Media Coverage

UNTIL this summer, Susan Berland, a member of the Huntington Town Board, said that the USA Patriot Act of 2001 and the possibility that it was infringing on people's basic rights was not an issue for the board.

But she said that for two or three months, town board members received hundreds of e-mails and telephone calls from people who lobbied them to take a stand against the Patriot Act's perceived encroachments on civil liberties.

''They wanted us to do something about this and to send a message to Congress,'' Ms.

The Town of Huntington plans on becoming the latest government to go on the record with objections to the USA Patriot Act, which critics say does more to attack citizens' civil liberties than it does to protect them from terrorism.

The town board is expected next month to adopt a version of the so-called anti-Patriot Act - a nonbinding resolution

Protest Postcards

This past weekend saw numerous antiwar protests nationwide as well as New York City's first-ever organized march against the USA PATRIOT Act. A number of Nation interns dispatched themselves to both Washington, DC, and midtown Manhattan to participate. Their reports are below.

September 11, 2001, was a day that changed the United States forever. Many people, including the members of national government, were hit hard with fear. Precautions were taken to prevent domestic terrorism, and one of the most effective precautions came in the form of the USA Patriot Act, which many people in the United States know nothing about.

When America came under attack on September 11, the entire nation scurried to protect the country from ever experiencing a similar tragedy. One of the results was the USA Patriot Act, passed in a frenzy 45 days after Sept. 11. The act was designed to help law enforcement officials get information faster and with fewer restrictions. However, many are saying that the federal government has gone too far and is infringing on our civil liberties.