TimmyBoy
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I think the "Patriot" Act just needs to be completely done away with and this is a position which I refuse to compromise on. It was a mistake to pass the "Patriot" Act. The only negotiations that needs to be going on is the complete and total banning of the "Patriot" Act. This period of time in American history will go down as a time where American freedom and democracy was threatened to be destroyed the most, more than anytime in American history, not necessarily by terrorists, but by the US government seeking to exploit the September 11 attacks as an opportunity to strengthen it's grip over the common ordinary citizen's life and to erradicate his/her right to freedom:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051216/ap_on_go_co/patriot_act
USA Patriot Act Faces Opposition in Senate By JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer
36 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Several Patriot Act provisions that the Bush administration says are crucial in the fight to stop terrorism on U.S. soil may only be around for another couple of weeks.
A coalition of Senate Democrats and libertarian-leaning Republicans is threatening to filibuster a congressional agreement to renew 16 key portions of the USA Patriot Act before they expire Dec. 31.
A showdown vote was scheduled Friday, with the White House and its congressional allies rejecting suggestions for a short-term extension of the current law as is. White House allies said they would prefer to let the 16 temporary provisions expire completely rather than give critics more time to add additional restrictions on the FBI's ability to comb through Americans' computer files and bank and library records.
Making most of the Act's provisions permanent is a priority for both the Bush administration and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill before Congress adjourns for the year.
The House on Wednesday passed a House-Senate compromise bill to renew the Act that supporters say added significant safeguards to the law. These supporters predict doom and gloom if the Patriot Act's critics win and the provisions expire.
The failure to renew the provisions would be "interpreted by our enemies as somehow inviting or even enabling further terrorist attacks on U.S. soil," Sen. Orrin Hatch (news, bio, voting record), R-Utah, said.
But the critics, who include senators like Democrat Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Republican Larry Craig of Idaho, say they don't want the Patriot Act to expire — they just want enough time to improve the bill to the point where it doesn't infringe on American liberties.
"Continued good-faith negotiation will result in solving the problems in a way that will be acceptable to a vast majority of this body and will not in any way diminish the ability of our law enforcement and intelligence organizations to do their job," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., one of the original Democratic sponsors of the Patriot Act.
Congress passed the Patriot Act overwhelmingly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The law expanded the government's surveillance and prosecutorial powers against suspected terrorists, their associates and financiers.
Moments later, the senior Democrat on the issue, Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), D-Vt., told reporters that more than 40 votes exist to sustain a filibuster in a test vote Friday.
The bill's opponents say the original act was rushed into law, and Congress should take more time now to make sure the rights of innocent Americans are safeguarded before making most of the expiring provisions permanent.
They says the current Patriot Act gives government too much power to investigate people's private lives.
"Folks, when we're dealing with civil liberties, you don't compromise them," said Craig, a board member of the National Rifle Association.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051216/ap_on_go_co/patriot_act