Thread: Congress to vote on extending Patriot Act

Congress to vote on extending Patriot Act
A measure to extend surveillance provisions of the Patriot Act is expected to pass despite concerns of many Democrats and some 'tea party' Republicans about privacy issues.

President George W. Bush, bottom left, standing, second from left, gets a tour of the National Counterterrorism Center in 2005. (Jason Reed / Reuters / June 10, 2005)
By Lisa Mascaro, Washington Bureau
May 21, 2011
Reporting from Washington — Congress is expected to vote next 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.

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. All procedures must be approved by court orders.

Republicans in the House and Senate have pressed for a permanent extension of the expiring provisions, which Democrats largely oppose. The Obama administration had sought a two-year extension.

Congressional leaders reached an agreement late Thursday to vote on legislation that would continue the expiring provisions through 2015. The Senate is expected to take a 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.

Since then, Republican leaders have organized classified briefings for lawmakers with officials from the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation to provide more information about the workings of the anti-terrorism surveillance program.

"We believe there will be strong support in the House in favor of this," said Erica Elliott, a spokeswoman for 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."

But the earlier votes also drew opposition from Democrats. They opposed the legislation in greater numbers this year than they had at the start of President Obama's term.

While some Democrats went along with the temporary extension earlier this year, asking for a four-year continuance may provoke additional Democratic opposition, said those familiar with the debate

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... 6232.story

Sneak and peek warrant

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations to additional sources. (November 200

A sneak and peek search warrant (also called a covert entry search warrant or a surreptitious entry search warrant) is a search warrant authorizing the law enforcement officers executing it to effect physical entry into private premises without the owner’s or the occupant’s permission or knowledge and to clandestinely search the premises; usually, such entry requires a stealthy breaking and entering. Law enforcement officers are prohibited from seizing any property from the premises. Sneak and peek warrants are especially beneficial to illegal drug manufacturing investigations because they allow investigative teams to search the premises for chemicals and drug paraphernalia so that they can return with a traditional search warrant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneak_and_peek_warrant

"This is really bad "Boys and Girls!" They are coming into your house while you're not home and if they find something wrong they can issue a search warrant within 7days. America you have now let them take away your 4th amendment rights! Please! help stop this! Where the hell is Rand Paul?

Related Thread Here

Patriot Act Cloture vote scheduled for 5pm Monday in Senate


http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-238783.html


See Video Here

Stop The Patriot Act


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqt38HCeFXA

See Related Thread Here

The Patriot Act Is at War with the Constitution


http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-237930-patriot.html+act

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is voting "No"

Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell is a co-sponsor and voting yes!

Come on Kentucky you have "No" idea how very very bad this is!

Contact your United State Senators and ask them to vote "No" on extension of the Patriot Act! They are stripping away our rights at an alarming rate this is your 4th amendment right!

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_i ... rs_cfm.cfm

"This is very bad for you!"

My feelings are torn on this issue. On one hand, the government has been finding terrorists this way very well, and has thus avoided so far another 9-11 and worse. On the other hand, I fear that one day this same tool could be used for evil purposes-to disallow mere dissenters on a wide variety of issues that have nothing to do with a plan to destroy the nation or its people.

Originally Posted by sacredrage

My feelings are torn on this issue. On one hand, the government has been finding terrorists this way very well, and has thus avoided so far another 9-11 and worse. On the other hand, I fear that one day this same tool could be used for evil purposes-to disallow mere dissenters on a wide variety of issues that have nothing to do with a plan to destroy the nation or its people.

"We the People" have been finding and stopping terrorists not Napolitano!
You have no idea the impact of this law and the intrusion of your constitutional rights! Where the hell is the ACLU and SPLC on this?

Stop the New Patriot Act


Just when it seemed that the Bush Administration's assault on our constitutional protections had begun to subside, Attorney General John Ashcroft has drafted new legislation that further threatens our core civil liberties and rights.

The draft "Domestic Security Enhancement Act" contains a multitude of new and sweeping law enforcement and intelligence gathering powers -- many of which are not related to terrorism -- that would severely undermine basic constitutional rights and checks and balances. If adopted, the bill would diminish personal privacy by removing important checks on government surveillance authority, reduce the accountability of government to the public by increasing official secrecy and expand on the definition of "terrorism" in a manner that threatens the constitutionally protected rights of Americans.

These far reaching powers could apparently be sought even though the first USA Patriot Act already gave the government unprecedented powers to violate our civil liberties and tap deep into the private lives of innocent Americans.

Take Action! Congress must not accept new legislation that threatens our constitutional rights in the name of security against terrorism. In fact, Congress should not only reject any new legislation, but it should instead insist that the Bush Administration stop stonewalling and outline how the new powers already given under the first USA PATRIOT Act have been used.

The new legislation would allow government to spy on First Amendment-protected activities. By applying an overly broad definition of terrorism, organizations using protest tactics such as those used by Operation Rescue or protesters at Vieques Island, Puerto Rico would become victims of criminal wiretapping and other electronic surveillance. In addition, the act would terminate court-approved limits on police spying, which were initially put in place to prevent McCarthy-style law enforcement persecution based on political or religious affiliation.

The new act would radically diminish personal privacy by removing checks on government power. It would permit, without any connection to anti-terrorism efforts, sensitive personal information about U.S. citizens to be shared with local and state law enforcement. In addition, the government could gain secret access to credit reports without consent and without judicial process.

The new bill would increase government secrecy while diminishing public accountability. It would authorize secret arrests in immigration and other cases, such as those involving material witness warrants, where the detained person is not criminally charged. The act would allow for the sampling and cataloguing of innocent Americans' genetic information without court order and without consent. And, incredibly, the act would shelter federal agents engaged in illegal surveillance without a court order from criminal prosecution if they are following orders of high Executive Branch officials.

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http://www.aclu.org/stop-new-patriot-act