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Patriot Act Expansion Fails In The House (thehill.com)
An anonymous reader write: The "Anti-terrorism Information Sharing Is Strength Act" failed in the U.S. Congress on a vote held earlier this week. "Many libertarians warned of potential privacy violations if the measure went into effect," reported The Hill, "which helped prevent it from reaching the necessary two-thirds majority to pass through the fast-track process under which it was considered." The bill would've expanded the number of crimes which would trigger the expanded investigation powers, including crimes covered by the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. "The Patriot Act should not be casually expanded," warned the House Liberty in a statement, arguing the bill would "permit the government to demand information on any American from any financial institution merely upon reasonable suspicion."
In a related story, a new campaign ad is criticizing Senator Russ Feingold for being the only Senator to vote against the original Patriot Act in October of 2001. Shipped to TV stations Thursday night, its narration begins "Islamic terrorists slaughtering innocents. And when Congress gave law enforcement the tools to keep Americans safe from international terror, only one senator voted no: Russ Feingold." After Friday's attack in Nice, Feingold's opponent attempted to reschedule the ads until a later date, but was unable to stop them from airing on at least three stations.
In a related story, a new campaign ad is criticizing Senator Russ Feingold for being the only Senator to vote against the original Patriot Act in October of 2001. Shipped to TV stations Thursday night, its narration begins "Islamic terrorists slaughtering innocents. And when Congress gave law enforcement the tools to keep Americans safe from international terror, only one senator voted no: Russ Feingold." After Friday's attack in Nice, Feingold's opponent attempted to reschedule the ads until a later date, but was unable to stop them from airing on at least three stations.
the good guys win
The Patriot Act (the laughing joke) was a piece of piss poor legislation. Its author(s) and all those voted for it as well as the douche that signed it into law should be rounded up and prosecuted for high treason.
Feingold is ahead in all the polls, so........
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
So is Barack and anybody employed by any of the spy agencies.
Encouraging that this outcome is possible today, even after the spate of attacks at home and world-wide.
From TFA, 147 Republicans and 82 Democrats voted in favor of the expansion, and 86 Republicans and 91 Democrats voted against the expansion. So 63% of voting Republicans support expanding the Patriot Act versus 47% of voting Democrats. Please keep that in mind if you're the sort of person who believes that the Republican party supports small government and civil rights.
Note also that this only failed because it was on a fast track that requires 2/3rds majority; it almost certainly will pass eventually (with a 50%+1 majority), thanks to Republicans.
Its title reminds me... what else is strength? You do the math.
The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
Trump will reinstate it, no worries.
Now to win the war - We need to repeal the Patriot act altogether.
Oh, wait.. Forgot some of us are above the law.
"Feingold's opponent attempted to reschedule the ads until a later date, but was unable to stop them from airing on at least three stations"
Like I try to reach for the elevator's "open" button when somebody's running. Half-heartedly.
...what was never in place.
Proved liar, incompetent, traitorous murderer, yet she likely will become president. Wake the fuck up America!
Why are we mincing words? If his opponent is Ron Johnson, then just say that.
As for Feingold voting against the PATRIOT act? I think he should get a medal. For standing up against a law that violates our Constitutional Rights? Damn straight. All those NRA members a who get all righteous about the Constitution when it's about guns, they come out of the woodworks! But when it's about all our other Constitutional Rights? They're fscking Missing in fscking Action. Damn hypocrites.
What's the catch this time? What actually stopped it, and how much worse is it going to be once they've fixed whatever loophole they'd forgotten to plug up or create?
"Anti-terrorism Information Sharing Is Strength Act"
Seriously, who names these stupid things? How about we call it one of these:
"Government Spying on its Own Citizens is Unconstitutional Act"?
"Acting Like Citizens Are All Terrorists Is Wrong Act"?
"Giving Up Your Rights Is Weakness Act"?
"Calling People Who Give Up Liberty Claiming To Be Patriots Is an Unpatriotic Act Act"?
"Anti-terrorism Information Sharing Is Strength" will never fit on the side of a pyramid. Maybe something shorter, like "Ignorance"?
The "Anti-terrorism Information Sharing Is Strength Act" is the most mis-named bill in the history of anything anywhere.
It should be named the "Paw Through Your Data And Spy On You At Will Without Any Pesky Warrants Act".
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
This is like the civil rights legislation in 1964. It needed lots of republican support because so many democrats were against it.
You should study your history more. This bears zero resemblence to 1964. "Democrats" who voted against that bill switched parties shortly thereafter and those people are now solidly republicans. In fact it was that exact bill that resulted in the south voting solidly republican ever since then. This bill will have no such fallout even though in some ways perhaps it should.
I find it ironic that the party that freed the slaves is now the party whose core is now scared racist white people.
The A-ISIS Act? Seriously? Did they think that through at all? The jokes just write themselves.
July 14 2016: "France will not extend the state of emergency imposed after last year's Islamist militant attacks in Paris in November beyond 26 July"
.. The Minister of the Interior may impose the house arrest, the place it determines, any person residing in the area set by the decree mentioned in Article 2 .. in any case, the arrest will have the effect of creating camps would be held the persons mentioned in the first paragraph
..
