Patriot Act Up For Renewal, Nobody Notices

Ponca City, We Love You writes "When the Patriot Act was first signed in 2001, it was billed as a temporary measure required because of the extreme circumstances created by the terrorist threat. The fear from its opponents was that executive power, once given, is seldom relinquished. Now the Examiner reports that on January 5th, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) introduced a bill to add yet another year to the soon-to-be-expiring Patriot Act, extending it until February, 2012, with passage likely to happen after little debate or contention. If passed, this would be the second time the Obama administration has punted on campaign promises to roll back excessive surveillance measures allowed under the act. Last year's extension passed under the heading of the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act. 'Given the very limited number of days Congress has in session before the current deadline, and the fact that the bill's Republican sponsor is only seeking another year, I think it's safe to read this as signaling an agreement across the aisle to put the issue off yet again,' writes Julian Sanchez."

He could always...

[dgatwood]

Veto it.

What Does It mean

[Anonymous Coward]

When Obama and the Democrats didn't repeal it when they had all the power, and now, when they seemingly won't object to its renewal, does that mean they are hypocrites? Does it also mean that they actually tacitly approve of it?

For all the noise and whining that's been made about it by their constituents , the Dems sure have been quiet about it.

When the people you hate (republicans) and the people you love (Democrats) seem to be of like mind on something like this, is it time to consider that you are on the fringes and just a bit nuts?

Are you UNPATRIOTIC, citizen?

[fantomas]

I love the way US laws are given these cheesy, sometimes forced, acronyms.

I think you guys are doing yourself a disservice as they seem to dumb down the often complex debates and arguments covered by these acts, and force folk into simplistic positions based on the naming of the acts. It must be hard to argue against a PATRIOT act: most people don't want to appear 'unpatriotic'.

I am guessing there are civil servants paid to make up some of these acronyms, some of them must have taken some thinking! ("Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001" - impressive!).

 

Re:But he...

[BJ_Covert_Action]

I wonder what would happen if every single Slashdot user, U.S. citizen or not, wrote a letter to President Obama that basically said something along the lines of,

"President Obama,

I understand a bill extending the Patriot Act is currently being voted on in Congress. The Patriot Act was supposed to be a temporary measure introduced to increase the security of America. If this bill passes, please veto it on behalf of the American citizenry. It is time to end this nonsense. Don't make excuses.

Thank You,
[name signed here]"

Would anyone even notice? Would he comment on it? Here's the mailing address:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Re:He could always...

[alvinrod]

I've always thought the birth certificate thing was a stroke of genius from Obama's political advisors. They could have easily provided a real birth certificate years ago and disproven the whole thing, but they didn't. They know that the far right are going to bitch about something, so why not have it be about something that isn't going to resonate with anyone else? If Obama pulled out a birth certificate, they'd just move on to something else that might actually hold water with people outside of their own group. No one in the center is going to be swayed over a birth certificate conspiracy, because it seems petty and completely stupid. It also makes people who keep parroting it look like raving idiots and therefor makes any intelligent points that they may have seem as though they are more suspect or less reasonable.

Why would the Feds give up the power?

[realmolo]

The PATRIOT Act is here to stay. There is NO WAY the Federal Government is going to willingly give up all the powers it granted them.

Of all the stupid things that happened during the Bush years, that is by far the most damaging. And it's going to take a Congress and a President with a hell of a lot more spine to repeal it. I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Re:He could always...

[eln]

You know, for most of the last two years I thought the Democrats kept bowing to Republican pressure because they were spineless, but now I'm not so sure. I think now the entire Democratic Party is shifting further to the right and filling the vacuum left by the Republicans, who have been shifting even further to the right. A 1970s (or even 1980s) Republican would be almost indistinguishable from a modern Democrat. The so-called Blue Dog Democrats have taken over the party. Meanwhile, true progressives have no voice in government anymore.

Re:And you go berserk and mod us down when

[SpryGuy]

Most of the protests weren't covered, or were downplayed.

I've seen protests with 20,000 or more be completely ignored by the media, while a few hundred Tea Party morons gathering in one spot with their misspelled signs gets wall to wall coverage for an entire weekend.

Yeah, no media bias here (and I'm not just talking about FOX News, by any stretch of the imagination).

Re:He could always...

[JackieBrown]

Also, voting for this is not a Republican/Democrat debate. It is a debate about power.

Neither side want to give it up because both side see the day where they are in power.

I was against the Patriot Act from the start for the same reason I am against giving the government control over my health care. Sure the current guy might have the best intentions, but can you say the same about the next guy?

It is not so bad

[GeneralSecretary]

There has not been much serious abuse of the law since it was created. While the potential for that abuse is still there I have not seen convincing evidence that the innocent have been terribly harassed because of this act. The war is still on. Numerous attacks have been foiled in the last several years primarily due to good intelligence. I hope someday that we will again live in a world where these laws are not needed, but I don't think that day has come.

Re:Are you UNPATRIOTIC, citizen?

[Xelios]

Almost as good as the fact that the PATRIOT act was extended under the "Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act", a topic that has absolutely nothing to do with the PATRIOT act in the first place.

Fucking hilarious really.

Re:Hope and...

[andydread]

The guy holding the puppets is special interests. Get money out of American politics and the puppet loses his strings.

Re:Hope and...

[Lemmy Caution]

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/01/11/lind_five_worldviews [salon.com]

The Democrats and the Republicans, when they govern, all generally govern as neoliberal globalists. Some Democrats campaign as social democratic liberals; somewhat more Republicans, lately, campaign as nationalist populists. Nonetheless, the consensus of power itself is pretty stable, and has been since the mid-90s.

Neoliberal globalism is essentially "center-right" ideology. It's very close to core neoconservatism, with the difference being that neo-conservatives give a bit more authority to the idea of the nation-state in carrying out its policing function.

Re:He could always...

[timeOday]

And of course Russ Feingold is no longer a Senator, having lost his bid for re-election.

I'm sure you knew that, but it certainly bears mention as he was the only senator to vote against Patriot in the first place.

Who can you expect to survive the system?

[bussdriver]

The system will not allow somebody get elected who is threatens to disrupt those in power today. The best you can do is end up in a few party primaries like Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinich and quickly be marginalized by the party elite, the press, the tv media, and even big donors. You think its bad for 3rd parties? Well, the people within the parties get calmly screwed and setup in more covert ways-- With Nader, all you get is some transparency because they have no incentive to be as nice.... That is, if you pay attention to the 3rd party at all because the press sure does not tell you about the dirty tricks.

Obama could be great; however, it does not matter about him personally or what he tries to accomplish - he is a pragmatist and totally willing to compromise over ideals, ethics, etc. THAT is why he was allowed to proceed despite being an untested outsider -- Hillary would have won if Obama couldn't be managed. (The party elite were largely in her camp at the beginning- but they are just 1 of the weaker factions.)

Mr President

[Mgns]

Mr President When you swore to close Guantanamo, I wept. The pure vindication of my life long love for America seemed finally vindicated. You swore a return to sanity, to justice and peace. You swore an oath to your countrymen with such passion that they entrusted upon you the highest office. Your treachery is boundless.