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Renew the Patriot Act or Risk Another 9/11
American Thinker.com ^ | March 9, 2020 | Tim Sumner

Posted on 03/09/2020 6:40:43 AM PDT by Kaslin

Before the Patriot Act, the FBI would have been stymied in conducting a counterterrorism investigation involving a now infamous American agent of a foreign power.

Anwar al-Awlaki was born in the United States. Yet, apparently, Senators Rand Paul and Mike Lee believe the only thing worth remembering about him is that President Obama “illegally” had him killed in Yemen using a Hellfire missile. (No matter that al-Awlaki: had sent “panty bomber” Abdulmuttalab to blow up a passenger plane over Detroit; attempted to blow up a DHL cargo airplane in flight; had become the well-publicized spiritual leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula [AQAP]; and was heavily guarded in Yemen’s remote tribal areas -- sending Americans into those wilds to arrest him would have been difficult and dangerous.)

Most of us vividly recall that twice before 9/11 al-Awlaki met with future hijackers.

I agree with former federal prosecutor Andrew C. McCarthy that the collection of metadata should be abolished. Further, I agree that judges are unqualified to conduct national security. Republicans and Democrats in Congress have repeatedly abdicated their oversight responsibilities of our intelligence community. Now, some Republicans are seeking to give the FISA court even more authority. Far too many Democrats -- who seek to vest America’s foreign enemies with our constitutional rights -- are cheering them on.

Yet Senators Paul and Lee seem to assume America could also safely let the business records and roving wiretap provisions of the Patriot Act expire after March 15, 2020.

Americans would be less safe, and what might have happened had the FBI investigated Anwar al-Awlaki before 9/11 helps to demonstrate why.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: counterterrorism; domesticterrorism; trumpgwot
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To: DIRTYSECRET

“Fire all those perverts who put their hands on us.”

Thank you! In January when I flew, I was patted down (I always beep because of artificial hip). The perv TSA woman actually had her hands down INSIDE the waist of my slacks — at the Clearwater airport, I believe. (It could’ve been Knoxville, but I don’t think so.) I was SO pissed!


21 posted on 03/09/2020 7:14:56 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam ("Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength" - Corrie ten Boom)
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To: bert

Obama could not have usurped the office that the Constitution says he may not hold without the complete cooperation of the GOP.


22 posted on 03/09/2020 7:16:23 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizens Are Born Here of Citizen Parents_Know Islam, No Peace-No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: Cincinnatus.45-70

You are rationalizing, forgiving Obama. Your anti Bush hatred is irrationally misplaced.

The Blame, all the Blame is on Obama


23 posted on 03/09/2020 7:18:24 AM PDT by bert ( (KE. NP. N.C. +12) Progressives are existential American enemies)
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To: Lurkinanloomin

There it is....... outed

Conservative antiRepublicanism is a corrosive disease, a cancer on the conservative agenda


24 posted on 03/09/2020 7:19:53 AM PDT by bert ( (KE. NP. N.C. +12) Progressives are existential American enemies)
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To: bert

Republicans willing to subvert the Constitution are the cancer.

Obama is not a natural born citizen.

None of the children are naturally Americans because they are also born foreign nationals.

Cruz, Jindal, Haley, Rubio and George P. Bush were all born foreign nationals and in eligible to be President.

They were the reason the GOP went along with the Kenyanesian Usurpation.


25 posted on 03/09/2020 7:24:40 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizens Are Born Here of Citizen Parents_Know Islam, No Peace-No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: bert

None of the children of foreign nationals are natural born citizens as they are also born foreign nationals.


26 posted on 03/09/2020 7:25:46 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizens Are Born Here of Citizen Parents_Know Islam, No Peace-No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: Kaslin

Fact: the majority of 9/11 hijackers entrances were blocked initially, and got special entrance permission from John Brennan.

Fact: The data that would have captured and prevented 9/11 was already there, but laws placed by the Clinton administration prevented security agencies from communicating to prevent ‘profiling’

Fact: the misuse of the patriot act has resulted in political spying, massive intrusions and violations of the 4th amendment, and destroyed innocent people’s lives.

Fact: those that sacrifice liberty for safety get neither.

It’s safer for the Republic to risk 9/11 then to keep the Patriot act. This is my opinion.


27 posted on 03/09/2020 7:39:03 AM PDT by Pete Dovgan
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To: Kaslin

3,000 people lost their lives on 9/11, but still that is better than 297 million losing their country over a successful coup using a law like the patriot act to dig dirt on a president.

Besides, if the patriot act were really “patriotic” it would have led to the exposing of the criminal activity of Barack and Hillary, and the deep state.

We all know that it is only going to be used against patriots.


28 posted on 03/09/2020 7:42:59 AM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress (http://www.baptistbiblebelievers.com/BYTOPICS/tabid/335/Default.aspx D)
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To: Kaslin

It wasn’t because there was no Patriot Act that 9-11 happened and was not interdicted. It happened because of the Wall Memo written by Jamie Goerlick who happened to be one of the 9-11 commissioners who investigated (whitewashed) 9-11. That memo barred the CIA and FBI from communicating with each other thus when Mohammed Atta was tracked by the CIA flying into the US, they were not allowed to tell the FBI to pick up the track on him and he walked out of the airport without anyone tracking him. That’s why 9-11 was not stopped.


