Friday, August 12, 2005
Giraffe Heros Project founder John Graham becomes a giraffe
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2005 14:30:16 -0700
From: John A. Graham <graham@giraffe.org>
To: Giraffe Heros Project List
Subject: Deliberately Provocative Thoughts from John Graham--Update
Last month I told you I'd just been put on the Transportation
Security Administration (TSA) Watch List of persons "posing or
suspected of posing a threat to civil aviation or national security."
The TSA gave no reasons for putting me on the list and no chance to
explain or defend myself. Being on this list means I can be stopped
from boarding any airplane anytime-and I pretty much have to fly for
a living.
I'm fighting this assault on civil liberties with everything I've
got-for myself and for the thousands of other innocent people on that
list.
Many of you have asked to be updated on my progress.
http://www.giraffe.org/1speeches_watchlist.html The article I wrote
has been been picked up by over 22,000 websites, sites representing
the widest imaginable array of political thinking.
Here at my organization, the Giraffe Heroes Project, we're fielding
calls, setting up interviews, mailing out information--working in
every way we can to marshall public opinion in defense of liberty.
You can read and watch one of my interviews by clicking
http://www.giraffe.org/1speeches_watchlistvideo.html. I'm doing
radio talk shows across the country.
I've approached 30 of the most relevant Congresspeople and Senators,
urging them to amend the Patriot Act and the Intelligence Reform Act
to provide a better balance between legitimate security concerns and
basic civil liberties.
If I have to, I'll sue, either on my own or as part of a class
action. The ACLU is very interested in the case and I'm trying to
generate the same interest on the libertarian right. The flood of
mail I've gotten so far confirms that alarm about assaults on civil
liberties crosses all partisan lines.
This campaign gains momentum daily. Hundreds of staff hours now are
going into this cause, draining the resources the Giraffe Heroes
Project needs to continue our "regular" work of finding and
publicizing real heroes, helping teachers use our classroom
materials, and booking speeches and workshops about active
citizenship. And this may just be the beginning.
We need to hire some help before we drown.
I've already gotten an offer of pro bono legal representation, if it
comes to a lawsuit. People who live nearby have asked to come in and
stuff envelopes; others have walked up to me asking if it would help
to write a check.
Let me tell you what I tell them--yes, sending money would help!
One click puts you on the Giraffe Heroes Project's
http://www.giraffe.org/aboutus_help.html donation page. If sending
money through cyberspace is a concern, please send a check to the
Giraffe Heroes Project, PO Box 759, Langley WA 98260. Earmark it for
the "National Watch List Campaign." Yes, it's tax deductible.
Take a stand with us!
John Graham
