The Patriot Act

[Moooooo]

Discuss...

[Jake]

Renew the whole thing, strengthen it, and give it more resources and power.

[Erc]

Having skimmed through the actual text of the Patriot Act, I could find no portions which seemed particularly objectionable.

Keep.

[nclib]

Abolish, as it violates civil liberties. We can have good law enforcement/anti-terrorism without it.

[Jake]

What civil liberties exactly?

[Moooooo]

Im not very familiar with the actual text of the bill, but I have heard a lot complaints about the "Sneak and Peak" portions.

[nclib]

And the government can monitor what books you take out of the library.

[Erc]

And the government can monitor what books you take out of the library.

Oh No!  They know that I've checked out Fundamentals of Finnish Grammar by John B. Olli!  Now they know of my dastardly plot to crown myself Grand Duke of Finland!!!

[Jake]

And the government can monitor what books you take out of the library.

So, the government has no need to know if you have been checking out books on neo-nazism or trying to access information concerning blueprints for seemingly no reason? It seems like any information the government can add to an investigation is beneficial.

[Smash255]

And the government can monitor what books you take out of the library.

So, the government has no need to know if you have been checking out books on neo-nazism or trying to access information concerning blueprints for seemingly no reason? It seems like any information the government can add to an investigation is beneficial.

The problem with the Patriot Act is it leaves the door open to abuse.  Basically it violates the 4th Ammendment.  If their is a legit reason to do the seaches they should go through the process, get the warrant, etc.  The door is basically open to abuse because they don't have to go through the procedures of the 4th Ammendment.  It leaves open the door of someone calling the authorities on their neighbor for no reason other than they are Muslim & that person can be searched without any reasoning. 

[YRABNNRM]

So, the government has no need to know if you have been checking out books on neo-nazism.

Nope.

[Jake]

And the government can monitor what books you take out of the library.

So, the government has no need to know if you have been checking out books on neo-nazism or trying to access information concerning blueprints for seemingly no reason? It seems like any information the government can add to an investigation is beneficial.

The problem with the Patriot Act is it leaves the door open to abuse.  Basically it violates the 4th Ammendment.  If their is a legit reason to do the seaches they should go through the process, get the warrant, etc.  The door is basically open to abuse because they don't have to go through the procedures of the 4th Ammendment.  It leaves open the door of someone calling the authorities on their neighbor for no reason other than they are Muslim & that person can be searched without any reasoning. 

Considering that the majority of terrorists planning/executing operations in the US in the last fifteen years have been single Muslim males, why shouldn't we keep a closer eye on them?

[Smash255]

And the government can monitor what books you take out of the library.

So, the government has no need to know if you have been checking out books on neo-nazism or trying to access information concerning blueprints for seemingly no reason? It seems like any information the government can add to an investigation is beneficial.

The problem with the Patriot Act is it leaves the door open to abuse.  Basically it violates the 4th Ammendment.  If their is a legit reason to do the seaches they should go through the process, get the warrant, etc.  The door is basically open to abuse because they don't have to go through the procedures of the 4th Ammendment.  It leaves open the door of someone calling the authorities on their neighbor for no reason other than they are Muslim & that person can be searched without any reasoning. 

Considering that the majority of terrorists planning/executing operations in the US in the last fifteen years have been single Muslim males, why shouldn't we keep a closer eye on them?

Point I was making is the Patriot Act leaves the door open for someone to call the cops on their neighbor simply because (they think all Muslims are terrorists are terrosist sympathisers & don't like them).  If they want to search someone fine, but their should be some standard of evidence on why this person is a threat, should get a warrant.  The way the Patriot Act works now is it allows the government to search whoever they want without really having any evidence about that individual or even letting that individual know why they are being searched (no evidence, no warrant nothing).  Its a clear violation of the 4th Ammendment.  The Patriot Act as a whole is a good thing, but their needs to be revisions.

[Cashcow]

Get rid of it.

UH OH THAT'S NOT THE POPULIST WAYY/

[A18]

Emsworth had some good objections to the Patriot Act, but I forget what they were. Anyway, keep at least 90% of it.

[opebo]

Abolish of course.  The purpose is not to 'fight' the ficticious 'terrorism', but to increase government power to interfere with Americans who aren't toeing the line.

[Brandon H]

I think we should get rid of it. However, I would agree to a compromise that the Patriot Act only apply to non-U.S. citizens as U.S. citizens are protected from the Patriot Act by the Constitution.

[Ebowed]

Abolish it, though I could live with Brandon's compromise.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Get rid of the whole damn thing.

[2952-0-0]

Put CCTV cameras in every bedroom, use the DHS to go after Texas Democrats who sneak away from debate sessions, go after high school students who put up political satires, etc, etc... Freedom sucks anyway.

[Democratic Hawk]

Arguably, the Patriot Act is designed to protect and enhance the freedom of those, who don't abuse it

When extremists threaten the very fabric of civil society, then 'draconian' measures are perfectly justified

Dave

[David S]

Abolish it, though I could live with Brandon's compromise.

^^^^^^