementary parts so people don't get overwhelmed," he said. "What Town Meeting should focus on is the principle of whether we agree or not that the government is intruding on our lives and whether we accept it or not."
Domingo said that about 340 communities nationwide have passed resolutions protesting the Patriot Act, including some in Massachusetts. "We're confident it will pass in Bridgewater," he said. "We've gotten a lot of encouragement from a lot of people."
Selectman Herbert Lemon, a former federal agent, said he will speak against the resolution.
"These are difficult times and my biggest concern is terrorism," Lemon said. "I don't feel we are losing any civil liberties with the Patriot Act."
Lemon said any decisions regarding the Patriot Act should be made at the federal level. "The Congress of the United States overwhelmingly passed it, and the Congress of the United States is now reviewing it," he said. "My thought process is if the legislative branch renews it, it can be appealed through the judicial branch in court. We still have our checks and balances."
But Domingo said change at the federal level often comes about because of pressure from the local level. "I believe communities should discuss this and take a stand," he said. "That's where the Revolution came from."
Mildred Hasson said she did not sign the Citizens for an Informed Community petition, but she supports the proposed resolution. The 75-year-old Harvard Street resident, who traces her lineage to the Mayflower, said she has been detained at airports during trips to visit her daughter in Florida because her last name is mistaken for the common Arabic name "Hassan."
Hasson said she did not have difficulty with airport security before Sept. 11, 2001, and the subsequent enactment of the Patriot Act.
Hasson said she also has a titanium knee replacement that triggers metal detectors, prompting airport personnel to take her to a private room for questioning and a more extensive search. "It's embarrassing," she said. "I've been Hasson for 55 years, but I've told my kids, if it happens again, I'm taking my maiden name back."
Hasson said she believes the protest resolution will easily pass at Town Meeting.
BostonGlobe.com
Vernon Domingo, who teaches geography and is also a longtime Bridgewater resident, belongs to Citizens for an Informed Community, a local group that submitted the article through a petition.
Domingo, 54, said he was prompted to act by his experiences in South Africa, where he was raised. "I was classified as mixed race," he said. He describes himself as part African, Indian, Indonesian, and Portuguese.
"South Africa was governed by an authoritarian racist government that allowed the police to come into our house and take us for questioning without a warrant," Domingo said. He came to the United States in 1975 as a graduate student and took a teaching position at Bridgewater State College in 1986. He became a US citizen in 1990.
"I chose to live in this country because of the civil liberties that are written into the Constitution," Domingo said.
The Patriot Act violates those liberties by allowing government agents to conduct searches without warrants or notice, to obtain a person's medical, financial, library, and education records, and detain noncitizens indefinitely, he said. "My position is that America can do a lot better than the Patriot Act. What's the use of fighting terrorism and giving up these liberties at home? History has shown when liberties are taken away, they are rarely given back."
The resolution proposal is the last of 20 articles on the warrant. The text is about two pages long. Domingo said his group would work to simplify the issue with handouts and explanations on Town Meeting floor.
"We'll try to bring it down to its elementary parts so people don't get overwhelmed," he said. "What Town Meeting should focus on is the principle of whether we agree or not that the government is intruding on our lives and whether we accept it or not."
Domingo said that about 340 communities nationwide have passed resolutions protesting the Patriot Act, including some in Massachusetts. "We're confident it will pass in Bridgewater," he said. "We've gotten a lot of encouragement from a lot of people."
Selectman Herbert Lemon, a former federal agent, said he will speak against the resolution.
"These are difficult times and my biggest concern is terrorism," Lemon said. "I don't feel we are losing any civil liberties with the Patriot Act."
Lemon said any decisions regarding the Patriot Act should be made at the federal level. "The Congress of the United States overwhelmingly passed it, and the Congress of the United States is now reviewing it," he said. "My thought process is if the legislative branch renews it, it can be appealed through the judicial branch in court. We still have our checks and balances."
But Domingo said change at the federal level often comes about because of pressure from the local level. "I believe communities should discuss this and take a stand," he said. "That's where the Revolution came from."
Mildred Hasson said she did not sign the Citizens for an Informed Community petition, but she supports the proposed resolution. The 75-year-old Harvard Street resident, who traces her lineage to the Mayflower, said she has been detained at airports during trips to visit her daughter in Florida because her last name is mistaken for the common Arabic name "Hassan."
Hasson said she did not have difficulty with airport security before Sept. 11, 2001, and the subsequent enactment of the Patriot Act.
Hasson said she also has a titanium knee replacement that triggers metal detectors, prompting airport personnel to take her to a private room for questioning and a more extensive search. "It's embarrassing," she said. "I've been Hasson for 55 years, but I've told my kids, if it happens again, I'm taking my maiden name back."
Hasson said she believes the protest resolution will easily pass at Town Meeting.
BostonGlobe.com