New Bipartisan Bill Seeks to Expel the Patriot Act

Josh Paniagua

In the nationwide panic after the September 11^th attacks, the US government introduced the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. Most people know it as the USA Patriot Act.

While this bill may have brought comfort to paranoid suburban families that were convinced that squads of terrorists were lurking around their neighborhood, it also paved a paper path for a new era of mass surveillance.

A PATRIOT Act For Europe?

Mac Slavo

The irony is almost worse than 9/11.

Then, President Bush responded by stating, with bravado, that they attacked us because they hate our freedoms.

This time, the attack against the publication of satirical Mohammed cartoon, was not only an act of terrorism, but an attack on the spirit of free speech.

And the government response this time? After staging a photo op of world leaders, various heads of state have proposed new waves of surveillance and repressive attempts to ban encryption and violate the freedom of speech in communication devices through new spy policies and laws.

Why Won’t They Tell Us the Truth About NSA Spying?

Dr. Ron Paul

In 2001, the Patriot Act opened the door to US government monitoring of Americans without a warrant. It was unconstitutional, but most in Congress over my strong objection were so determined to do something after the attacks of 9/11 that they did not seem to give it too much thought. Civil liberties groups were concerned, and some of us in Congress warned about giving up our liberties even in the post-9/11 panic. But at the time most Americans did not seem too worried about the intrusion.

This complacency has suddenly shifted given recent revelations of the extent of government spying on Americans. Politicians and bureaucrats are faced with serious backlash from Americans outraged that their most personal communications are intercepted and stored. They had been told that only the terrorists would be monitored. In response to this anger, defenders of the program have time and again resorted to spreading lies and distortions. But these untruths are now being exposed very quickly.

PATRIOT Act "Sneak and Peek" Searches Target Drug Offenders, Not Terrorists

Youtube

Wasn't The PATRIOT Act Supposed To Be About Stopping Terrorism?

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We Need More Drones!

Actually We Don’t

• We don’t need more DRONES!
• We don’t need the PATRIOT ACT!
• We don’t need the NDAA!
• We don’t need more WARS!
• We don’t need more BANKER BAILOUTS!
• We don’t need to be TOLD what to EAT, DRINK, or THINK!

ALL this is happening today using your tax dollars and it will get worse unless we peacefully and positively come together to reform our electoral process NOW.

Free & Equal’s 2012 Presidential debates (remember the real debate moderated by Larry King) rocked the political establishment and we want to do it again in June with the United We Stand Festival!

The United We Stand Festival in Little Rock Arkansas this summer will bring together honest people just like you who have had enough.

Our line-up is building daily.

Honest speakers and musicians expected to confirm:

• Jesse Ventura on running for office and how he became governor.
• G Edward Griffin on the Federal Reserve.
• Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK on Drones.

Not to mention “A’ list musical talent like “Golden State Band”, “Jordan Page”, ”Lupe Fiasco”, “Ziggy Marley”, “David Grohl”, and more!  

With a successful United We Stand Festival we will be able to move forward immediately on projects such as:

• Free & Equal National Database
• Free & Equal Honest Network
• Free & Equal Nationwide State Leadership Caucuses
• Free & Equal 10-City University Bus Tour

If you agree with what we are doing and want more FREEDOM and a brighter future for our country, then help us start NOW.

CONTRIBUTE, Volunteer, or Share on Facebook, tweet on Twitter! 

We must raise $15,000 by Monday March 25th to reserve the Verizon Arena.  As of now we are ALMOST there!  BUT LET’S DOUBLE OUR GOAL!
Even if it’s $1.00, $5.00, or $10.00.  ANY AMOUNT will make a HUGE difference.   

Thank you for your support and to all who have donated so far.  All donations are tax deductible.  

The time is now to turn up the volume of the revolution peacefully and positively so our youth and everyone else can become Free & Equal always and forever with the United We Stand Festival.

If you donate $25 or more, we’ll send you a Commemorative DVD of the 2012 Free & Equal Elections Presidential Debates personally autographed by Christina Tobin and you’ll also be sponsoring a local student whom we’ll invite for free!

PS:  Get even more inspired by listening to our
Free & Equal theme song by Jordan Page HERE!

