[glorgau]

Say what you want, but the current war does not threaten out national survival. It is really more like a large police action. Even if Al Queda obliterated New York from the map with some sort of WMD, there would still be a whole lot of Americans left over to reek vengeance. This is nowhere near as much of an existential threat as toe-to-toe thermonuclear war with the Ruskies.

Truncating our essential liberties removes us from our base identities as free citizens. That said, let's do our best to lower the hammer on non-citizens.

Membership has it's privileges.

[mc5cents]

The bottom line is that the criticisms by Gore and the other critics are shameful and irresponsible. Of course...

I will fill in the rest: they're democrats!!

Enough said.

[11th Earl of Mar]

I never understood the arguments used on the right against the Patriot Act, largely for the reasons mentioned.

I can udnerstand those comments from the left, who used to call the police 'pigs.'

But the article shows that all of fuss about the Patriot Act is a lot to do about nothing.

[sinkspur]

I continue to ask (as do others) "who has lost one right as a result of the Patriot Act"?

Nobody has, of course, but the Democrats use it as a convenient whipping boy, even though they ALL voted for it.

It's like the hypocritical criticism of the war in Iraq: they ALL (with the exception of Dean) voted for it.

It's all just foolishness.

[samtheman]

I wonder how many terrorists have gone undetected because of police fear of being criticized by the leftwing traitor lobby.

[InvisibleChurch]

imagine xxxillary with the patriot act in her back pocket

[Publius6961]

STOP THE CHEAP SHOTS AT THE PATRIOT ACT

Why?
If it throws the mentally-challenged into hissy fits, it must be effective.

If there were just two "citizens" in America, and no bad people, the Constitution would be not only useless, but a waste of paper.
Most of the mentally-challenged have no concept of "means" and "ends", and their relative importance.

[biblewonk]

It is a war that threatens our national survival. Yet, listening to an increasingly shrill chorus of political voices, Americans could almost conclude that the real threat to our country comes not from bin Laden and al Qaeda but John Ashcroft and the Patriot Act.

This is what you are supposed to think but it is a flaming lie. On 9/12 a dozen box cutter armed muslims would have been thrown out the window on a plane loaded with grandmas from Des Moines. They took their best shot and it was a one of a kind. They've been impotent ever since.

[Agnes Heep]

It should also be noted that library records were instrumental in tracking down such murderers as the Zodiac killer and the Unabomber.

Not to be pedantic or anything, but the Zodiac Killer was never captured (at least not officially; see this site for an interesting theory); and the Unabomber was captured only after his brother's wife noticed some stylistic similarities between the Unabomber's manifesto and Kaczynski's screeds. Library records had nothing to do with it.

I noticed these lapses in research because I happen to have a longstanding interest in Kaczynski. I can only imagine how many news articles I've read over the years that contained similar errors that went unnoticed because I wasn't versed in the subject matter.

[Jim Cane]

The Patriot Act is an excercise in pure jackbooted faggotry.

[VOA]

bump

[ladyinred]

This to me is the most insidious attack by the left imaginable. Why? Because people hear this, are totally uniformed of the facts, and believe them, making the investigation into TERRORISTS that are in our midst as we speak more difficult!

When and if we are hit again, these same people will be screaming about how this administration did not protect us, blah, blah, blah!

There are SAFEGUARDS, in spite of the leftist rhetoric, and the grumbling and demonizing of the Patriot Act, Ashcroft et al is despicable no matter who it comes from! And nearly every member of Congress voted YES on this, and some of them are the ones using it against the President, while claiming that HE is using the war for His political gain! Hypocrites one and all.

Flame away!

[Squantos]

The threat does not come from John Ashcroft and the Patriot Act it comes from the next band of Clintonistas that get to use it not for national security but to further their own socialist agenda. Not enough safeguards to prevent it's misuse IMHO.

Ya'll Stay Safe !

[Doctor Stochastic]

It's good to see that Conservative Icons Ed Koch and Peter King have joined with the Conservative Patriot Act authors, Andrew Young and Gary Hart to demonstrate that the 9/11 attacks made the government far more competent than it was on 9/10.

[clamboat]

Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford), is a government shill, and I hope his grand-children enjoy living in the hell-hole of Armeica he is making.

Let's start with just the most blatant falshoods - out and out lies - in this piece.

* Sec. 215 - the much-feared "assault against librarians" - has not been used even once. Nonetheless, we strongly believe this is a weapon that must remain in the prosecutor's arsenal. There could well be cases, for instance, when it would be critical to learn whether a suspected terrorist is reading books on explosives or the structural design of office buildings, landmark sites, bridges or tunnels. It should also be noted that library records were instrumental in tracking down such murderers as the Zodiac killer and the Unabomber.

So which is it, senator? Were library records instrumental in tracking down the Zodiac killer and the Unabomber, or was it simply impossible to obtain such records before sec 215 became law? Why not be honest, Senator, and explain that the only thing section 215 does is allow such intrusive searches without a warrant? That's right, the main point of Sec. 215 is to make it easy to obtain records on inviduals based on the suspicions of any federal agent, without review or appeal by any other part of the judiciary.