29 posted on 03/09/2020 7:43:07 AM PDT by fatman6502002 ((The Team The Team The Team - Bo Schembechler circa 1969))
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To: Tench_Coxe
What no one seems to be asking is whether "another 9/11" is preferable to the attempted coup.

After all, which one is the more serious threat to the country? 3-5,000 killed and multi-billion economic impact vs the loss of freedom and self determination.

And if we want to tally human losses, how many people have been killed in overseas wars waged to protect the deep state?

Alternatively, if we want to get into financial loss numbers, just how much economic damage has been inflicted by outsourcing and globalization?

You see, the founders were absolutely right: no foreign threat, even to the magnitude of Pearl or 9/11 ever really actually threatened our foundation. But how close did the swamp get?

I can only imagine the reaction when the history is written with declassed materials and the full monty finally exposed.

30 posted on 03/09/2020 7:45:53 AM PDT by semantic
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To: Pete Dovgan
Fact: the majority of 9/11 hijackers entrances were blocked initially, and got special entrance permission from John Brennan.

Source?

31 posted on 03/09/2020 7:51:13 AM PDT by Arones (When Leftists are in a minority, then they look for other ways to win.)
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To: semantic

But how close did the swamp get?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They put an ineligible Kenyan from Indonesia in the Oval Office in direct violation of the Constitution.


32 posted on 03/09/2020 8:06:15 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizens Are Born Here of Citizen Parents_Know Islam, No Peace-No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: Kaslin
Got played on this one and sold a bill of goods.

Scrap it.

33 posted on 03/09/2020 8:07:09 AM PDT by rdcbn ( Referentiai)
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To: Loud Mime
I have read it too.

I totally agree with you.

If the system works as intended its great and reasonable.

The system breaks down when the people responsible for policing the system are the ones abusing it.

What we are seeing is how a small cabal of politically appointed people at the very top can subvert the system

They need to be punished to the full extent of law to restore faith in system.

Was a huge booster of Patriot Act but now feel it should be scrapped because it has been proved to be more dangerous to the country than the threats it was intended to protect us from

34 posted on 03/09/2020 8:16:11 AM PDT by rdcbn ( Referentiai)
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To: bert

I want to blame them all, but if we can just blame Obama, I’m good with that, too. Let’s at least start somewhere. Right now, everybody is getting away with it.


35 posted on 03/09/2020 8:22:28 AM PDT by Cincinnatus.45-70 (What do DemocRats enjoy more than a truckload of dead babies? Unloading them with a pitchfork!)
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To: rdcbn

it has been proved to be more dangerous to the country than the threats it was intended to protect us from
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TRUTH!


36 posted on 03/09/2020 8:40:43 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizens Are Born Here of Citizen Parents_Know Islam, No Peace-No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: rlmorel

Yep, and if and when that happens glassify the bad actors.


37 posted on 03/09/2020 9:32:17 AM PDT by VTenigma (The Democrat party is the party of the mathematically challenged)
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To: rdcbn

The system breaks down when the people responsible for policing the system are the ones abusing it.


Aye, there’s the rub. The very reason I didn’t support it from the outset. The unconstitutionality and human frailties. I also didn’t support Iraq war II, although never wavered in my support of the troops.


38 posted on 03/09/2020 9:42:18 AM PDT by VTenigma (The Democrat party is the party of the mathematically challenged)
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To: Kaslin
On October 26, 2001, Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 into law. Contained in section 326(b) was the provision that allowed US banks to accept the Mexican Matricula Consular card as valid ID for opening a bank account.

Congress sent a request for opinion to Bush's Treasury Dept. about 326(b). Bush's Treasury responded:

“The proposed rules set forth the requirement that financial institutions would have to establish a customer identification and verification program applicable to all new accounts that are opened, regardless of whether the customer is a U.S. citizen or a foreign national. While the proposed rules prescribe minimum standards for such programs, they leave sufficient flexibility to permit financial institutions to tailor their program to fit their business operations. The customer identification program would have to contain reasonable procedures for identifying any person, including a business, that opens an account, setting forth the type of identifying information that the financial institution will require. At a minimum, for U.S. persons the proposed rules would require financial institutions to obtain the following information: name, address, taxpayer identification number, and, for individuals, date of birth. While a taxpayer identification number is not required for non-U.S. persons, a financial institution must describe what type of information it will require of a non-U.S. person in place of a taxpayer identification number. The regulations state that financial institutions may accept one or more of the following: a U.S. taxpayer identification number; a passport number and country of issuance; an alien identification card number, or the number and country of issuance of any other government-issued document evidencing nationality or residence and bearing a photograph or similar safeguard.”

This also contained a footnote (17):

“Thus, the proposed regulations do not discourage bank acceptance of the ‘matricula consular’ identity card that is being issued by the Mexican government to immigrants.” (See: Treasury Department Issues USA PATRIOT Act Report to Congress)

39 posted on 03/09/2020 9:51:38 AM PDT by Ol' Dan Tucker (For 'tis the sport to have the engineer hoist with his own petard., -- Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 4)
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To: Ol' Dan Tucker
“Thus, the proposed regulations do not discourage bank acceptance of the ‘matricula consular’ identity card that is being issued by the Mexican government to immigrants.” (See: Treasury Department Issues USA PATRIOT Act Report to Congress)

Everything you need to know about 'matricula consular' cards is contained in the fact that the mexican government will not accept them as legitimate identification.

40 posted on 03/09/2020 10:20:14 AM PDT by zeugma (I sure wish I lived in a country where the rule of law actually applied to those in power.)
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