Renewal of PATRIOT Act will benefit AmericansBy Tara Stroll
A Gallup poll from June of this year found that 21 percent of Americans think the PATRIOT Act does not go far enough in restricting civil liberties to investigate terrorism, and 41 percent feel that it is "about right." Only 30 percent of Americans feel that the PATRIOT Act goes too far in restricting civil liberties.
There are always some lawmakers, however, usually Democrats, but Republicans too in this case, who think they know better than the vast majority of Americans. The Los Angeles Times reported that on Friday, a bipartisan group of senators rejected a deal on the renewal of the PATRIOT Act. This means that Congress will not vote until after Thanksgiving on the White House's bill extending provisions of the act that are set to expire at the end of this year.
According to The Boston Globe, members of Congress have been negotiating several points. One of the biggest disagreements has been over expiration dates for the provisions being renewed, but some lawmakers and civil liberties groups are calling for more sweeping changes in the legislation. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, a Republican of Pennsylvania, told the Globe that there may still be a filibuster if other changes are not made.
While it would be better to have a weakened PATRIOT Act renewed than to allow critical provisions of the act to expire, there is no need for any part of the act to be revised. The PATRIOT Act, as originally written, outlines clear regulations for investigations and gives law enforcement more tools to prevent terrorism and crime without infringing on Americans' civil liberties.
A common misconception about the PATRIOT Act is that government agencies use it to stalk "ordinary Americans" not involved in crime. A New York Times editorial from Friday laments how the PATRIOT Act will let the FBI "seize the records of ordinary Americans," how it will give the bureau "power to rifle through ordinary Americans' private records," how "ordinary Americans have no way of knowing whether their doctors ... are handing over confidential records," and how the PATRIOT Act is "dismantling the freedoms of ordinary Americans." As if the members of The New York Times editorial board and the ivory tower intellectuals who read their editorials know any "ordinary Americans."
If you're an innocent American minding your own business, obeying the law, and paying your taxes, the government couldn't care less about you. Government agencies are not going to suddenly start wasting time and money investigating "ordinary Americans" who aren't suspected of posing a threat to our country or of being involved in criminal activity just because the PATRIOT Act makes it easier for them to do so.
One of the more controversial parts of the PATRIOT Act, set to expire at the end of this year if it's not extended, is Section 215, best known for giving the government access to library records. According to an article in Slate, an online newsmagazine, Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act gives the authorities the right to search an individual's library records, medical records, religious records, video rental records and phone records without his knowledge or consent, if they have reason to believe that that individual is connected to terrorism.
Librarians are up in arms about this alleged invasion of privacy, and civil libertarians argue that investigators will target library patrons who check out books on Islam. But investigators have no reason to search any type of records unless they already have grounds for suspecting the person whose records they're searching. In addition, the Department of Justice has also explained that citizens cannot be searched "solely on the basis of activities protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution," so library records cannot be searched just on the basis of their content.
Another controversial part of the legislation, which is not set to expire this year but that some lawmakers want to revise, is Section 213, dealing with "sneak and peek" warrants. The PATRIOT Act allows investigators to conduct searches when an individual is suspected of terrorism without notifying that individual until afterwards if they feel that immediate notification will compromise their ability to conduct the search. Section 213 extends this authority to cover criminal investigations as well.
Before the PATRIOT Act was passed, law enforcement agencies were able to get permission from the courts to delay notification of a search warrant if they felt that immediate notification of the search would lead to the destruction of evidence or would in some way endanger the investigation. The PATRIOT Act just cuts out paperwork. When investigators are looking into a timely terrorist threat or serious criminal activity, we don't want them wasting time going to the courts to get permission to delay the notification of warrant.
Interestingly enough, the six senators who said they would block extension of the PATRIOT Act represent Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. Being that you don't often hear about terrorist threats in these states, with the possible exception of Chicago, it's easy for these senators to take an irresponsible stand because they don't have to answer to their constituents. Who in Alaska or Idaho is worried about being attacked by terrorists? These senators should think about the rest of the country. I know everyone hates New Yorkers, but my home state still deserves the maximum effort to prevent another terrorist attack.
Although I do not have a lot of faith in our government's intelligence agencies, I wouldn't chalk it up to coincidence that there has not been another terrorist attack on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001. Our law enforcement and intelligence officials work hard to protect us from terrorism and crime so we can continue to enjoy the basic freedoms granted to us in the Constitution. It's time for civil libertarians to stop screaming about imaginary infringements on innocent Americans' rights and to support legislation that makes law enforcement's job a little easier.
http://www.dailyfreepress.com/media/paper87/news/2005/11/21/Opinion/The-Campus.Conservative-1111592.shtml*FW Note:The "Patriot" Act is a
sham. It is a blatant affront to every belief that the founders held dear regarding individual privacy rights and the power of the state to defy, deny, and encroach on those rights.
This abomination
will be used to attack, harrass, intimidate, and oppress average Americans minding their own business. It's just a matter of time.
The "Patriot" Act has
nothing to do with national security, and will not in
any measure make this nation more secure. What it
does have to do with is undermining the Constitution of the United States
and the Bill of Rights amended thereto.
The "Patriot" Act is TYRANNY. It is the will of the TYRANT. It is an affront to the Constitution, it deprives American citizens of their rights, and is an insult to the American way of life. It is a grab for power by government and is a brick in the road to turning our beloved America into a
police state.
:evil:
