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As we all know -- hope is not a method.

Hope is the sina qua non of reform and progress. It's indisputable.

Let's not jump into doom-and-gloom mode. Sneak-and-peek was knocked out by Congress last year despite severe objections from Bush and Ashcroft. Ashcroft's triumphal tour of, what, 26 cities to promote Patriot II actually aroused even more opposition to it. He rushed back to Washington just to try to get renewal of existing Patriot I provisions. And Congress isn't buying into it. They just don't like it and never really did.

I certainly don't take the threat to our liberties casually. But Patriot was always viewed with suspicion by the saner elements in both parties. They've already hacked at it once. And many of the more onerous provisions will sunset.

Let's not pretend that we've made no progress against it. Or that some of its provisions were not necessary to deal with the Islamist fifth column in the States. I see Patriot as a for-the-duration measure, something that citizens should work to reduce as the threat is dealt with. And I think there is considerable consensus in Congress on that point.

Stay active. Keep the pressure on. We'll chop this thing down to size.

And many of the more onerous provisions will sunset.

Just like the AWB, right?

And to think I was even concerned about it!

Whew!

Thanks for setting our minds at ease.

Meanwhile, until such time as it "sunsets" (I'm thinking we'll know when that happens, because of all the weather reports of global cooling in hell, and news bulletins about massive numbers of cows mysteriously returning to their ancestral homepastures), you might want to peruse some of the nightmares your countrymen are enduring:

This guy made the mistake of... obeying the law: Airport follies

This guy made the mistake of stopping by the side of the road for a cigarette: Welcome to Humboldt County. Papers, Please.

And this one takes the cake -- an airport that essentially declares itself a sovereign state, above the law (oh, don't worry -- it writes its own laws), and then, declares that it has jurisdiction over everyone for something like a six mile radius -- even people legally driving down the road (say, from work to home), minding their own business, nowhere near the airport: VCDL hits Sovereign Nation of MWAA in press! (If you object, don't worry. They have their own laws, remember. They'll allow you to file an FOIA. It'll only cost you a bit over $12,000 in FOIA "fees" to get them to provide the info you need to attempt to challenge their divine rule over you.)

Yup, everything's gonna be just fine. Move along, folks, nothing to see here. But as long as you are here, we've got a few questions for you. I'm sure you'll cooperate, jawohl?