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Patriot Reauthorization Act should be shot
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| by BRIAN IRVING, Up & Coming Weekly, June 22-28, 2005 |
June 22, 2005 |
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The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence voted in closed session recently to reauthorize and expand the USA Patriot Act, which came into law weeks after 9/11.
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In its current form the Patriot Act nullifies at least six articles of the Bill of Rights. Under the act, law enforcement may conduct no-notice searches of residences and businesses' conduct, roving wiretaps, or seize personal files such as medical, financial, employment and even library lending history. The act has led to peaceful community groups being investigated as terrorist cells.
This new version of the Patriot Act would give the Justice Department and the FBI more powers to clandestinely acquire secret information about American citizens without any judicial review in advance and without the knowledge of those being investigated. With no checks in place to prevent abuse, violations of the law would go unnoticed under the expansion of the already ineffective law.
"The Libertarian Party urges members of Congress to vote against the Patriot Reauthorization Act" said Joe Seehusen, Libertarian Party executive director. "If the Patriot Act is made permanent and expanded, the Libertarian Party will continually fight to uncover abuses of the law and will assist in protecting the privacy and civil liberties of all Americans."
Supporters claim the act hasn't been abused, but with so many secret provisions, how can you tell? They say, "Trust us - we're the government." However much it pains me to say this, having spent 25 years as part of "the government," I don't buy it. I've lived through too many incidents of "the government" lying to us ... the Gulf of Tonkin incident, Watergate, Iran-Contra, Lewinsky ...
Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.), one of the few voices in Congress who's consistently spoken up for liberty, put it this way: "Government assurances simply are not good enough in a free society. The overwhelming burden always must be placed on government to justify any new encroachment on our liberty."
(libertypoint.blogspot.com)
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©Up & Coming Magazine 2009
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