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US refocuses on home-grown terror threat

President Barack Obama's top counterterrorism aide,
John Brennan, vowed to pursue the
"utter destruction" of Al-Qaeda
© AFP/File Saul Loeb

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States vowed Wednesday to pursue the "utter destruction" of Al-Qaeda, while refocusing its counter-terrorism strategy to combat the threat of home-grown terror.

The new strategy comes on the 10th year of the US-led "war on terror," launched by former president George W. Bush after the deadly September 11 attacks on the United States.

It is a "pragmatic, not ideological" approach to counterterrorism that "formalizes" the administration's approach since January 2009, said John Brennan, President Barack Obama's top counterterrorism advisor.

The new strategy, developed after US commandos killed Osama bin Laden on May 2 in Pakistan, also reflects "the extraordinary political changes" sweeping the Middle East and North Africa, Brennan said.

Warning: This Message Contains Democracy

Susan Lindauer, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

No great civilization is ever destroyed from without, or conquered by external forces, until it first destroys itself from within. America's leaders should have thought long and hard about that before voting to extend the Patriot Act last week.

Unhappily it's official. We the People are the enemy. We have dared to prod and examine government policy too closely. We have questioned government leadership when we should rightly have obeyed without challenge. Some of us have exposed wrongful government practices and deceptions, expecting to hold Congress and White House leaders accountable to voters. Foolish us!

Last week Congress set the record straight. Breaking campaign promises to defeat the Patriot Act, Congress blocked hearings and debate on amendments that would fix problems in surveillance rules, and rammed a four year extension on the American People. Only 31 Republicans and 122 Democrats voted against the Patriot Act in the House.

From Bush to Obama, the snooping goes on

The Patriot Act's section 215 – just renewed by Congress – permits almost unlimited powers of surveillance of US citizens

Prison Planet image

Dan Kennedy
Guardian

Remember section 215?

It was a notorious provision of the USA Patriot Act, renewed on Thursday, that allowed the government to snoop on what library books you'd borrowed, what videos you'd rented, your medical records – anything, really, if investigators thought it might have something to do with terrorism, no matter how tangential.

I wrote about it for the Boston Phoenix in 2003, as an example of the then budding excesses of the Bush-Cheney years.

Well, section 215 is back – not that it ever went away. Charlie Savage reports in Friday's New York Times that two Democratic senators, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Mark Udall of Colorado, have accused the Obama administration of using Section 215 for purposes not intended by Congress. Russ Feingold, then a Democratic senator for Wisconsin, raised similar alarms in 2009.

The senators know what the White House is up to because they were privy to secret testimony. But under Senate rules, they can't reveal what they learned. Thus they have demanded that the White House come clean with the public. "Americans would be alarmed if they knew how this law is being carried out," Udall is quoted as saying.

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The Patriot Act: When Truth Becomes Treason

"... I was the second non-Arab American ever indicted on the Patriot Act. My arrest defied all expectations about the law."

Wiki Image

Dissident Voice
by Susan Lindauer 

Many Americans think they understand the dangers of the Patriot Act, which Congress has vowed to extend 4 more years in a vote later this week. Trust me when I say, Americans are not nearly frightened enough.

Ever wonder why the truth about 9/11 never got exposed? Why Americans don’t have a clue about leadership fraud surrounding the War on Terror? Why Americans don’t know if the 9/11 investigation was really successful? Why the Iraqi Peace Option draws a blank? Somebody has known the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden— or his grave—for the past 10 years. But nobody’s talking to the people.

In significant part, that’s because of the Patriot Act— a law that equates free speech with sedition. It’s got a big agenda, with 7,000 pages of Machiavellian code designed to interrupt individual questioning of government policy. In this brave new world, free speech under the Bill of Rights effectively has been declared a threat to government controls for maintaining stability. And the Patriot Act has become the premiere weapon to attack whistle blowers and dissidents who challenge the comfort of political leaders hiding inconvenient truths from the public. It’s all the rage on Capitol Hill, as leaders strive to score TV ratings, while their demagoguery as “outstanding leadership performance” on everything from national security to environmental policy.

