Resolution Condemning the Actions of President George W. Bush and Calling for
His Immediate Removal or Resignation from Office
WHEREAS, Democracy is a
core value that defines, informs, and guides our professional practice and is
the base on which rests the foundation of modern librarianship; and
WHEREAS, The American
Library Association affirms the responsibility of the leaders of the United
States to protect and preserve the freedoms that are the foundation of our
democracy; (ALA Resolution on the USA Patriot Act and Related Measures That
Infringe on the Rights of Public Library Users); and
WHEREAS, The actions of the current President, George W. Bush, have
violated that responsibility in unprecedented ways that threaten the very foundation
and form of a Democratic government. Those actions, many of which are indictably criminal, are as follows:
1. Entering
into an illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq,
based upon fabricated and erroneous information;2.
Funding military operations in Iraq
with billions of dollars, while cutting funding for human services in
the US and
failing to provide adequate aid for survivors of Hurricane Katrina;3.
Crafting of policies adopted since September 11, 2001, including
provisions in the USA PATRIOT ACT (Public Law 107-56) and PATRIOT ACT II and
related executive orders, regulations and actions which threaten fundamental
rights and liberties by:
a) expanding the authority of federal agents to conduct
so-called “sneak and peek” or “black bag” searches, in which
the subject of the search warrant is unaware that his property has been
searched, thereby increasing the
likelihood that the activities of library users, including their use of
computers to browse the Web or access e-mail, may be under government surveillance
without their knowledge or consent
b) granting law enforcement and intelligence agencies
broad access to personal medical, financial, library and education records with
little if any judicial oversight;
c) permitting the
FBI to conduct surveillance of religious services, internet chat rooms,
political demonstrations, and other public meetings of any kind without having
any evidence that a crime has been or may be committed;
d) diminishing personal privacy by removing important
checks on government surveillance authority;
e) reducing the accountability of government to the
public by increasing government secrecy;
f) granting expansive new immigration powers to the Attorney
General which are subject to abuse,
particularly with regard to immigrants from Arab, Muslim and South Asian
countries.
g) expanding the definition of “terrorism” in
a manner that threatens the constitutionally protected rights of Americans, and
4. Approval of
the use of torture (including practices such as hooding, shackling, drugging,
sleep deprivation, etc.) in the interrogation of suspected terrorists or their
suspected accomplices in his “war on terror.”5. Illegal
detainment of so called “enemy combatants” and others who are jailed
on the merest suspicion, refusing them legal counsel and either holding them
indefinitely or secretly deporting them.6. Authorization
of warrantless electronic surveillance of people
within the United States,
including U.S.
citizens, by the National Security Agency (NSA).7. Promoting policies that erode the division of
Church and State.8. Openly
asserting executive power in attempts to override the U.S. Constitution, U.S.
Congress, and the U.S. Judicial system, thus ignoring the system of checks and
balances fundamental to democratic government.
WHEREAS, Librarians are
among the preeminent defenders of intellectual freedom and government openness
in the US; and
WHEREAS, Intellectual
freedom, our primary value as librarians, is seriously violated by the current
political climate which allows for suppression, attack and even criminalization
of dissent; and
WHEREAS, The Library Bill
of Rights states that Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups
concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to
ideas; and
WHEREAS, The broad social
responsibilities of the American Library Association are, in part, defined in
terms of the contribution that librarianship can make in ameliorating or
solving the critical problems of society, and the willingness of the ALA to
take a position on current critical issues with the relationship to libraries
and library service set forth in the position statement (ALA Policy Manual,
1.1);
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED,
That President George W. Bush, as the head of the administration that is
leading the US in its current political direction, should immediately step down
from the office of the President of the United States, whether by resignation
or impeachment; and,
RESOLVED, That AFSCME Local 2083 calls on the
administration and Congress to immediately fund badly needed human services,
including the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast, rather than continuing to spend
billions on the war in Iraq; and,
RESOLVED, That AFSCME
Local 2083 support growing movements, including the organized efforts of the
group World Can’t Wait ( Drive Out the Bush Regime, calling on President
Bush to step down, whether by resignation or impeachment; and,
RESOLVED, That AFSCME
Local 2083 will introduce this resolution at the AFSCME International
Convention; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED,
That this resolution be forwarded to the President of
the United
States,
to the Attorney General of the United States, to Members of both Houses of Congress, to the
library community, and to others as appropriate.
Dated April 7, 2006
AFSCME Local 2083
Seattle, Washington