The Patriot Act to be voted on by Congress this week, by May 27
The Patriot Act the most sweeping grab of power by the Federal Government, allows the Federal Government to legally spy on anybody.
As Federal Government has already included in their definition of terrorist to include right wing activists, this act has been and will be used by the Obama Administration to go after conservatives who opposed them.
Reporting from Washington —
Congress is expected to vote this week to extend expiring provisions of the Patriot Act, which would allow the controversial anti-terrorism law to continue four more years despite opposition from an unusual coalition of Democrats and Republicans.
Votes in the House and Senate will be taken with the goal of passing by May 27, before the Memorial Day Weekend.
An earlier attempt to continue parts of the surveillance law suffered a surprise setback this year as "tea party" freshmen and veteran conservatives joined with Democrats to defeat the bill before passing a temporary extension.
The law, enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, has been criticized by civil libertarians as well as conservatives as an undue overreach of governmental authority into private affairs.
At issue are three segments of the law that have come under scrutiny over concerns about invasion of privacy, including a provision that allows authorities to investigate any records pertaining to terrorism suspects.
Two other provisions up for renewal are the so-called roving wiretap, which allows authorities to continue surveillance on suspects as they switch phones or locations, and the "lone wolf" provision, which allows surveillance of foreigners without known ties to terrorist groups.
Republicans in the House and Senate have pressed for a permanent extension of the expiring provisions, which Democrats and conservative Tea Party Republicans largely oppose.
Congressional leaders reached an agreement late Thursday (May 19) to vote on legislation that would continue the expiring provisions through 2015. The Senate is expected to take the first test vote Monday, with House votes likely later in the week before the scheduled expiration on Friday.
"We're very disappointed," said Michelle Richardson, legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, which had sought to amend the law. Congress and the administration, she said, "are no longer pursuing meaningful reforms that would protect privacy."
When the provisions came up for renewal in February, freshman members of the House said they had not been adequately prepared for the vote and several opposed the bill.
Tea party groups also raised concerns and pressed for an open debate.
"We believe there will be strong support in the House in favor of this," said Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield), the Republican whip.
But some GOP lawmakers said Friday they still had concerns about the law.
"Americans have an expectation of privacy," said a statement from Rep. Rob Woodall, a freshman Republican from Georgia, who had voted against the temporary extension.
"The provisions up for renewal in the Patriot Act may have legitimate uses in combating terrorism; however, we have a higher duty to uphold the constitutional protections all Americans are guaranteed," Woodall said. "I will certainly keep this duty in mind as I consider the upcoming extension, and I hope that my colleagues will as well."
The first extension of the Patriot Act, was defeated in Congress on Feb. 7, 2011. But under pressure from Speaker John Bohmer, Congress granted a temporary extension which will expire later in 2011.
----------------------------
The three expiring provisions of the Patriot Act give the government sweeping authority to spy on individuals inside the United States, and in some cases, without any suspicion of wrongdoing. All three should be allowed to expire if they are not amended to include privacy protections to protect personal information from government overreach.
* Section 206 of the Patriot Act, also known as "roving John Doe wiretap" provision, permits the government to obtain intelligence surveillance orders that identify neither the person nor the facility to be tapped. This provision is contrary to traditional notions of search and seizure, which require government to state with
particularity what it seeks to search or seize.
We have already seen the Federal Government Home Land Security define terrorist as those who oppose the Obama big government, oppose the Federal Reserve Money System, have a Ron Paul bumper sticker on their car, home schoolers, etc. A Homeland Security document which was leaked, is alarming that including in with the terrorist, lists those active in right wing activities.
The Patriot Act, will be used to allow the government to monitor the conservative right wing movement, persecute us, all in the name of in the name of patriotism as it alleges that the main purpose is to go after the Moslem terrorist. The FBI and other law enforcement already have the ability to do what they need to do. The Patriot Act has required financial institutions to have additional major paper work requirements which intrude into our personal lives, reporting all of our personal financial information, clearly violating our 4th Amendment Constitutional Rights. Read more at: http://ccofal.org/TeaParty/tea-party-candidates.phtml
Call your Congressman and Senator, and demand they Vote No to the extension of the Patriot Act.
Congress Switchboard is 202-224-3121, or toll free at 877-762-8762. Simply ask the Capital Switchboard Operator to connect you to your Congressman or Senators Office. Simply leave a brief message, to Vote NO to the Patriot Act.
