Posted on 05/20/2015 12:22:29 PM PDT by Kay Ludlow
Rand Paul is filibustering the Patriot Act right now, because it continues the unlimited NSA spying on all Americans.
http://www3.blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/rand-paul-filibuster-nsa-surveillance-patriot-act/?dcz=
.....Rand Pauls presidential campaign was quick to send out a fundraising email tied to the speech and threatening to hold senators in town through the Memorial Day recess.
Fellow Conservative, liberty cannot long last without privacy from government intrusion. Yet, it seems many of my colleagues here in the Senate care more about getting out of town for the Memorial Day break than protecting the Constitution so many American patriots have fought and died for. I have news for them. They are going NOWHERE, Paul wrote. I will not simply stand down and allow them to ram through another last-minute deal to shred our Constitution all while they think the American people arent looking.
Paul could be delaying the start of other Senate business, such as the filing of a motion to limit debate to just take up a surveillance bill, but given the amount of debate time in order on trade, that might be a moot point.
Paul previewed his latest stand on the Senate floor Monday at events in Philadelphia, including a news conference held outside Independence Hall.
McConnell, who favors extending the full breadth of the programs scheduled to lapse at the end of the month, said Tuesday that floor consideration would include allowing a vote on a proposal that passed the House with 338 votes known as the USA Freedom Act that would end the current bulk collection.
Paul said Monday that the USA Freedom Act is also problematic to him, saying it could (perhaps unintentionally) expand on the existing Patriot Act.
I’m sorry, I would rather be killed by a Terrorist than live under Tyranny. I know where I’m going.
With the huge task of preventing terrorist attacks on the Homeland using limited resources, I have no doubt that whatever techniques are used to identify those threats are not going to be squandered on citizens who are not involved in illegal activity.
These agencies do not have the time nor the inclination to zero in on anything that does not trigger real security concerns. These methods rely heavily on computerized programs searching data, most of which is never looked at by human eyes.
So much of our personal lives is already out there on data bases that have nothing to do with the Patriot Act. Medical Records, banking records, phone records,credit card purchases, Google searches... the list goes on. Nothing is Private anymore and won’t be even if the Patriot Act goes away. I say retain those aspects of the Patriot Act that enable investigative agencies responsible for security to do their jobs in keeping us safe.
I like MIke lees bill and am glad that Cruz supports it.
It would be interesting to hear what a post 9/11 Ben Franklin would have said. We will never know, but we live in a completely different time with threats that Franklin could never have forseen or imagined.
There is nothing that the NSA can gather that isn’t on a data base already. From the IRS, to Medical Records, banking records, every credit card purchase, Google search and phone call is stored. I think hackers are much more of a threat than government agencies who are tasked with our security.
Strip our investigative agencies of their ability to gather intelligence and the figures you cite will dramatically change. When people tell you they want to kill you, it is wise to believe them.
I agree that it is campaign gimmickry. The Patriot Act has been renewed for the last three years. Rand didn’t filibuster then.
I’m not advocating Tyranny. I don’t think I’m living under Tyranny. If you think you are, you should compare notes with some folks who actually have.
Having said that, I support the Lee Amendment. I think it would be an improvement that wouldn’t gut agencies of the ability to track security threats.
Prescient, indeed.
Exactly...much of which is happening now.
I think we live under a soft Tyranny under a Federal Gov. that is controlled by Bipartisan Fascists, who are all in on finishing building the NWO.
Good, get rid of DHS and the TSA. make flying a pleasurable experience again rather than a dread.
Ron...I mean Rand Paul Protecting out Phone Bills!
/Sarc
I think ISIS is building the NWO.... our representatives haven't figured that out yet....
You mean to tell me ANYONE believes that the Fed govt......you remember!
- The one that can’t track down 6 BILLION ‘lost’ through the State. dept
- That ran guns [the Mexican cartels most likely]
- That ran guns in Syria [Benghazi]
- That can’t follow/figure what ‘Congress shall NOT’ or ‘Shall not be infringed’ means
- That can’t track the MILLIONS of ILLEGAL invaders THEY THEMSELVES let loose, let alone the MILLIONS more that are ALLOWED to cross (in defiance of a court order no less)
...can lay WASTE to the 4th Amendment; all in the name of ‘counter-terrorism’ and ‘protecting the public’?
How much of a rube would one have to believe that?? Sure didn’t stop Nadal (sp?) or Boston or ...
We would likely have nightmares if we knew how many attacks have already been stopped.
A lot of this can be laid at the feet of the Holder/Obama farce of a Justice Dept. We’ve had no leadership!
They can track the illegals and they could deport them, too. We just haven’t held the jackasses accountable for not upholding our laws and protecting our border. We need to change that.
Ha! I'll bet they want to kill me - I'm christian and not willing to bow to anyone (including govt employees with delusions of grandeur). And if they really cared about security - why are our borders WIDE open. None of this is for our security,
I don't think anyone is stripping anything here: A judge will still be able to grant as many wire taps as the govt wants - that is legal and constitutional. It's plainly in the 4th amendment. I just think BAFTA, EPA, IRS, and other alphabet agencies won't have a database to round up the conservatives, gun owners, and christians when the time comes time to do so... why make it so easy for a leftist, socialist FedGov bureaucracy to have our private info?
As for me, one of my ancestors was at Valley Forge - I honor him by not becoming a coward. If they kill some of us, well, that's the price you pay if you want a free country.
Also, the founding fathers had the terrorist British attack and burn down Washington DC (including the White House) - they never thought to strip us of our rights! But they were men back then - not scared adult-children begging for someone to protect them. I've broken bones, gashed limbs, etc. Never thought to sue anyone or ask someone to protect me. Maybe I'm just out of step with the new safety first, transgender LGBT, dumbed down, America.
Did I just hear Rand Paul say that if someone is caught commiting a crime using the Patriot Act that they should not be proscecuted? He said we should apologize to the Black and Brown people who have been arrested and convicted of crimes because of the Patriot Act. Besides being a shameless panderer, he is obviously as smart as Al Sharpton on this.
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