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It is not the "Patriot Act" itself that is bad, it's the little ammendments that are attached to it. (You know, those little things that Congressmen and Senators never read when passing legislation)

Yes, the "Patriot Act" does have sunset clauses...just like those affecting the "Assault Riffle" ban. However, sunset clauses are just an easy way out of the hot box for the politicians that allowed them to go forth in the first place. What good are they if the next administration (or current one) intercede and block them from falling off the books?

Yes, the "Patriot Act" does have sunset clauses...just like those affecting the "Assault Riffle" ban. However, sunset clauses are just an easy way out of the hot box for the politicians that allowed them to go forth in the first place.

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Isn't it better to have the sunset clauses than to NOT have them. My beef above was that there is no excessive outrage about the laws passed in the last 60 years by DemocRATS WITHOUT sunset clauses. At least these have a nat's hair chance of withering on the vine.

I don't know what the vote count was on the Patriot Act, but I would be willing to bet that it was almost unanimous. Or more unanimous than anything usually is. It only takes 60 votes to override a veto. I don't think Bush ever even thought about vetoing it, but what if he did. Not only would the news media have ripped him 2 new a$$holes, it would have been overridden an hour after his veto, and we would have been stuck with it anyway. He would have given the DemocRATS and the media an issue just like his father gave them with his "read my lips" debacle. Again, Bush never hinted (at least to me...hehe) that he even thought of vetoing it. His best bet was what he did. Accept it and implement with agression the parts he agrees with and show restraint on what he didn't like. That's precisely what he and Ashcroft have done IMHO. We are lucky (blessed) to have honest (again IMHO) guys to implement the Patriot Act. Can you imagine how many more FBI files the Clintoons would have immediately ordered when it passed. They would have arrested every political enemy they had including you and me. FR would surely have been history.