[VaBthang4]

0 [zero] Terrorists attacks in the United States since September 11th, 2001.

Surely nobody would pretend that none were in the works.

[FreeInWV]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/982317/posts

[JohnGalt]

"Those who are
willing to trade civil liberties for temporary security, deserve neither."

---Ben Franklin

[freeeee]

most of the websites on the net are anti Patriot Act because they say it can be abused and target regular everyday citizens, and even peaceful protesters? (That one baffled me)

Here's a great PA "success" story, where our brave and honest government defended us from terrorism, well no, according to the article it wasn't remotely related to terrorism. Hmmm, maybe the suspects were violent and dangerous. Well no, there was no violence involved. Turns out they were allegedly white collar criminals laundering money from a strip club. I'm sure that's what the PA was intended for. And we're a whole lot safer now, by golly.

Patriot Act Used in Strip Club Corruption Probe

[VaBthang4]

Might as well drop this one here...cause I feel it coming on...

[Steel Wolf]

We have a saying in my line of work, but it probably applies here too.

There are no intelligence successes.

There are only only operational successes, and intelligence failures.

So, just because nothing is happening that we know about, from an intel standpoint there's no way to prove things are going well. Maybe we're doing enough, maybe we aren't. The only definite situation is when things have gone wrong.

[leadpencil1]

Have you read through the act yourself?

http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html

[Liberal Classic]

Here's an interesting article:

FBI says Patriot Act used in Vegas strip club corruption probe

_{ASSOCIATED PRESS}

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The FBI used the USA Patriot Act to obtain financial information about key figures in a political corruption probe centered on striptease club owner Michael Galardi, an agent said.

Investigators used a section of the Patriot Act to get subpoenas for financial documents, said Special Agent Jim Stern, a spokesman for the Las Vegas FBI office.

"It was used appropriately by the FBI and was clearly within the legal parameters of the statute," Stern said.

[michigander]

You may find this useful.

[Steel Wolf]

Does anyone have a list of success stories or embarrassments because of the Patriot Act?

Since this is your question, let me address it like this. Intelligence is like auto insurance. You never really know if it works until something goes wrong. If you have good insurance, then it's okay, because you're covered. If you have bad insurance, then you're screwed.

You have to constantly pay for coverage. You can decide that you're getting ripped off and pay less, or decide to upgrade for more coverage. It's up to you, it's your money (and/or privacy).

Now, if your question is, are we getting a good deal for our payments, then that is debatable. To stop terrorism, we can either hide at home and single out everyone who is a terror threat, destroy everyone overseas who may be a terror threat, or take the middle road. The Patriot Act et al, plus Afghanistan and Iraq, are good middle of the road moves.

[Publius6961]

I'm Looking for "Patriot Act" Success Stories

I'm not.
Other than "nothing" happened today.

Why start a school for terrorists? What better learning tool for them than analyzing successful prevention?

[Your Nightmare]

Didn't they just bust a strip club owner using the Patriot Act? Does that count?

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20031111-105229-3871r.htm

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

Believe the Lackawana six are the result of the Patriot act.

[Doctor Stochastic]

The police detainment of Andrew O'Connor comes to mind as one success.
http://news.bookweb.org/freeexpression/1908.html

[E=MC²]

The much hated John Ashcroft (hated by liberals and liberal-tarians) said that over 350 dangerous individuals have been deported as a result of the Patriot Act. And, please name ONE law that can't be abused...all laws require vigilance.

[mrsmith]

The DOJ has a website on the use of the Patriot Act: The USA PATRIOT Act: Preserving Life and Liberty
Look around, you'll find a few specific successes there.

[ladyinred]

Here's one!
Because of the Patriot Act, I was finally forced to get my name changed on my SS card after 14 years of marriage! Success!

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Tha act is apparently successful because the Patriots are in first place.

[VOA]

From the searches that I've done it seems most of the websites on the net are
anti Patriot Act because they say it can be abused and target regular everyday citizens,
and even peaceful protesters? (That one baffled me)

It should...because some of those sites (e.g., The ACLU) have lots of members who
love the United Nations...which wants to take control and make money off (tax)
the internet world-wide.

Myself, I'm glad those groups are protesting the act, even if it's just an excuse
to beat up on Dubya and Ashcroft, in some cases.

What suprises me is that I searched this thread for any mention of what Senator
Feinstein said about the Patriot Act.
As loath as I am to cite the word of a Democrat from California, sometime in the
past couple of months, an audio clip from Feinstein was on radio news.
The Senator said her office had been hit with quite a few calls of concern about the
Patriot Act. Finally, she called The ACLU (that's been using the issue to get
more money in their coffers). Feinstein said that when pressed to tell her how
many cases of abuse of the Patriot Act they were aware of, the ACLU staffers finally
said "None".

Another reason there may be a lot of concern over the act is a conservative Christian
legal advocacy grouped got to provide some input on parts of it. The group is
The American Center For Law And Justice (www.aclj.com...or is it .org?)
and one of their chief lawyers, Jay Sekulow has mentioned that
he got to have discussions with Ashcroft during the drafting of the act.
For this reason alone, the alarm buzzers would go off at the ACLU and the offices of
all their fellow travelers.

Don't get me wrong...the Patriot Act (like all legislation) should be
critiqued and if missued, amended or junked.

As to success stories, the average citizen may not be able to know much about that...
as it may be used in fairly discrete fashion.
Plus, the government may use it to get info that helps them prevent attacks, but
stays quiet in order to not tip their hand to the terrorists (or to protect
informants/operatives).