House Fails To Extend Patriot Act Spy Powers

schwit1 writes "The House failed to extend three key expiring provisions of the Patriot Act on Tuesday, elements granting the government broad and nearly unchecked surveillance power on its own public. The failure of the bill, sponsored by Rep. James F. Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis), for the time being is likely to give airtime to competing measures in the Senate that would place limited checks on the act's broad surveillance powers. The White House, meanwhile, said it wanted the expiring measures extended through 2013."

Comments

*cough*

[pushing-robot]

So I guess you could call this an...

<Sunglasses>

...Epic Fail.

Re:Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

[ToasterMonkey]

à The Ãoeroving wiretapà provision allows the FBI to obtain wiretaps from a secret intelligence court, known as the FISA court, without identifying what method of communication is to be tapped.

à The Ãoelone wolfà measure allows FISA court warrants for the electronic monitoring of a person for whatever reason Ã" even without showing that the suspect is an agent of a foreign power or a terrorist. The government has said it has never invoked that provision, but the Obama administration said it wanted to retain the authority to do so.

à The Ãoebusiness recordsà provision allows FISA court warrants for any type of record, from banking to library to medical, without the government having to declare that the information sought is connected to a terrorism or espionage investigation.

In the best traditions of bipartisanship, both parties want to take away your civil liberties and sell out the middle class to big business. The only difference between the two is which big business group they are puppets for.

And this is coming from a Constituional law professor, by the way. A guy who taught at one of the top Universities in the country - the University of Chicago - and was educated at the top law school in the country. If this is what he thinks the Constitution stands for, we're fucked.

Your argument appeals to the public more when you leave it at "Patriot Act is Evil" and not giving too many facts that when read aloud don't actually sound all that terrible.

Which part of the Constitution of the United States do you think these are stepping on? Enough of this revisionist BULLSHIT please. Can we debate privacy as fundamental human right or whatever without dragging the God damned Constitution or any other "sacred" text into this? This is the same Holy Constitution that started out only letting wealthy white men vote after all. The reason civil rights get violated and privacy has "issues" is because the book is still being written on this one.

Hey look, "Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof."
See, that's the part that makes the federal govt telling the states how to standardize on a national ID unconstitutional! Oh WAIT!
There's just no limit to the amount of fun we can have interpreting the Constitution, I'm telling you.

P.S. I am posting this with as much anonymity as you have, but get virtual kudos to beat off with.

Re:Hmm.

[Misch]

Only 26 republicans voted against this bill. 122 democrats voted against this bill. Only 7 of those 26 republicans are considered teabaggers.