Thursday, February 10, 2011

Patriot Act Vote Bad? Maybe Not!

Just perhaps the folks in Congress who voted to end the Patriot know something that we don’t but should. Did Someone actually read the Bills before the vote for a change? 

I was reading the Cyber Security and American Cyber Competitiveness Act of 2011 aka know as the Internet Kill Switch Law and discussion thereon while preparing to do a blog on Egypt and what we should be learning from the situation and ran across an interesting comment.

 "The government can compel companies that own or operate critical infrastructure systems to take those undefined actions for 30-day periods that may be renewed indefinitely. While the bill makes it clear that it does not authorize electronic surveillance beyond that authorized in current law, we are concerned that the emergency actions that could be compelled could include shutting down or limiting Internet communications that might be carried over covered critical infrastructure systems,"  

Please note the language highlighted...”While the bill makes it clear that it does not authorize electronic surveillance beyond that authorized in current law...”

The current law that this is referring to is the Patriot Act.  What does the Patriot act authorize? Electronic surveillance!

 Examples:Roving wiretaps that permit surveillance on multiple phones; Section 215, the so-called library records provision that gives the FBI court-approved access to "any tangible thing" relevant to a terrorism investigation; "lone-wolf" provision of a 2004 anti-terror law that permits secret intelligence surveillance of non-U.S. people not known to be affiliated with a specific terrorist organization.
By killing those parts of the Patriot Act it makes the current “ Internet Kill Switch Bill” before Congress and desperately wanted by the Left and by Obama, pretty much toothless. So just maybe someone in Congress or a group of folks in Congress among the newly elected had done some homework by actually reading the Bill and took some preemptive action. I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for the time being, at least until I can be convinced otherwise.     

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just my opinion, but I think the Patriot Act is unconstitutional. It allows the government to invade the privacy of Americans with little more than a rumour to back their actions. Nope, it should fail, and the Patriot Act (which is a misnomer) should be repealed.

Old Rose

Ticker said...

Many feel the same way Rose but felt it was a necessary act in view of 9/11.

GM Roper said...

I have mixed feelings about the Patriot Act. Anonymous is wrong in that no court declared the act unconstitutional and made the ruling stick, so unless that happens...

Like so much of the post 9/11 acts from congress, the bill was flawed, if not in it's wording, than certainly in its implementation. A clearly written bill with specific actions under specific circumstances would have been better and it's not to late to write a new bill.

Ticker said...

GM, Anonymous is stating his opinion that the Act is unconstitutional and not saying that a court stated such.

Yes the bill was flawed and that is also perhaps a way to look at the vote which occurred this past week. Perhaps it was also a way to get a better bill thus a better Law which would stand the rigors of a Constitutional testing.

Maybe someone actually read the Act and voted accordingly rather than in knee jerk fashion in which it was originally passed.

Right Truth said...

I think the Patriot Act was needed. I have not kept up with the votes and discussion on it this week, so I won't be able to comment. I know that some parts of it were voted on. I'm not sure it was mean to stay forever. I do know that it has served a great purpose in tracking terrorists and that not one time were anyone's civil rights trampled.

Debbie
Right Truth
http://www.righttruth.typepad.com

Ticker said...

Debbie I posted the parts that were changed in hopes of educating those who are not aware or informed on the subject. The question remains, was it all that bad? Or did someone finally get the idea that we need to read bills before they are passed, even those passed in a knee jerk reaction to anything , including 9/11.

Thank you for being honest in your reply.

Z said...

Reading bills would be a step in the right direction, that's for sure. Isn't that what we PAY these people to do?
You know how I feel...I think some of it's necessary and I also don't like the message it sends to our enemies that it's done.

Ticker said...

Z, the enemies don't care. They are depending on the ineptness of the so called leadership in the WH etc to ignore the warnings of those who actually are doing the job that they have been doing for many many years. Nothing has changed except for the possibility of more ineptness by the current administration.

Always On Watch said...

By killing those parts of the Patriot Act it makes the current “ Internet Kill Switch Bill” before Congress and desperately wanted by the Left and by Obama, pretty much toothless.

If true, that is excellent news for free speech (particularly in the right-side blogosphere).

I do wonder if not having in force certain aspects of the Patriot Act will open us to numerous terrorist attacks.

Chuck said...

I have a tendency to support the Patriot Act. The real kicker is that it is okay if used properly. The problem is getting the government to use a bill properly and, more than that, defining what "properly" means.

Anonymous said...

No matter how much we love our America, we cannot trust our government. If we cannot trust our government, then we have no business supporting the so-called Patriot Act. There is no such thing as total freedom. All of us must circumscribe our desires to give our neighbor room to define his or hers. We must also be very discerning about what we ask for. Among those who support provisions of the Patriot Act, do you also support presidential authority to shut down the internet? How is one restriction of our Constitutional rights different those others?


We’ve all heard Mr. Franklin’s quotation a thousand times, but it is true. I am not a terrorist, so I do not fear the Patriot Act’s several provisions. Well, at least I am not a terrorist until Janet Napolitano calls veterans and military retirees “right wing extremists.” And then under those circumstances, perhaps government could regard me a terrorist and move to suppress me. Is that the America we want?

Scotty said...

Once again, Mustang robs me of my thunder, right on brother!