Notice of an ACLU event coming soon; On Voice of Arizona there have been many articles and comments regarding the NSA spy program,  below is an event that some on this site may have an interest in attending:

Former White House Counsel John W. Dean to Discuss Spying, Secrecy and Presidential Power at ACLU of Arizona Town Hall Forum on September 21

For Immediate Release:
Friday, August 18, 2006

PHOENIX – In light of yesterday’s federal court decision striking down the illegal NSA spying program, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, along with its Central Chapter, will host a town hall meeting on September 21 to discuss the controversy surrounding the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance of Americans by the National Security Agency.

“The fundamental issue at stake with the warrantless NSA spying program is respect for the rule of law that is the cornerstone of our democracy," said Alessandra Soler Meetze, Executive Director of the ACLU of Arizona. “Sadly, this administration is determined to use national security as a justification for an unbridled assault on our freedoms and liberty."

John W. Dean, former White House counsel to President Richard Nixon, will be the featured speaker. He has emerged as a vocal critic of President George W. Bush's domestic spying program, drawing comparisons between the actions and attitudes of the current administration and the abuse of executive power and defiance of the law by the Nixon White House.

Caroline Fredrickson, Director, Washington Legislative Office of American Civil Liberties Union, will join Dean as a featured panelist. Since news of the NSA spying program broke last year, Fredrickson has led the ACLU's efforts in Congress to end warrantless spying and to restore the rule of law.

The town hall meeting, entitled “Spying, Secrecy, and Presidential Power” will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, September 21 at the Grace Lutheran Church, 1124 N 3rd St., near downtown Phoenix. This event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited, so people are strongly encouraged to RSVP by calling 602-650-1854.

Since the illegal surveillance program was made public last December, the White House and its surrogates have emphatically defended the administration’s warrantless domestic spying. However, numerous legal scholars, members of Congress, and organizations from across the political spectrum have raised serious concerns about this abuse of power. The ACLU noted that the non-partisan Congressional Research Service concluded that President Bush had exceeded his executive powers when he authorized the program.

The ACLU has filed suit challenging the constitutionality of the warrantless surveillance of Americans, and has urged Congress and the administration to fully and independently investigate which laws were broken in the commission of the illegal eavesdropping.

On August 17th, U.S. District Court Judge Anna Diggs Taylor agreed with the ACLU that the NSA program violates Americans’ rights to free speech and privacy under the First and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution, and runs counter to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) passed by Congress. Judge Taylor also rejected the government’s argument that the case could not proceed because of state secrets, saying that facts about NSA wiretapping have already been conceded by the government.

For more on the ACLU’s concerns with the warrantless NSA spying program, go to: www.aclu.org/nsaspying.