The Homeland Security Act (HSA) of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-296, 116 Stat. 2135 (Nov. 25, 2002), introduced in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, created the Department of Homeland Security in the largest government reorganization in 50 years, since the Department of Defense was created. The HSA is a sweeping anti-terrorism bill giving federal law enforcement agencies broad powers to monitor citizens. Also see: 2002 (number). ... A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly... The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a Cabinet department of the federal government of the United States that is concerned with protecting the American homeland and the safety of American citizens. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The new department created by the 35-page Homeland Security Act assumed a number of government functions previously conducted in other departments. It superseded, but did not replace the Office of Homeland Security, which retained an advisory role.

Civil liberties concerns

Some have argued, that civil liberties are imperiled by the Homeland Security Act. Those liberties include constitutional rights such as the rights to freedom of speech, religion, assembly and privacy; the rights to counsel and due process; and protection from unreasonable searches and seizures.^{[citation needed]} Civil liberties are protections from the power of governments. ...

Such concerns have also been raised in connection with the USA PATRIOT Act and the establishment of the Office of Total Information Awareness, both initiatives of the George W. Bush administration.^{[citation needed]} The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-56), known as the USA PATRIOT Act or simply the Patriot Act, is an Act of Congress which U.S. President George W. Bush signed into law on October... The Information Awareness Office is a mass surveillance development branch of the United States Department of Defenses Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ...

Eli Lilly rider to HSA

Political analysts and the parents of autistic children were baffled when it was learned, shortly after the passage of the HSA, that a rider to the bill had been added just prior to passage, that would shield Eli Lilly and the pharmaceutical industry from billions of dollars in anticipated lawsuits over vaccines. "It's a mystery to us," who inserted the rider, said Eli Lilly spokesman Rob Smith at the time. The provision was designed to force lawsuits over the preservative thiomersal, calling the suits into a special 'vaccine court'^[1]. Thiomersal was used in a some vaccines originally developed and marketed by Eli Lilly in 1930, two decades before autism spectrum disorders were first described by Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger. The provision could have resulted in the dismissal of thousands of cases filed by parents, who contend mercury in thimerosal poisoned their children, causing autism and other neurological ailments, but the congress convened in 2003. Senate Bill 3, currently under consideration as of June, 2005, may restore elements of the rider. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) is a global pharmaceutical company and one of the worlds largest corporations. ... Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmacon is drug, and logos is science) is the study of how chemical substances interfere with living systems. ... For discussion on alleged health effects of thiomersal in vaccines, see Thiomersal controversy. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Autistic spectrum, autism spectrum, autistic spectrum disorders, autism spectrum disorders and ASD are all synonymous designations for the more official terminology in DSM-IV and ICD-10, where the term Pervasive Developmental Disorders, ( PDD) is being used. ... Dr Leo Kanner MD Leo Kanner (June 13, 1894 - April 4, 1981) was an Austrian-American physician known for his work related to autism. ... Hans Asperger, who discovered Asperger syndrome, described his patients as little professors. Hans Asperger (b. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA
• Homeland Security Appropriations Act

The Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2004 was a Code of Federal Regulations and gave the authority for the President to fund the operations of the Department of Homeland Security for each fiscal year The Act was used in Americas war against terrorism. ...

External links

Official U.S. Government

• WhiteHouse.gov - Text of the Homeland Security Act
• DHS.gov - United States Department of Homeland Security
• House.gov - US House Committee on Homeland Security homepage
• WhiteHouse.gov - The White House Homeland Security webpage
• ANSI.org - ANSI Homeland Security Standards Panel (ANSI-HSSP)
• Ready.gov - DHS website promoting readiness to defend against attack

Neutral

• Critics Say Security Laws Sacrifice Civil Liberties - Article in PC World

PC World may refer to one of two topics: The American computer magazine The British computer store chain This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Critical

• Homeland Security Act: The Rise of the American Police State
• Evidence of Harm

Notes

1. ^ [1]