Feds uncloak the Patriot Act

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investigate any federal felony or misdemeanor, from firearms violations to marijuana possession and copyright infringement.

Sneak-and-peek searches were used before the Patriot Acst, but their legality was less clear. One case involved the FBI surreptitiously entering the office of an alleged mobster to implant a keylogger that recorded his PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) passphrase.

In a related 1979 case called Dalia v. United States, a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police could secretly break into an office to plant a bugging device and then return several weeks later to remove it.

In a dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote: "Until Congress has stated otherwise, our duty to protect the rights of the individual should hold sway over the interest in more effective law enforcement." William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall joined the dissent.

Librarians up in arms
A section of the Patriot Act that does expire authorizes secret court orders to obtain records or "tangible items" from any person or organization if the FBI claims a link to terrorism. Disclosing the existence of the order is prohibited.

Librarians have been especially worried about receiving a Section 215 order. The American Library Association approved a resolution in 2003 that says portions of the Patriot Act "threaten civil rights and liberties guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights." (There's even an amend-section-215 Web site called ReaderPrivacy.com.)

Section 215 "has only been used to obtain driver's license records, public accommodations records, apartment-leasing records, credit card records, and subscriber information" maintained by telephone companies or Internet providers, the Justice Department said Tuesday. "The department has not obtained a section 215 order for library or bookstore records, medical records, or gun sale records."

"The administration is taking claims of secrecy to new extremes," said Greg Nojeim, associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington office. "The use of this power could be disclosed regularly without any damage to national security." (The federal government discloses non-Patriot Act wiretap statistics every year.)

The Bush administration generally has defended such measures as necessary to wage a new kind of global campaign against loosely organized terrorist organizations. In a speech last month, Gonzales said: "Without security, government cannot deliver, nor can the people enjoy, the prosperity and opportunities that flow from freedom and democracy."

A coalition of liberal, conservative and libertarian groups called Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances is backing efforts to scale back the Patriot Act. Its members include the ACLU, the American Conservative Union, Gun Owners of America and the Libertarian Party.

The coalition is planning to back legislation expected to be announced Wednesday that would repeal portions of the Patriot Act. Sens. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and Richard Durbin, D-Ill., are planning to reintroduce their Security and Freedom Enhancement Act, which failed to win sufficient support last year.

[DemiHampster]

Ben Franklin said it best

Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little
security will deserve neither and lose both.
Benjamin Franklin

[aroyce]

You are correct

Unfortunately, most Americans have no clue about their own history let alone the history of the world. Someday we will wake and wonder what happened and how big brother got to be so big and mean...and it will be completely our own fault for being asleep.

[Andrew J Glina]

Little

Depends on your definition of the word I suppose. Even so, using 200 year old quotes to reflect on today is a bit suspect. Who knows what an impressive man like Benjamin Franklin would think of todays world?

Yeah but.....

In this case, it is the INDIVIDUAL that is giving up a little liberty, in order for SOCIETY to gain a little security.

Having spent the first 2/3rds of my life in England, before spending the last 1/3rd of my life in the US & becoming a (proud) first generation American, I have noticed many people placing individual freedoms ahead of the best interests of society. There are times when you just gotta take one for the team.

That having been said, I think the "Patriot" Act is a clusterfork.

[pcLoadLetter]

Scary

That a federal agency could use measures that goes against everything the constitution and bill of rights stands for is more scary then 1000 wannabe bin ladens.

[NWLB]

I love the Patriot Act.

I love the Patriot Act. I say this of my own free will. I love the Patriot Act. I say this of my own free will. I love the Patriot Act. I say this of my own free will. I love the Patriot Act. I say this of my own free will. I say this of my own free will. I say this of my own free will.

In loyalty to the state I am.....

NWLB ;)
http://www.NWLBnet.blogspot.com

[Stating]

Raymond, Listen To Me

Raymond. Let's play a game of solitaire. What card do I have in my hand here? The Queen of Hearts. The Queen of Hearts. The Queen of Hearts.

[Stating]

Disinformation Is A Much Bigger Problem

The insertion of disinformation into all media via planted stories, anonymous leaks, and reporters on the payroll is a much bigger problem. If you control the access points -- the gatekeepers, you control everything. This has been going on for a very long time here, it's down to a science.

Recently, ABC News ran a special on UFOs. The most useful thing they reported is that Project Blue Book was hatched to explictly discredit any and all UFO stories. There was a pretense of objectivity, by finally even Hynek figured out what a sham it was. He was paid for 20 years to explain away everything unexplainable as swamp gas or weather balloons.

Then of course there is the recent massive Iraq WMD deception. We are supposed to believe that it was all just a mistake by incompetant Intell bureacrats. Leading up to the war, there were estimates from Intell that Iraq had "thousands of tons" of chemical weapons. Think of it. Thousands of tons.

Makes you long for the days of Nixon, when crooks were REAL men.