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Completing a trilogy that should be required viewing for all Americans, Unconstitutional explicitly reveals how the USA Patriot Act violates numerous civil liberties guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Following the equally persuasive documentaries Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election and Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War, this film presents powerful and tragic examples of how the USA Patriot Act--passed with virtually no Congressional debate just 45 days after the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01--has been used to justify the unconstitutional arrest of innocent immigrants based on Arab stereotyping; the illegal detention of vaguely defined "suspects" and their improper treatment (including beatings and torture) during extended confinement; prisoner abuse of alleged terrorism suspects in Guantanamo Bay military prison; the allowance of improper search and seizure without due cause; prohibited travel based on racial profiling; bully tactics employed with impunity by local police in efforts to undermine free speech; and other clear indications of the Patriot Act's unconstitutional enforcement. The more personal these stories of violation are, the more gut-wrenching is the realization that U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft--and by extension, the George W. Bush administration--have used the Patriot Act to justify what is essentially a dictatorial police state.
Sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union and full of bipartisan testimony by lawyers, politicians, and victims of Patriot Act abuse, Unconstitutional makes an eloquent case for the careful interpretation of Constitutional law, exploring rising opposition to Patriot Act abuses while exposing how many of our freedoms have been undermined in the name of post-9/11 security. Regardless of your political affiliation, this is a chilling reminder of how seemingly good intentions can corrupt even our most cherished American values. --Jeff Shannon
Description
Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties is the new, hour-long documentary from Robert Greenwald - one of the most prolific and progressive producers in Hollywood - in conjunction with the ACLU. This new film, written, directed and produced by Nonny de la Peña, details the shocking way that the civil liberties of American citizens and immigrants alike have been infringed upon, curtailed and rolled back since 9/11 and the USA Patriot Act.
Autumn of 2001 brought us assaults against Americans' comfort zone on many fronts. We learned that we could fall victim to attacks on US soil, and we learned that those guarantees provided to us in the Constitution were equally vulnerable.
Unconstitutional is the third in a series of Public Interest Pictures films that follows Unprecedented: The 2000 Election and Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War. True to their legacy, Unconstitutional provides the facts and stories that illuminate administration lies, wrongheaded policies and the real victims of these actions - the American people.
Here, you'll get the real story behind the USA PATRIOT Act and other administration policies and the gut wrenching stories behind those affected - from law abiding sales clerks to United States Olympians unable to travel. It'll remind you of what America used to stand for and what it seems we're falling for now. In short, this film will affirm why you're angry and give you a tool to help others join your ranks.
Customer Reviews:
It's the end of the innocence.......2007-05-11
As with all documentaries I've seen by Robert Greenwald, he enlists experts to give credible testimony to support the information in his programs. In `Unconstitutional' you are able to hear from experts on legal analysis and constitutional law along with counter-terrorism specialists to confirm the disturbing information about our disappearing rights and civil liberties.
Just over a month after the cowardly attacks of September 11, 2001, American citizens were presented with the `Patriot Act' which was, in essence, protections for citizens against terrorism and tools for the war on terror. If it was such a good plan, why did the Bush administration present it to Congress and tell them not to hold hearings on its contents which would then avoid any public input whatsoever? To add insult to injury, this legislative bill was presented to Congress before anyone had a chance to review its contents but it still passed with overwhelming support. It even contained provisions that Congress previously rejected before 9-11 ever happened. Using the cover of terrorism, the `Patriot Act' largely and inappropriately expanded the power of federal law enforcement which may haunt us for many years to come.
Not long after 9-11 occurred, federal law enforcement began to indiscriminately arrest and detain immigrants from Arab and Muslim countries. This sinister trend began to look suspiciously like ethnic or religious profiling not to mention targeting someone because of stereotypes. Those that were victims of the system were subjected to solitary confinement, inhumane treatment, no contact with the outside world whatsoever, and no due process of the legal system. The phrase `guilty until proven innocent' immediately springs to mind and it fits the equation. The Justice Department even coined a term for this nefarious activity. It was the `hold until clear' policy.