There’s a Secret Patriot Act, Senator Says

Sen. Ron Wyden

Spencer Ackerman
Wired

You think you understand how the Patriot Act allows the government to spy on its citizens. Sen. Ron Wyden says it’s worse than you know.

Congress is set to reauthorize three controversial provisions of the surveillance law as early as Thursday. Wyden (D-Oregon) says that powers they grant the government on their face, the government applies a far broader legal interpretation — an interpretation that the government has conveniently classified, so it cannot be publicly assessed or challenged. But one prominent Patriot-watcher asserts that the secret interpretation empowers the government to deploy ”dragnets” for massive amounts of information on private citizens; the government portrays its data-collection efforts much differently.

“We’re getting to a gap between what the public thinks the law says and what the American government secretly thinks the law says,” Wyden told Danger Room in an interview in his Senate office. “When you’ve got that kind of a gap, you’re going to have a problem on your hands.”

What exactly does Wyden mean by that? As a member of the intelligence committee, he laments that he can’t precisely explain without disclosing classified information. But one component of the Patriot Act in particular gives him immense pause: the so-called “business-records provision,” which empowers the FBI to get businesses, medical offices, banks and other organizations to turn over any “tangible things” it deems relevant to a security investigation.

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US Senate moves forward on anti-terror powers

EN: VOMIT. "FBI and intelligence officials have warned that if the Patriot Act is not extended by the deadline they would be robbed of crucial tools in the fight against terrorism -- including wiretapping."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
© AFP/Getty Images/File Chip Somodevilla

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Senate moved Thursday toward extending controversial counter-terrorism search and surveillance powers at the heart of the Patriot Act adopted after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

In a procedural move, US lawmakers voted to end debate on the subject which would allow them to pass to a formal vote on extending the act just hours before it expires at midnight (0400 GMT Friday).

The Senate voted 79-18 against to close debate. But with the clock ticking, they still had to agree to waive the usual 30-hour waiting period after the end of debate before proceeding to a vote.

Ron Paul 2012: Addressing the Haters (Video)

Youtube

Just wanted to address comments posted on my last video. Here is a link to the flyerhttp://www.rys2sense.com/anti-neocons/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=25417

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Feds to Mandate Black Box on all New Cars

Editor's Note: See, the Patriot Act did create innovative technology. Congress says let's keep the surveillance-industrial complex strong for at least another 4 years.

Kurt Nimmo
Infowars

The Feds will mandate next month that all new cars be fitted with a black box, according to news reports. So-called black boxes record information about speed, seat belt use and brake application.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been involved in the use of black boxes since their introduction. In 2006, the safety administration encouraged but did not require automobile manufacturers to install the systems and also did not set a single standard for the way data would be recorded, according to the New York Times.

The Patriot Act: When Truth Becomes Treason

Dees Illustration

Susan Lindauer
former CIA Asset covering Iraq & Libya
The Intel Hub

Most Americans believe they understand the dangers of the Patriot Act, which Congress has vowed to extend 4 more years in a vote later this week. Trust me when I say, Americans are not nearly frightened enough.

Ever wonder why the truth about 9/11 never got exposed? Why Americans don’t have a clue about leadership fraud surrounding the War on Terror?

Why Americans don’t know if the 9/11 investigation was really successful? Why the Iraqi Peace Option draws a blank? Somebody has known the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden— or his grave—for the past 10 years. But nobody’s talking to the people.

In significant part, that’s because of the Patriot Act— a law that equates free speech with sedition. It’s got a big agenda, with 7,000 pages of Machiavellian code designed to interrupt individual questioning of government policy.

In this brave new world, free speech under the Bill of Rights effectively has been declared a threat to government controls for maintaining stability. And the Patriot Act has become the premiere weapon to attack whistle blowers and dissidents who challenge the comfort of political leaders hiding inconvenient truths from the public.

It’s all the rage on Capitol Hill, as leaders strive to score TV ratings, while demogauging their “outstanding leadership performance” on everything from national security to environmental policy.

US Senate opens debate on Patriot Act

© AFP/Getty Images/File Mario Tama

Editor's Note:  Brace yourself for some of the best political theater you've ever seen as Congress attempts to dupe the American people once again.  The misnamed "Patriot" Act will not be diminished in the least; if anything, it's domestic spying powers will be expanded


Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. Benjamin Franklin


AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Senate voted to open a debate on a proposed four-year extension of the Patriot Act, a controversial anti-terrorism law passed after the September 11 attacks.