As Federal Government has already included in their definition of terrorist to include right wing activists, this act has been and will be used by the Obama Administration to go after conservatives who opposed them.
Reporting from Washington —
Congress is expected to vote this week to extend expiring provisions of the Patriot Act, which would allow the controversial anti-terrorism law to continue four more years despite opposition from an unusual coalition of Democrats and Republicans.
Votes in the House and Senate will be taken with the goal of passing by May 27, before the Memorial Day Weekend.
An earlier attempt to continue parts of the surveillance law suffered a surprise setback this year as "tea party" freshmen and veteran conservatives joined with Democrats to defeat the bill before passing a temporary extension.
The law, enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, has been criticized by civil libertarians as well as conservatives as an undue overreach of governmental authority into private affairs.
At issue are three segments of the law that have come under scrutiny over concerns about invasion of privacy, including a provision that allows authorities to investigate any records pertaining to terrorism suspects.
Two other provisions up for renewal are the so-called roving wiretap, which allows authorities to continue surveillance on suspects as they switch phones or locations, and the "lone wolf" provision, which allows surveillance of foreigners without known ties to terrorist groups.
Republicans in the House and Senate have pressed for a permanent extension of the expiring provisions, which Democrats and conservative Tea Party Republicans largely oppose.
Congressional leaders reached an agreement late Thursday (May 19) to vote on legislation that would continue the expiring provisions through 2015. The Senate is expected to take the first test vote Monday, with House votes likely later in the week before the scheduled expiration on Friday.
"We're very disappointed," said Michelle Richardson, legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, which had sought to amend the law. Congress and the administration, she said, "are no longer pursuing meaningful reforms that would protect privacy."
When the provisions came up for renewal in February, freshman members of the House said they had not been adequately prepared for the vote and several opposed the bill.
Tea party groups also raised concerns and pressed for an open debate.
"We believe there will be strong support in the House in favor of this," said Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield), the Republican whip.
But some GOP lawmakers said Friday they still had concerns about the law.
"Americans have an expectation of privacy," said a statement from Rep. Rob Woodall, a freshman Republican from Georgia, who had voted against the temporary extension.
"The provisions up for renewal in the Patriot Act may have legitimate uses in combating terrorism; however, we have a higher duty to uphold the constitutional protections all Americans are guaranteed," Woodall said. "I will certainly keep this duty in mind as I consider the upcoming extension, and I hope that my colleagues will as well."
The first extension of the Patriot Act, was defeated in Congress on Feb. 7, 2011. But under pressure from Speaker John Bohmer, Congress granted a temporary extension which will expire later in 2011.
----------------------------
The three expiring provisions of the Patriot Act give the government sweeping authority to spy on individuals inside the United States, and in some cases, without any suspicion of wrongdoing. All three should be allowed to expire if they are not amended to include privacy protections to protect personal information from government overreach.
* Section 206 of the Patriot Act, also known as "roving John Doe wiretap" provision, permits the government to obtain intelligence surveillance orders that identify neither the person nor the facility to be tapped. This provision is contrary to traditional notions of search and seizure, which require government to state with
particularity what it seeks to search or seize.
We have already seen the Federal Government Home Land Security define terrorist as those who oppose the Obama big government, oppose the Federal Reserve Money System, have a Ron Paul bumper sticker on their car, home schoolers, etc. A Homeland Security document which was leaked, is alarming that including in with the terrorist, lists those active in right wing activities.
The Patriot Act, will be used to allow the government to monitor the conservative right wing movement, persecute us, all in the name of in the name of patriotism as it alleges that the main purpose is to go after the Moslem terrorist. The FBI and other law enforcement already have the ability to do what they need to do. The Patriot Act has required financial institutions to have additional major paper work requirements which intrude into our personal lives, reporting all of our personal financial information, clearly violating our 4th Amendment Constitutional Rights. Read more at: http://ccofal.org/TeaParty/tea-party-candidates.phtml
Call your Congressman and Senator, and demand they Vote No to the extension of the Patriot Act.
Congress Switchboard is 202-224-3121, or toll free at 877-762-8762. Simply ask the Capital Switchboard Operator to connect you to your Congressman or Senators Office. Simply leave a brief message, to Vote NO to the Patriot Act.
posted by Chuck Demastus at 7:59 PM
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