On September 11th America awoke to the horrible news images of two .
commercial airplanes flying straight into the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York. .
Later we were horrified to hear about two other planes claiming the lives of innocent .
Americans in Washington DC and in Pittsburgh. In the aftermath of the tragedies, .
America has been coping by making new unnecessary laws to help enforce national .
security. From Attorney General John Ashcroft's proposal, to outrageous procedures in .
our airports, America has forgotten what they are all about. .
On Tuesday, September 11th, our nation suffered the worst attack on its home turf. .
No one can deny the gravity of the terrorists acts in New York and Washington DC. But .
they were more than attacks on our citizens; they were attacks on what this nation stands .
for. With rash actions being taken left and right, the last thing our country needs are the .
people in charge to be getting carried away. Monitoring phone calls, using illegal .
wiretaps in court, and monitoring electronic communication are all part of Attn. General .
Ashcroft's proposal. While currently a warrant is needed to open any electronic mail, it .
would be legal for the government to monitor the web sites and e-mail addresses used by .
civilians. Attn. General Ashcroft's proposal to make it legal for police to have, "roving .
wiretaps because suspects easily shift to new phones," (Huntley no pg) seems largely .
unnecessary. Police could just as easily receive a new or altered warrant to add or .
subtract any numbers. But with Ashcroft's recommendation the government would be .
able to listen to any and all phone conversations the suspect would have, from phone .
numbers ranging from home to work. The latter would be yet another form of invasion .
of Americans. Not only is this unconstitutional, it is excessive.
Another of Ashcroft's ideas would be to make a law that would legalize the use of .