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McConnell and his allies wanted to extend the Patriot Act for two months without making changes.
The House, though, backed a bill called the USA Freedom Act, which would have ended the NSA's bulk collection but preserved its ability to search the records held by the phone companies on a case-by-case basis. The bill was supported by President Obama and the nation's top law enforcement and intelligence officials.
However, both the House bill and McConnell's short-term extension failed to advance last weekend in the Senate -- leaving the path for addressing the expiring provisions unclear.
The most prominent critic of any Patriot Act legislation is Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a GOP presidential contender. Paul says voters are encouraging him to continue fighting the government's bulk collection programs.
So, realistically speaking, with a recognition that we do need our intelligence agencies to have access to at least some of these tools, within the range of options that appear to be under consideration here, what actions do you support?
Personally, I am tentatively supportive of the Senate passing the USA Freedom, which was already passed by the House by a 338 - 88 margin, and which is supported by the Obama administration. However, something in my gut tells me we do not have to full story on this.
So, realistically speaking, with a recognition that we do need our intelligence agencies to have access to at least some of these tools, within the range of options that appear to be under consideration here, what do actions do you support?
We do not need a new law to do any of this.
It has been the law for decades that if law enforcement has a reasonable suspicion of illegal activities they can go to court and get a search warrant or a tap to listen in on conversations. It's wrong to start down the road that people are guilty until law enforcement can prove to themselves they are not.
It has been the law for decades that if law enforcement has a reasonable suspicion of illegal activities they can go to court and get a search warrant or a tap to listen in on conversations. It's wrong to start down the road that people are guilty until law enforcement can prove to themselves they are not.
Well, the existing law is the Patriot Act. The USA Freedom Act appears to be designed to provide the protections that you ask for (so it seems) while providing a faster way to expedite these warrants than the typical main-street court system.
There is a lot in the Patriot Act other than the offensive sections. Flawed though the Patriot Act is, it is a reform that realizes that in the information age we need to be able to respond to security threats much more quickly, handling our surveillance in a secure covert manner, which our previous system was not well adapted to.
The USA Freedom Act is apparently designed to corrects the offenses of the Patriot Act, while retaining the critical surveillance tools needed to help defend us from international terrorism. Of course there are those such as Rand Paul who debate whether this is fully achieved with this bill.
But it is not a question that is as simple as "let's just get rid of the entire Patriot Act and go home - Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy." That is not a thoughtful or responsible response here, as I am sure Rand Paul would agree.
Well, the existing law is the Patriot Act. The USA Freedom Act appears to be designed to provide the protections that you ask for (so it seems) while providing a faster way to expedite these warrants than the typical main-street court system.
We do not need a new law to protect our freedoms. We have an almost 217 year old law that does that.
Quote:
There is a lot in the Patriot Act other than the offensive sections. Flawed though the Patriot Act is, it is a reform that realizes that in the information age we need to be able to respond to security threats much more quickly, handling our surveillance in a secure covert manner, which our previous system was not well adapted to.
The USA Freedom Act is apparently designed to corrects the offenses of the Patriot Act, while retaining the critical surveillance tools needed to help defend us from international terrorism. Of course there are those such as Rand Paul who debate whether this is fully achieved with this bill.
But it is not a question that is as simple as "let's just get rid of the entire Patriot Act and go home - Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy." That is not a thoughtful or responsible response here, as I am sure Rand Paul would agree.
It is that easy. There is never a case where we can't get a court to sign off on it. If law enforcement has reason to believe something is happening right now, they do not have to get the courts O.K. to stop it. If it's just something being planned, a judges signature can happen in very short time.
We do not need a new law to protect our freedoms. We have an almost 217 year old law that does that.
It is that easy. There is never a case where we can't get a court to sign off on it. If law enforcement has reason to believe something is happening right now, they do not have to get the courts O.K. to stop it. If it's just something being planned, a judges signature can happen in very short time.
Nobody is proposing that we not have a court to sign off on these warrants. Even the Patriot Act requires that.
However, the interpretation of these provisions has been expanded to include the mass collection of data, apparently including the phone records of all Americans, which is about as blatantly unconstitutional as can possibly be imagined. The USA Freedom Act apparently clarifies that warrants are required and that mass collection of data is not allowed.
Nobody is proposing that we not have a court to sign off on these warrants. Even the Patriot Act requires that.
However, the interpretation of these provisions has been expanded to include the mass collection of data, apparently including the phone records of all Americans, which is about as blatantly unconstitutional as can possibly be imagined. The USA Freedom Act apparently clarifies that warrants are required and that mass collection of data is not allowed.
The Constitution clarifies that. Sorry, politicians bury all sorts of crap in these bills and redundancy only causes confusion.
Well, the existing law is the Patriot Act. The USA Freedom Act appears to be designed to provide the protections that you ask for (so it seems) while providing a faster way to expedite these warrants than the typical main-street court system.
There is a lot in the Patriot Act other than the offensive sections. Flawed though the Patriot Act is, it is a reform that realizes that in the information age we need to be able to respond to security threats much more quickly, handling our surveillance in a secure covert manner, which our previous system was not well adapted to.
The USA Freedom Act is apparently designed to corrects the offenses of the Patriot Act, while retaining the critical surveillance tools needed to help defend us from international terrorism. Of course there are those such as Rand Paul who debate whether this is fully achieved with this bill.
But it is not a question that is as simple as "let's just get rid of the entire Patriot Act and go home - Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy." That is not a thoughtful or responsible response here, as I am sure Rand Paul would agree.
As you have laid out here...Patriot act is the first real act of tyranny pushed upon the Ameriican public. Passing a blanket law to deal with circumstances before they occur is like arresting all blacks in Baltimore for being black.
Why not have drones follow us around and monitor our very actions from how we sleep, what we eat, what we say and who we say it to?
DHS and TPP need to go away as well because we are being slammed with tyranny whether people know it or not.
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