From NRO corner...........
PATRIOT ACT POLLING [Ramesh Ponnuru]
A new CNN/Gallup/USA Today poll finds that only 34 percent of the public thinks that the Patriot Act goes too far. Sixty-two percent approve of it (44 percent) or think it doesn't go far enough (18 percent).
If they can't even define it, they have no business passing judgment on it.
...and Hitler was popularly elected!
We have a CONSTITUTION and enumerated BILL OF RIGHTS for good reasons!
Any and all attempts to sidestep, circumvent or ignore same is an act of sedition, no matter how loudly the proponents clamor that "the end justifies the means".
I have already witnessed the appalling attitude change of our American "Law Enforcement" post "patriot act", it has NOT been good for the American public.
The new attitude is, "We are THE LAW, we can do anything we want, you have no rights, we can do anything we want to anybody for any reason we feel like".
This may not be the "patriot act's" original intent, but it certainly IS a visible result. BTW, the act has ALREADY been abused to prosecute entirely domestic acts having NOTHING to do with terrorism.
You don't believe it?
Fine, but when your eyes are opened by personal experience, you will not be able to claim you did not know it was coming.
There are indeed some excellent provisions in the misnamed "patriot act", but there are also too many which are flagrantly unconstitutional.
If this is truly a "Conservative" site, we should be "Conserving" our Constitution and BOR as written, not subjugating it to "the necessity of the moment" as the liberals are so fond of doing!
As the saying goes, "Legislate in haste, repent at leisure".
This is the time to "repent" and fix the horrid flaws in the feculent haste-fully written and passed "patriot act".
I applaud the four Republicans who are standing against this "act" as written, and sorely disappointed that our republic is having to depend on Liberals to defend itself against such brazen sedition.