[NJ_gent]

I'm really at a loss for why he's fighting everyone from the left to the right to push these types of things. Everyone from the ACLU to the American Conservative Union says that much of what's in the PATRIOT ACT goes against everything this country stands for, yet the President continues to push for even further sweeping changes. It seems to me that when something you do unites people across the political spectrum against you, it's time to try something else instead.

Suggestion #1: Secure our borders and ports.

[horatio]

Agreed. On those rare occassions when the right and left agree, we should take notice.

The Patriot Act is a good idea, but it goes too far. We must not surrender our essential liberty in order to gain a little security.

[hchutch]

One of the biggest causes of 9/11 was the stuff that happened in the wake of the Church Committee hearings. The restrictions and decimation of HUMINT. The Gorelick memos that built up a "wall" between law enforcement and intelligence.

Torricelli's leak in 1995, which caused not just new restrictions, but also caused agents to stop cooperating.

We tied CIA's hands behind its back, and we now wonder why they didn't warn us. We can't have it both ways.

[DLfromthedesert]

You nailed it. Americans should NOT have to give up basic freedoms to accommodate illegals.

[boxsmith13]

"It seems to me that when something you do unites people across the political spectrum against you, it's time to try something else instead."

Something like 60%+ of the public supports the Patriot Act. It is only the kooks accross the spectrum from left to right who oppose it. You cant say that the ACLU opposes it and ACU opposes it, therefore everyone in between opposes it.

[steve-b]

It seems to me that when something you do unites people across the political spectrum against you, it's time to try something else instead. Suggestion #1: Secure our borders and ports.

Oh, really, dahling, think of what we'd have to pay the landscaper and the babysitter if people took the immigration laws seriously. Pass the caviar....