The Patriot Act - Your Thoughts?

www.epic.org...
(A link to the act in it's entirety.)

"To deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled."

"This Act may be cited as the `Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism..."

I see this act as an extreme threat to the people of the United States personal freedoms. It is, of course, particularly relevant to people who research conspiracies, as the loose definition of "terrorism" could easily be made to encompass their research.

What are your thoughts about this act?

[edit on 2-6-2005 by Chimaera]

It's the beginning of true fascism, disguised as democracy. It's the downfall of the last shred of freedom we might have had.

Kiss your second and forth amendments good bye.

As a matter of fact, just forget the constitution. After all, they have.

They have made it yet even more obvious they care nothing about individual freedoms. I was surprised when this bill passed very easily.

Originally posted by Chimaera
www.epic.org...
(A link to the act in it's entirety.)

Considering it wasn't even read before it was passed, i doubt it has anything to do with protecting liberties as much as it is designed to widen the ever increasing gap between the people and the powers of the government.

Big Brother anyone? Political correctness, forced patriotism, video cameras, phone taps, internet traffic identification, ect. . .

I think the "Patriot" Act is one of the most un-American pieces of legislature ever passed.

Originally posted by Chimaera
What are your thoughts about this act?

My thoughts are of how relieved I am to Live in Australia.

I feel for you guys I really do.

Where is it going to go from here?

The Patriot Act has its roots in the Drug War, everything they are doing with that document, they had already attempted during the Bush Sr. Administration.

I'm anything but a fan of foxnews, but this writer gives a good run down of just some of the current
evil running amok in Amerika with the drug war BS taint on it.
Drug War Shrinking Bill of Rights

The Patriot Act - Your Thoughts?

www.epic.org...
(A link to the act in it's entirety.)

I clicked on that and all I get is:

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I'd be really interested in seeing the complete Patriot Act, so that I could make an informed comment on it. All I know about it is hearsay at this point, but from what I've heard, it basically circumvents parts of the US constitution.

Anyone who supports or signed it is not your friend.

The Patriot Act II, is really a direct outcome of the mental/metaphysical state of our nation. Had someone tried this even 5 or perhaps 6 years before, and they may have stood a lesser chance of getting that material by.

I don't mean this to sound like a political rant, think of it more as a philosophical observation, however...

With our culture becoming what it is, there becomes a time when it is necessary for an evolution. The evolution is one that is, perforce, a step up for some, and a step down for others. We begn to trade our individuality for group think. We begin to trade our individual freedoms and methods for the more civilized group mentality (less individuality and freedom), for the good of that civilized group. We license cars, dogs, and fishing. We carry pooper scoopers as we walk our pets, because the site of critter poop is an abomination to many.

We trade in carrying our own weapons of self defense for the more "in line" concepts of letting others take care of our laws and self defense. We expect a government to give us more and more. We give up state sovereignty for a Federal Cyclopean mish-mash of pseudo-government that, in the end, gives us neither security nor freedom. And to paraphrase Mr. Jefferson, perhaps, in the end, we deserve neither.

The Patriot Act and it's misshapen offspring, Patriot Act II, are all the we, as a people are willing to accept, and probable are all that we deserve.

i can certainly view thi in a differant light than most. i am ahamed to admit that i have been extreemly worried abut my parrents in two differant times in the last six months. the first was when there was an attempt to kidnap them by terrorits while they were out in the world at large. the worry i uffered from at that time should be perfectly understandable as i had to wait over a week after a rushed e-mail informing friends, family and myself that they were now on the run for their lives. i was actively trying to figure a way to go help them with weapons if need be. it has to have been one of the worst times in my life. i was suffering from injuries that kept me from work, while at the same time rearing to go to their aid. lukily they made it ok, they only had about half an hour to basicaly gather up essentials and hit the road. after reaching a safe haven they met up with another american from the area who basicaly had to crash an imprompto roadblock in order to make his escape. he aparently did not have quite so much help from the locals that my parrents had in order to get advance warning.