.. The Minister of the Interior, for the entire territory is established the state of emergency, and the prefect, in the department may order the temporary closure of theaters, pubs and places of any meeting Nature in areas determined by the decree provided for in Article 2. ref google granslate
July 15 2016: "Terror attack kills scores in Nice, France"
July 16 2016: "France extends state of emergency"
'The declaration of a state of emergency empowers the prefect whose department is wholly or partly included in a constituency in Article 2:'
1. To prohibit the movement of people and vehicles in places and times fixed by decree;
2. To establish, by decree, areas of protection or security where the presence of individuals is regulated
3. To prohibit the stay in any part of the department to any person seeking to hinder in any way the action of the authorities
I. - The decree declaring or law extending the state of emergency may, by an express provision conferring on the administrative authorities mentioned in Article 8 the authority to order searches anywhere, including a home of day and night
II. - Minister of the Interior may take all measures to ensure the interruption of any online public communication service leading to the commission of acts of terrorism or glorifying.
So what did law enforcement do with the tools to keep Americans safe from international terror they were given in 2001? The confirmed number of thwarted terrorist-related activities due to intelligence gathering is 1, a guy sending a few thousand dollars to an Islamistic organization akin to al-Qaeda.
One confirmed arrest for the complete abandonment of communication privacy world-wide over a decade, at a cost of several dozens of billions of dollars. All the other "terrorist plots" could not be confirmed or were initiated by the FBI in the first place, entrapping some fools not otherwise able to perform or justify such activities.
Voting it down let's everyone think that hey, Congress is looking out for us. They will get it attached to an Omnibus bill at some point later this year or next and get it passed with nobody looking because you can't stop funding the government....Just look at CISA back in December.
Russ Feingold for PRESIDENT!!!!
It seems to me that this person needs praise, as he stood up for the American way of life instead of the Stalinist way we have now; secret prisons, routine torturing of suspects, people held indefinitely without ever being charged with a crime, police randomly killing/beating people in the streets, unregulated government surveillance, unregulated secret police force (FBI), etc.
Once they saw how clinton gave away 30 trillion dollars to the mafia, conning the stupidity of americans became a way of life.
I'm surprised, given our governments rampant expansion of its powers I feared it was all but inevitable. Sadly I doubt this is over, it only failed to pass the fast track process. It could have passed a standard procedure as it had a 53% yes vote. Hopefully though the next vote will occur at a time where cooler heads are more plentiful (not immediately after back to back killings). Our response to terrorism (massive spending campaigns, ham fisted military actions, wholesale abandonment of our most cherished rights) has been wholesale stupid. Terrorist attacks don't even show up as a rounding error in mortality statistics, a few simple safety measures would effectively minimize the impact of these acts but instead we spend insane amounts of money hardening the last set of targets and implementing measures that have little to no effect on terrorists while impinging on millions of innocents. As has been said many times before "The terrorists said "Boo!", and our response was to shoot ourselves in the head".
His most-famous claim-to-fame was as a "reformer" with his bi-partisan McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act, which he and all the supposedly reasonable moderates in both parties ran around touting as a wonderful reform that would clean-up campaigns and get all the big money out of them.
Then, in 2008, when his partner in that legislation (John McCain) was running for President, something very interesting happened: McCain and his opponent Obama both agreed to abide by the campaign spending limits, but then Obama vaccumed-up a ton of Wallstree Banker cash and bailed out of the limits, blowing through all previous records for both campaign spending and Wall St banker cash in elections. Instead of siding with McCain, who abided with the voluntary limits, Feingold stuck with his party and provided a bunch of excuses for why Obama had broken his wrord and ignored all the limits.
The excuse that he HAD to go with Obama for other "principled" reasons, even as Obama evaded the campaign spending limits is a joke: ANY politician in ANY party could use that same excuse to dodge EVERY "reform". It's situational ethics on full-display.
The man is a partisan hack and a phoney. He could have stood on his supposed principles for the good of the country, if they really WERE "principles". His one vote in the election would not have changed the outcome, and it's doubtful even his denunciation of Obama's crossing of the lines would have mattered given the cultural inertia of the push for "the first black president". Feingold's actions tell you everything you need to know about his character and any supposed principle he pretends to stand upon.
No sane politician will ever again obey any such "bi-partisan" limits.
You surrender your liberties when you vote no matter whether you vote democratic or republican. The only rational possible solution logically to the problem is a migration movement of those who support freedom over everything else [ie are against the FUD]. If you are liberty-minded like me and don't support censorship, spying on citizens, boarders, social security, license plates, vehicular legislation, banning guns, are against the use of violence to achieve political aims (ie like locking peaceful consumers of potentially self-dangerous substances up), pro-gay marriage (or really against the state being involved in marriage to begin with), etc then move to New Hampshire. Join the Free State Project (the inc part isn't great, but the people moving here tend to be more liberty-friendly than the organization, see www.freekeene.com for instance).
https://www.freestateproject.org
Remember kiddies: Information Sharing is Strength!
But don't get confused --- only some kinds of information... you know, the ones which don't pay our campaign budgets...
Really, this just cries for someone to make a parody mashup using MLP.
As usual, the biased idiots only tell half the story... What the AC conveniently forgot to mention, is that after being passed by a Republican Congress it will eventually become law once a Democratic President signs it into law.