Replies

"I wish you had asked me because my concerns do not lie with what freedoms I have lost but with the POWERS GIVEN TO GOVERNMENT! This is what I find frightening.

If there had been an exclusion in the Patriot Act or in # II for American citizens I wouldn't find it so objectionable."

I agree. The part that frightens me is how many are willing to just allow government to usurp more of our rights. They can do anything they want to actual terrorist, but when old men are arrested for making a wise crack that is just ridiculous. This was some TSA or airport security worker taking out their inability to deal with a cranky customer by arresting him for upsetting their day.

The sad thing is if he was a minority, especially an M.E. looking minority, they would probably NOT have been so quick to arrest him for fear of profiling. So this is just more of an example of who stands to be the most affected--normal, white, citizens... maybe cranky citizens, but NOT terrorists.

I think what they need to have is a "Patriot training Act". Instead of making more laws limiting our rights, train the enforcement people to be better at their jobs using the laws already on the books. How many are there now? There are 20,000++++ gun laws (alone!) on the books now.

Does anyone doubt if they had been strict on immigration laws alone we would have stood the same chance to have had WTC tragedies happen? Most of those evil people would not have been in the country. Many were there PAST the limit of their visas. Lot's of someones screwed up and did not use the laws already in effect. Had they even listened to people in their own agencies it may not have happened or as severly... even with our "old" laws.

We have the Patriot Act. That did give some necessary powers, but has there been enough proof that has been insufficient in some way -- or is this just laziness? Maybe just some government bureaucrats way of getting one more piece of paper to push or another area of responsibility.

The authors of the constitution warned of this type of thing. That is even why there were so many checks and balances. That is why they deliberately LIMITED government powers and gave the rights to the PEOPLE. Why are we so ready to doubt the wisdom of those divinely inspired men?.

Oh, and I am not an anti war nut, or against authority. I just believe we have to remember the last time we saw a law--even a bad one, taken off the books. Face it, every right we cede to the government is a right lost.. pretty much forever.