Jagos
01-13-2011, 09:06 AM
Link (http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/the-sun-never-sets-on-the-patriot-act/)
A year ago, the protracted wrangling in Congress over the re-authorization of several expiring provisions of the PATRIOT ACT made plenty of headlines. Most observers expected the sunsetting powers to be extended, but civil libertarians hoped serious and sorely needed reforms might be part of the package. The House and Senate Judiciary Committees held multiple hearings on the topic, and an array of competing reform and reauthorization bills (PDF) were proposed, adding extra safeguards (of varying stringency) to the greatly expanded surveillance powers Congress had approved in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
Basically, Congress keeps pushing off the Patriot Act under different programs and we get screwed in the deal. Yay.
Look at it this way, so long as enough Repubocrats can get this thing approved, we will have the FBI abusing the packet sniffing, subpoenas to ISPs for information (unconstitutionally) as well as basically abusing people's rights at the border, all in the name of terrorism.
I’d love to be proven wrong, but I suspect this is how reining in the growth of the surveillance state becomes an item perpetually on next year’s agenda.
Too true man. Too true.
A year ago, the protracted wrangling in Congress over the re-authorization of several expiring provisions of the PATRIOT ACT made plenty of headlines. Most observers expected the sunsetting powers to be extended, but civil libertarians hoped serious and sorely needed reforms might be part of the package. The House and Senate Judiciary Committees held multiple hearings on the topic, and an array of competing reform and reauthorization bills (PDF) were proposed, adding extra safeguards (of varying stringency) to the greatly expanded surveillance powers Congress had approved in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
Basically, Congress keeps pushing off the Patriot Act under different programs and we get screwed in the deal. Yay.
Look at it this way, so long as enough Repubocrats can get this thing approved, we will have the FBI abusing the packet sniffing, subpoenas to ISPs for information (unconstitutionally) as well as basically abusing people's rights at the border, all in the name of terrorism.
I’d love to be proven wrong, but I suspect this is how reining in the growth of the surveillance state becomes an item perpetually on next year’s agenda.
Too true man. Too true.