Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner presented a lecture today at the Unviersity of Wisconsin Law School. Sensenbrenner’s website features the prepared remarks and some highlights.
In his remarks, Sensenbrenner said, “The attacks of September 11, 2001, tragically affirmed the urgency of updating our laws to address the clear and present danger presented by international terrorism. The 19 hijackers and other terrorists were too easily able to exploit the divisions between our law enforcement and intelligence communities.”
Sensenbrenner is again at the forefront of the USA PATRIOT Act debate, pressing House Judiciary Chairman Conyers and Attorney General Holder to move quickly in the reauthorization of the three expiring provisions. Sensenbrenner has publicly commended the Obama Administration for expressing their support for the reauthorization of the roving wiretap, lone wolf and Section 215 business records provisions, all set to expire at the end of this year.
Many allegations, hyperbole and myths surround the USA PATRIOT Act, however, Sensenbrenner stated in his remarks, “To date, the Office of the Inspector General has not documented any abuse of civil rights or civil liberties by the Department related to the use of any substantive provision of the USA PATRIOT Act… The fact remains that the USA PATRIOT Act is vital to maintaining America’s safety.”
But more interesting is the comment that he made that this was the first time he got to see a unique donation that he made to the UW….
From the UW:
A direct descendant of the apple tree that bore the falling fruit that inspired the notion of gravitation by Sir Isaac Newton is being donated to UW-Madison by U.S. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner.
The tree, which was presented to Sensenbrenner by the National Institute of Standards and Technology for his service as chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Science, will be planted and dedicated this Friday, May 25, at 11 a.m. in the UW-Madison Botanical Garden.
The tree is a graft of the original, which grew in the garden of Newton’s mother. Newton was staying at the home when he did his early work on gravitation in 1665-66. According to accounts of Newton’s work, the English scientist was aware at the time that there was a force pulling the moon toward the center of the Earth and that force prevented the moon from leaving its orbit around our planet. He also knew how great the force might be and how it must decrease with distance from the Earth. Pondering the phenomenon in his garden, the falling apple inspired calculations that showed that the moon and the apple were pulled by the same force. The work became a pillar of physics, linking physics and astronomy and providing clues to the motions of the moon, the sun, the planets and the stars.
