Patriot II Provision Passes Congress –Surprise!
So, you don’t like the vast expansions of power that Patriot II would have granted Ashcroft & Co without any judicial oversight? Fine, we won’t pass Patriot II, we’ll just sneak its provisions into Intelligence Spending Bills when you’re not looking!
The lack of accountability for the bills our Congress passes is astonishing. I would not be surprised if it never comes out who covertly added this provision to this bill. This is the same scenario as when a provision excusing pharmaceutical companies from liability (despite litigation already in progress!) for autism potentially caused by vaccines was slipped into a Homeland Security Bill on the sly. Republican Dick Armey eventually fessed up and there was such an outcry the provision was later removed.
It’s time for a similar outcry regarding this drastic change in the scope of the unsupervised, unchecked, and unconstitutional surveillance powers that the Ashcroft regime seems committed to enact despite public opposition.
Write your congresscritters and let them know that you’d at least like them to debate taking away your privacy and civil liberties before they do it.
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