A solution was even found to incarcerate those detained (in the interests of the war on terror) outside of the United States. It was in the form of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This opens up a completely new level of questionable legalities due to the known information. First, those confined in this facility are not subject to legal restrictions. Secondly, everyone here is not subject to constitutional protections because they are not being held in a United States territory. Lastly, no one is subject to the Geneva Convention because they are not combatants and therefore are not considered prisoners of war. As the war on terror continues, it becomes readily apparent that the government makes the rules as they go to fit their agenda.
When it comes to your expectation of privacy as a citizen, well, that is right out the window. Without probable cause, federal law enforcement agencies can check your employment, medical, and bank records without your approval. Oh, your email traffic and internet browsing history isn't confidential either. And if that's not enough, the `Patriot Act' also allows for secret search warrants of your home and wiretaps of your phones, again without your permission. Big Brother is not only watching you now, it is smothering you and taking away the protections that the Constitution has promised you for over 200 years.
`Unconstitutional' is a very good documentary, in my opinion, and it relates a very serious message that every American citizen absolutely needs to hear. It can also be interpreted as a warning of sorts of what is to come in the future if no attempts are made to change these dangerous policies. A government for the people, by the people, and of the people should be just that and not an all-powerful administration teetering on the edge of totalitarian control. I highly recommend this documentary to everyone and I commend the producer for his courageous work.
Wonderful job documenting frightening loss of our rights.......2007-04-28
Greenwald does it again. He's produced a well-crafted film showing clearly some of the substantial losses and further threats to our civil liberties by the fiercely anti-democratic Bush administration. You see a wide range of folks who've been personally oppressed by the strong-arm, unconstitutional tactics allowed and encouraged by the Bush administration all in the name of fighting terrorism, but not having much effect on terrorism at all.
For those who can't understand how Germany became as it did before and during WWII, watch this film for how insidious the process of losing civil rights in a democracy can be. Obviously the US today is NOT as bad as Nazi Germany, but there are disturbing parallels. You see how perfectly law-abiding citizens have their civil rights increasingly denied or whittled down and how this threatens the very fabric of our fantastic democracy.
I dare anyone to see this film and not come away concerned for the future of our republic if we do not change course soon.
good veiw.......2007-01-11
Well what can i say if you like seeing your rights vanish then see this dvd you know whos hitting you from in front and behind ....lol.
Unconstitutional - The War On Our Civil Liberties .......2006-08-25
Good movie. A must watch for anti-Bush crowd. Sad direction we're headed with this guy in the lead.
Unremarkable.......2006-06-28
Unconstitutional is a movie about an extremely important topic. It's even more topical now in 2006 than when it was produced in 2004 (with some interviews done earlier than that). Unfortunately I found it overall a less powerful message than Greenwald's previous films, Unprecedented, Uncovered, etc. I think it's unlikely to win over those who support the Bush Administration's actions on its own, but it will provide some valuable tidbits of information for those who are already concerned about the loss of our civil rights.
The main problem with the movie (to me) was that the first half of it illustrates its point with examples of a lot of people toward whom Americans who support the administration's "war on terror" simply are not going to feel very sympathetic: Moslem immigrants from the Middle East, Jose Padilla, etc. It's only the second half of the movie that starts to address how this threatens the liberties of everyday, homegrown, law-abiding American citizens. Of course the revelations of what this administration has done have only increased in scope since the movie was produced. This is a movie worth watching--but don't expect to be on the edge of your seat.
DVD:
- Understanding The Universe
- Vietnam - A Television History
- War Photographer
- Werner Herzog Collection
- When the Forest Ran Red (Special Edition)
- When We Were Kings
- Woodstock - 3 Days of Peace & Music (The Director's Cut)
- World War 1 in Color
- 1776 (Restored Director's Cut)
- 500 Nations
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General
| Documentary
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Uncovered - The Whole Truth About the Iraq War
Noam Chomsky - Distorted Morality: America's War on Terror?
Bush Family Fortunes - The Best Democracy Money Can Buy
Outfoxed - Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism
Unprecedented - The 2000 Presidential Election - 2004 Campaign Edition