Key provisions of the law, which gave the government sweeping authority to conduct anti-terrorism investigations over the protests of civil libertarians, are due to expire on Friday.

The Senate voted 74-8 to open debate. A final vote is expected later this week.

Domestic Spying Exposed as Patriot Act Extension Looms (Video)

Youtube


RELATED ARTICLES:
EFF Demand Answers About Secret Surveillance Law Memo
Congress Reaches Deal to Extend Patriot Act for Four Years
NSA Collects a Library of Congress Amount of Data in 6 Hours

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EFF Demands Answers About Secret Surveillance Law Memo

Justice Department Withholding Information on Controversial Legal Theory

Cybersecurity AFP File image

Electronic Frontier Foundation

Washington, D.C. - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit against the Department of Justice (DOJ), demanding the release of a secret legal memo used to justify FBI access to Americans' telephone records without any legal process or oversight.

A report released last year by the DOJ's own Inspector General revealed how the FBI, in defending its past violations of the Electronic Privacy Communications Act (ECPA), had come up with a new legal argument to justify secret, unchecked access to private telephone records. According to the report, the DOJ's Office of the Legal Counsel (OLC) had issued a legal opinion agreeing with the FBI's theory. That legal opinion is the target of the FOIA lawsuit filed Thursday.

The Inspector General's report is heavily redacted, concealing which part of the surveillance statutes the FBI and OLC are relying on to reach their dangerous conclusion and to what types of records this new purported exception to the law applies. However, the report does show that the Inspector General had grave concerns about the FBI's interpretation of the law.

Top US lawmakers strike anti-terrorism powers deal

Deal to extend the Patriot Act for 5 years without new civil liberties safeguards

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid speaks
to the press as House Speaker John Boehner (L)
© AFP/File Mandel Ngan

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Congress leaders have agreed to extend for five years an array of counter-terrorism surveillance and search powers adopted after the September 11, 2001 attacks, sources said Thursday.

Under the arrangement, lawmakers will hold a vote on extending the controversial powers at the core of the Patriot Act before they lapse on May 27, according to several congressional aides.

The officials said the vote would be "a clean extension" to June 1, 2015, meaning it would not include new civil liberties safeguards sought by some senior lawmakers of both major parties.

"War is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, Ignorance Is Strength, " -- Chaos Unleashed After Bin Laden Assassination (Video)

YouTube--crabbydogtrix

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/05/02/war-counterror-act-like-sand-in-eco...
http://costofwar.com/en/
http://post.jagran.com/musharraf-criticizes-for-keeping-pak-in-loop-for-osama...
http://www.unknownnews.net/casualties.html

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What the Patriot Act Does For You

Wikimedia Commons image

Philip Giraldi
AntiWar

Incessant warmaking overseas will someday end when the United States runs out of money or soldiers or both.  But less well understood is the collateral damage here at home where the consequences of the global war on terror will linger on in the form of a shattered constitution.  The Patriot Act is generally promoted as the principal legislative tool being used to fight international terrorism.  It is, in reality, a devastating and poorly conceived bit of legislation originally approved just after 9/11.  It will soon be up for an extension in the US Senate.  President Barack Obama, who criticized it while he was a candidate but apparently has had a change of heart since that time, favors its renewal.  Most members of Congress, few of whom have ever read the entire act, want it renewed.  The mainstream media likes it because who can resist patriotism?

That is the bad news.  But there is also some good news. Libertarians, traditional conservatives, progressives, and even some tea partiers are for the first time uniting to stop the extension.  Senator Rand Paul led the charge in the Senate back in February, resulting in a temporary 90 day continuation of key provisions of the act that will expire in May.  Before that happens, the Patriot Act will again be up for Senatorial approval but this time there will be an open debate in front of the full Senate and under the scrutiny of the media.  It will be the first time that has happened since 2001.  There will also be a roll call vote with each Senator having to come down for or against.  It is an opportunity not to be missed to roll back the tide of government intrusion in the life of every citizen.

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