Matt Southworth - Afghanistan, Libya, War, Obama... / Shahid Buttar - PATRIOT Act - Memorial Day
Hour 1 - 3
Committee on National Legislation. He said today: "In an effort led by Rep.
John Conyers, Congress will today debate an amendment which would prohibit
funding for the deployment of U.S. ground troops in Libya (Amendment # 61).
Congress has not authorized U.S. involvement Libya. The War Powers
Resolution provision presently being misused by the Obama administration to
authorize U.S. involvement in Libya expired on May 19. This debate marks
the first time Congress will debate U.S. engagement in Libya. War in
Afghanistan will also be debated with several amendments including
requiring a plan for leaving (#55), no permanent bases (#117) and a large
withdrawal and reorientation of forces to conduct counterterrorism
operations (#56). The NDAA [National Defense Authorization Act] is the
authorizing vehicle for all Pentagon spending, which will total over $700
billion in FY 2012."
Hour 2
UnPATRIOTic: Why Our Government Won't Protect Our Rights - and What We Can Do About It
Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire: Why the FBI Needs New Leadership
Shahid Buttar, executive director, leads the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and the People’s Campaign for the Constitution (PCC) in our efforts to defend civil liberties, constitutional rights, and rule of law principles threatened by the war on terror. Previously director of a national program to combat racial and religious profiling by federal authorities, an associate director of the American Constitution Society, and a litigator in private practice with a public interest docket, Buttar received his J.D. from Stanford Law School in 2003, where he served as executive editor of the Stanford Environmental Law Journal and as Professor Lawrence Lessig’s teaching assistant for Constitutional Law.
Buttar’s comments have been featured by news outlets including The Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today, CNN, al-Jazeera, FOX News, Agence-France Presse, Huffington Post, Truthout, Democracy Now!, and many others, including dozens of radio stations around the country.
In addition to his work leading BORDC, Shahid serves on the advisory bodies of the Rights Working Group, the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms, the National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights, and South Asian Americans Leading Together. He also supports populist constitutionalism as a civil rights lawyer, independent columnist, community organizer, and hip-hop and electronica MC. In his creative capacities as a poet and musician, Shahid has performed around the world, co-founded several grassroots art and culture groups around the country, facilitated workshops for young people and emerging artists, and released his debut CD, Get Outta Your Chair, in 2008. Shahid’s music and articles, including his commentary for Huffington Post and Truthout, are available at his website.