October 26 is the 6th anniversary of George W. Bush signing the USA PATRIOT Act into law in 2001. The enhanced power of National Security Letters - a device the FBI uses to scoop up mass quantities of private information on innocent people -- is one way the PATRIOT Act infringes on civil liberties.

On October 26, this year, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee is asking groups throughout the U.S. to schedule large and small showings of the film, "FBI Unbound: How National Security Letters Violate Our Privacy," available at: fbiunbound.org for a small donation. Preview the video on YouTube in two parts here. (www.youtube.com/view_play_list)

In the video, two former Department of Justice (DOJ) officials, Lisa Graves and Bruce Fein, share their views on how the expanded, unchecked power threatens Americans' privacy and diverts resources from genuine threats. George Christian of Library Connection gives his unique perspective as an NSL recipient who challenged the letter he received and the accompanying, permanent gag order.

We expect Congress to consider legislation limiting the power of National Security Letters in the coming months, so coordinated public showings of "FBI Unbound" can be an important vehicle to raise public awareness of the abuses and misuses of the enormous power to acquire private records of millions of Americans who have no connection to terrorist activities.

Because the film runs less than a half hour, it's ideal for stimulating public discussion afterwards, and guiding audience members towards what they can do to curb excessive government power. To assist groups in announcing and coordinating their events, the BORDC has created a Discussion Guide, Informational Flyers, and other documents and resources. Those are available at: www.bordc.org/nsl/resources.php

Please contact BORDC - info (at) bordc -- to let us know if you are scheduling a showing of "FBI Unbound" on or around October 26, so we can post it online.

Thanks for all you do!