Some highlights from the article:

One main reason is the subjugation of our country to an intrusive statute called the Patriot Act, which was passed on Oct. 26, 2001. Though it is guised as a national security mechanism to free our country from terrorists, the act really just places our own government in the position to terrorize its own citizens.

Melissa Mathews in the Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy explains that it "allows the executive branch to exercise powers with minimal judicial and Congressional oversight. The Act provides the executive enhanced surveillance powers, authorizes federal agents to conduct covert searches of homes or offices without notice, obtain sensitive personal records, track e-mail, and evade the Fourth Amendment's probable cause requirement."

In more tangible terms, the ACLU explains that "The FBI could spy on a person because they don't like the books she reads, or because they don't like the web sites she visits. They could spy on her because she wrote a letter to the editor that criticized government policy." Checked out any books on controversial topics lately? Researched on Google for a paper on a terrorist organization or anarchy group? If the answer is yes, then the FBI is probably spying on you.

http://www.tuftsdaily.com/articleDisplay.jsp?a_id=2460

It is my belief that someday. possibly in the near future, TJ Hombre will be served a subpoena for what someone "said" on this board. More likely it will be dealing with something sexual in nature, but maybe, and perhap ominously, not sexual in nature.

Free speech has already been curtailed by the courts if it deals with commerce or business, and of course we all know that depicting nude children in pictures, cartoons and even putting your thoughts in writing will put you in jail for a long time. We are now extending infringement of our liberties in matters dealing with out own adult consensual activities.

Next will come the imprisonment of those that have thoughts or words that are critical of politicians under the umbrella of National Security. The fact that the Patriot Act I and especially II, purposefully obfusticate the delegation of police powers make abuses almost a certainty to occur.

The rise of McCarthyism in the 50's was a direct result of laws passed during the Second World War that sought to curb spies, terrorists, communist and subversives in order to win the war on Facism. Instead the laws became a political tool. Have we learned our lesson? Yes !! Not the people though. The Bush administration now feels it knows exactly what the voters pucker factor is, what laws the accept and at what moment they can be deemed passable. More importantly how they can sell it to the Republicab controlled House, the Republican controlled Senate and the of course the Republican controlled Supreme Court.

Do not think for one moment that the Patriot Act, passed almost IMMEDIATLY after the 9/11 incident, was constructed as a result of that event.

These laws implemented under the Patriot act were sitting around in the FBI's legal office as well as other "law enforcement" agencies as a sort of "wish list" for years. Some were so obnoxious that they would be doomed never to see the light of day would it not be for one national traumatic day. This gave a golden opportunity for those with this agenda of a "quasi-police" state an opportunity to strike.

There is now a concerted push for P2 as support is now waning even in the house, and only has concievable razor thin support in the Senate.

This support erodes day by day almost exactly like our percieved or real civil liberties.

OG

There is nothing Patriotic about the Patriot act. The mere fact that it is called the Patriot act makes me cringe. Why don't they call it the "Big Government spy on citizens act"?

If they want to catch terrorists, COMEON! Look at those 9-11 terrorists, they are Islamic extremist middle easterners that looks like nutcakes!

Now you are going to point at the average good American citizen and say : hey, you may be a terrorist that's why we want to search you computer, search your home while you're gone, search your wife's and children's body at the airport because she may be attempting to blow up the airplane, COMEON!

Tens of thousands of Millions of taxpayers' hard earned money for government contracts(often to 'friends' of politicians) in the name of 'security'. How about job security? financial security? the security of our competiveness in the future by means of education? There are many many other kinds of security. The Government seems to want to dumb down the population while other countries kids are getting smarter and smarter, ours are getting dumber.

-DJ

Liberals.....they think it is more criminal to call someone a terrorist than to actually be a terrorist!

How can Holder dodge this direct question?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOQt_mP6Pgg&feature=PlayList&p=C96367C8EF48149B&playnext_from=PL&index=26&playnext=2

Beachman, you don't by any chance have Asperger's syndrome, do you?