"PATRIOT" Act challenged -- more from the PI

[unixronin]

The Seattle PI reports that while George Bush wants to renew the PATRIOT Act (and even make it permanent), a wide-ranging coalition including Georgia Rep. Bob Barr, the ACLU, Americans For Tax Reform, the American Conservative Union and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has urged significant changes.  Sections of the PATRIOT Act challenged by the group, "Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances", include:

• Section 213, aka the "sneak and peek" provision, allowing federal agents to secretly search people's homes and businesses without any deadline on giving notice that the intrusion had taken place, in blatant violation of the Fourth Amendment;
• Section 215, which allows federal agents to collect personal data (including medical history, library books checked out, and goods purchased) on American citizens without evidence of any connection to terrorism;
• Section 802, which defines "terrorism" so broadly that "Ordinary people trying to exercise their First Amendment rights on issues across the political spectrum might get charged as terrorists" under the law's definition.

Newly appointed US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is quoted as saying that the PATRIOT act has been "mischaracterized" by "a small but vocal minority", and claims that not a single civil rights abuse has occurred under the PATRIOT Act.  (For the right definitions of "civil", "rights", "abuse", "not", and "occurred", I'm sure.)  And if you believe that, I have this bridge in Brooklyn that I can make you a GREAT deal on....

Comments

[fruitylips.livejournal.com]

The ACLU is finally getting some traction on the objectionable parts of the PATRIOT Act since they finally decided to drop their hysterical ravings about it last year. Turns out, no one was paying any attention to them. Now that they're calmly pointing out the specific parts that they're against, people're listening to them.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Funny how that works .... yet all too often, it seems people disregard reasoned arguments from one side in favor of hysterical ravings from the other.

Just never can tell, I guess.