Congressional leadership from both houses and both parties today reached a deal on a long-term extension of the PATRIOT Act, exactly as worded and without any of the inconvenient civil rights provisions that the Obama Administration has been warning against. The deal would extend an additional four years.
Four years is quite a bit longer than most of the previous House versions of the extension but was quite a bit shorter that Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R – IA) call for the bill to be eternal as well as completely free of oversight. So far the indications are the lack of oversight will rule the day, guaranteeing that the Obama Administration won’t grouse or threaten vetoes.
And while this deal seems to suit the leadership of both parties just fine, that has increasingly not been enough to guarantee passage of such measures. Indeed, the House failed to extend the PATRIOT Act by 10 months in February in the face of significant opposition from both parties, and in particular a number of freshmen.
The current extension of the three most controversial provisions of the act, including the ability to target people with no ties to any terror organization and the ability to secure library and bookstore records without due process, would expire on May 27. The Senate promises a vote next week. The House of Representatives has not given a date for the vote.
Consider it done! The [un]Patriot Act has been able to turn Amerikans into sheep and has done more to subdue the population than all the armies of the world combined. That abomination will never go away.
PS: It was just passed too. In case there were any doubts.
The Patriot Act was passed by politicians who think they will never be affected by it.
Pure unadultrated overlap of the CIA (and its subdivisions), the FBI and its subdivisions,Homeland security and its subdivisions and state and local police and investigating units. It is nothing more than a political grab bag.
"Now more than ever, we need access to the crucial authorities in the Patriot Act," Attorney General Eric Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Gosh, now that's comforting — now more than ever? What are Holder's plans?
Holder's plan is to protect the American people you silly goose. Don't you know that with Obama's latest great victory over the evil terrorists the government needs more power to spy, torture, kill, wage war, and imprison than ever before. The good and noble US government should not be restrained in its battle against evil by petty, sentimental claptrap such as the rule of law, the long standing taboo against torture, or by bonehead contentions that wars of aggression are nothing but industrial scale mass murder. You just need to trust the government and those in power to do the right and not abuse the power they have usurped.
1776-2011 RIP Freedom.
Americans are eather dumb or don't care about there former laws that help keep the people in charge and able to impeach the President.Well you have now given your government the ability to do what it wants.The sheeple are one day going to realize the powers given through being lazy are going to inslave them more than ever including the dark ages.You have now made a revolution your only option.Freedom is worth dieing for and you gave it up buy being to lasy to educate yourself and peasefully protest not 1 million people but 100 million is needed to maybe have a chance at geting your freedom back.Your kids threre kids and so on are going to suffer from your lack of knowledge.