now this is the one that makes me cringe. my next point of worry was just a couple of weeks ago as this partriat act 2 was comeing out. at that time they were in the us. while i didn't have quite the same concern for them i was still worried about what was happening. i still worry for all of my family that remain there. i find it rather strange that with this, act that takes away the rights as citizens that i actualy felt MORE aprehension then while they were in an area that was not too far from an area crawling with insurgants of both the millitant mulems and communits. except for the time that they were actualy on the run from one of those groups. and at that time they were in the states, a land i have always loved and revered, the land of my forefathers. at one time the home of the free but thanks to these newer laws and so called acts, that have been passed i fear that it may no longer be so.

it is slowly being turned into what i despised about the old communist sssr. a land where suspician is enough to have a loved one simply disapear. a land that can now seemingly hold one without any word, or even worse no charges. just a SUSPICIAN of being a "TERRORIST", a term that day by day is being put forth over all sorts of "crimes", a terrorist used to be primarily considdered one who delibratly attacked civilans in order to cause fear. now much more seems to able to be labled as "terrorist activities". a land where i can hear in my mind the command to "present your pappers please" in the near future. the very thing i was wanting to go fight against in my younger years. it seems that i am seeing an ever increaseing downsizeing of a person's rights and liberties. the very ideals that i was willing to lay down my life for if needed.

a once great country for it's very ideals, now seemingly is systematicaly crushing those same ideals. i find that my reverance is dwindleing, just as those all important rights and freedoms is dwindleing. i see this "patriat act" as little more than a set of laws that alows the head to order a limb cut off just because it "thinks" there might be a problem with it. how much of the very ideals that the country was founded on can be amputated before that country dies? i wish i had never lived to see the day that i had begun to think about these things takeing place in the mighty united states of america. a place where the light of freedom once glowed brightly for all to see and be in awe of. now becomeing like a tarnished mirror causeing that light to fade away in neglect. the fuel being cut off slowly untill that once bright flame flickers out for the last time. the very bastion of freedom that we once new has begun to enter a dark time. one can only hope that before that light fades compleately that someone, anyone resolves to clean that mirror and restore that flow of fuel, that it's light might once again shine raidiantly for all the world to see and gaze at in wondering awe.

why was the patriot act allowed to pass so easily , i live in n ireland so i am not up to speed on the in's and outs of this , was there many objections from the average citizens in the us or was it not explained to the population what it would actually mean for them

The patriot act passed because there has effectively been a coup in the US government. The republicans have nearly full control of the government and are fueling the striping of american rights by spreading propaganda that we are under a terrorist threat. If the threat was so great why stop pursuing bin laden and invade iraq? a country that was well under control by saddam.

Has this act actually been passed in full? If it has, this is not only frightening for those of you who live in the US but for all of us who in live in the so called free world. Not wishing to overly promote my stories but I did cover this in a recent article titles It Happened Once - it Could Happen Again. I urge people to read this and then you will see why this is so worrying.

It's unconstitutional, and if you want my opinion, any politician supporting it should be impeached, removed from office, and charged with treason.

Isn't how something how Dubya whines that "they hate our freedoms." Well, we know who the "they" is--those who support this travesty!

C'mon, really, if some foreign terrorist whackjobs hate our freedoms, does it REALLY make sense to take away freedom?

I don't think it was so much that the congress is filled with republicans as that NOBODY, as in almost none of the congresspeople from either party, actually read the bill until after it was passed. I know I've heard before of congressmen who were quite appauled when they learned what they had actually voted for.

It got pushed through in fear of another terrorist attack.
And it was called the patriot act... how could that sound harmful?

newsflash, most people in congress don't read most of the bills they vote on. They are so long that it is completely unrealistic and they don't have the time. But I would sure like to smack the person who gave them the "quick review" that lead to voting yes on that one.

Originally posted by DragonsDemesne
I'd be really interested in seeing the complete Patriot Act, so that I could make an informed comment on it. All I know about it is hearsay at this point, but from what I've heard, it basically circumvents parts of the US constitution.

Here you go...a summary and the H. R. 3162 itself.

www.epic.org...
www.epic.org...

What's worse is that Patriot Act II was not going over very well, so they just snuck much of it into the "Intelligence Bill", which was also passed pretty damn secretly.

Originally posted by Moe Foe


Here you go...a summary and the H. R. 3162 itself.

www.epic.org...
www.epic.org...

What's worse is that Patriot Act II was not going over very well, so they just snuck much of it into the "Intelligence Bill", which was also passed pretty damn secretly.

do you know a letter +number name for the "intellegence bill" or how we could see that one?