The jerks in power always abuse the laws and even the Constitution itself. Do you propose that we get rid of the Constitution because of incorrect interpretations thereof or would you rather see us throw some of them in jail or out of office at a minimum?
If these senators are privy to abuses of the law, they need to start impeaching whoever is culpable or having them brought before the courts for prosecution rather than whining about it publicly.
"When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they will be stunned and they will be angry," Wyden said in a prepared statement.
[...]
Wyden said his concerns are not confined to the text of the law itself but also apply to how it is carried out. He noted that actions taken under the Patriot Act are often cloaked in secrecy.
[...]
While Obama campaigned on reversing what he characterized as Bush administration civil rights abuses committed in the name of national security, Obama has since embraced measures such as the Patriot Act and invoking the state secrets privilege to bar certain activities from coming to light in court.
Oh, thanks for your 5 seconds of brainless activity.
From the very first link I shared:
Who would do the prosecuting? That would be the same Attorney General and the same US Attorneys who are interpreting the law so as to give the government the widest latitude possible under the law in question.
Prosecutorial discretion is a powerful tool when abused.
Another tactic they use is deploying questionable authority to get as much information from someone as they can, withdrawing their demands only when challenged. This tactic has been used often and quite successfully with National Security Letters -- they have never been successfully challenged in court, primarily because the government withdraws them before a finding can be made which limits their use and power.
You're entirely welcome, and thank you for acknowledging that even 5 seconds of brainless activity can clearly demonstrate that the PATRIOT Act needs to go.
Glad its being extended. Patriot will continue in the method it has over the past decade. The questionable and downright over the line portions of it will be stripped out through legislation and the court system, while the vast majority of the bill that is good, sound, and needed law that would never pass currently due to the partisan stigma now attached to it styas on the books. Its ridiculous to suggest our intelligence and survelliance laws should be based off things written in a time where the notion of a PAGER was science fiction, let alone a world where our phones can be as small as a driver's liscense and are so much more powerful then what was available then in giant mainframes that its like comparing a Model T to a 2011 Ferrari.
The jerks in power always abuse the laws and even the Constitution itself. Do you propose that we get rid of the Constitution because of incorrect interpretations thereof or would you rather see us throw some of them in jail or out of office at a minimum?
If these senators are privy to abuses of the law, they need to start impeaching whoever is culpable or having them brought before the courts for prosecution rather than whining about it publicly.
Oh, thanks for your 5 seconds of brainless activity.
You may but it seems most USA citizens would opt for security... or maybe they just don't care about something that has no apparent effect on their lives.I propose we UPHOLD the Constitution and when laws such as the Patriot Act (the name alone gives it away) acts against the rights and liberties of the People that it be struck down in full. I'll take the random chance of terrorists over the guaranteed misuse of power and loss of liberty involved with such government expanding laws as the Patriot Act.
I don't care about the Patriot Act. I suppose I should, but I don't.
Let me know when it actually gets abused, maybe then I'll care.
You may but it seems most USA citizens would opt for security... or maybe they just don't care about something that has no apparent effect on their lives.
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"This time he extended it without even signing the law himself. As he rested in bed following G8 meetings in France, an automated machine signed the bill with his signature for him."
Lol, kinda sad to read that. An automated machine to sign things into law? We really are lazy as ****.
Apparently a lot of your fellow citizens are not as scared of your government as you.The misuse of power by the government and unchecked expansion of the government always has effects on our lives. The fact is they are under the impression that they can't be affected by it; when that is not true. We already have plenty of reports of misuse of power on this front, and that most likely means there is a lot more going on that we don't know. In the end, terrorism itself actually has less effect on their lives than the gross abuse of power and expansion of the government against our rights and liberties.
Terrorists can do nothing to take away our freedom, that threat is possessed by the government.
"The course of history shows that as a government increases, liberty decreases." - Thomas Jefferson
Apparently a lot of your fellow citizens are not as scared of your government as you.
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American democracy died on 9/11 and will not be resurected. You gave up your freedomsm willingly, you get what you deserve. I have no pity for you.
The jerks in power always abuse the laws and even the Constitution itself. Do you propose that we get rid of the Constitution because of incorrect interpretations thereof or would you rather see us throw some of them in jail or out of office at a minimum?
If these senators are privy to abuses of the law, they need to start impeaching whoever is culpable or having them brought before the courts for prosecution rather than whining about it publicly.
Oh, thanks for your 5 seconds of brainless activity.
You may but it seems most USA citizens would opt for security... or maybe they just don't care about something that has no apparent effect on their lives.
.
Let me clarify by pointing out that not all warrants must go through a FISA Court. The act does address courts with jurisdiction over the offence under investigation. In other words, warrants and subpoenas are still required for the actions you described and the act makes clear that they must be obtained through a “court of competent jurisdiction’.
I still have my freedoms so I’m not sure what you are talking about.
If we use your logic, the Constitution of the United States must go too. Maybe you can commit 10 seconds of real thought to the issue and realize that we can’t throw out every law that gets abused by those in power or we would be left with no laws.
The Patriot Act has helped stop a lot of attacks here in the US so its positives are obvious. If you want to scare me into thinking it is being abused, you will need to do more than give me the opinions of a couple of career liars who have political reasons for opposition thereto.
Why don’t you demand that your elected officials follow the letter of the law or get arrested/booted out of office rather than demand that good laws be thrown out due to abuse? Could it be that you support the bastardization of laws when it suits your political objectives?
I propose we UPHOLD the Constitution and when laws such as the Patriot Act (the name alone gives it away) acts against the rights and liberties of the People that it be struck down in full. I'll take the random chance of terrorists over the guaranteed misuse of power and loss of liberty involved with such government expanding laws as the Patriot Act.
The misuse of power by the government and unchecked expansion of the government always has effects on our lives. The fact is they are under the impression that they can't be affected by it; when that is not true. We already have plenty of reports of misuse of power on this front, and that most likely means there is a lot more going on that we don't know. In the end, terrorism itself actually has less effect on their lives than the gross abuse of power and expansion of the government against our rights and liberties.
Terrorists can do nothing to take away our freedom, that threat is possessed by the government.
"The course of history shows that as a government increases, liberty decreases." - Thomas Jefferson
The government doesn't need a warrant to ****ing eavesdrop on your telephone conversations or emails... all you have to do is use a word or practically make an international call and it's reason enough
You may but it seems most USA citizens would opt for security... or maybe they just don't care about something that has no apparent effect on their lives.
.
Care to provide the provision of the Patriot Act which allows for warrantless Eavesdropping of telephone calls and/or emails?
I am not thrilled about this because it has been used for things other than fighting terrorists. Like local corruption, and it has some provisions that allow for some people who have nothing to do with terror, to be held with no rights as if they were in GITMO.