Haters of the Patriot Act.......?

Question

Would you please explain to me exactly what freedoms the Patriot Act has taken away from you specifically. It seems that most of the haters of Bush and the current administration cite this as a reason why. So maybe you guys can explain it to me.

Hey Usama ******* lama, go join your boys down in Afghanistan then come back to me and tell me about who's the ******* retard, moron.

At least a got a sensible answer out of somebody. Thanks Chi Guy, but didn't answer how it effects you.

mike 1942f, you are assuming that the government actually cares about what you do in your day to day life.

Thanks guys, actually got a few reasonable answers. The rest of you, if this is how you formulate your opinions, well, your SOL.

Thanks for the heads up Bradley P. I'm not specifically attackig anybody by the wording of the question. It is just that some people say they hate the Patriot Act, the question was for them.

Answer 1

Those who say Bush's use of warrantless wiretapping is illegal seem to either ignore or excuse Bill Clinton's use of warrantless wiretapping after the 1993 WTC bombing. Flash foreward to 9/11 and when Bush wiretaps without a warrant he's infringing on people's constitutional rights.

http://americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=5150

Answer 2

It's just another Big Brother Law. Another way to keep track on us without us knowing, for even no reason at all. The only thing the Patriot Act has affected me (to my knowledge anyway) was in getting a car loan from a bank I had to fill out a little extra paper work.

Answer 3

Myself specifically, I don't like my e-mails being read. I don't like my e-mails being blocked. I didn't scream out in the phone room in Iraq that I hated my country my spouse did. I also did not say I refused to pay my taxes. Nor did I commit any terrorist acts against my country as my husband has stated. I know that they are there, listening to my telephone conversations. You can hear it when someone is on the other end, I worked installing business telephones for five years. I'm not even allowed to post a comment on any news sites. I find this a violation of my constitutional rights. Why can't they just ask me what they want to know and if I have the answer I'll give it to them. They are NOT just listening to foreign calls. They are amassing data which can be used to profile a person. I'd like to see what you would do if your credit report had the code "OFAC" on it. You couldn't fly on a plane, you couldn't rent a home, you wouldn't even be able to get a job because it is illegal to hire a person with this kind of mark. And lo and behold, as I was about to submit my answer, my internet connection dropped.- Thanks Guys!

Answer 4

ABSOLUTELY.

Before the PATRIOT Act, I had the right to make a phone call and know that the government had no authority to listen in without a warrant.

I no longer have that right.

Thanks for asking.

See, what people like you fail to recognize is that your rights can be taken away even if the government's unConstitutional authority hasn't been exercise with regard to you, specifically.

Here's an example: I have the right, under the Constitution, to bear arms. I choose not to. If, tomorrow, the 2nd Amendment was repealed, my rights have been taken away, even though I am not a gun owner, because I would no longer have the right to bear arms. I still would choose not to. But I'd be really annoyed that one of my rights had been taken away.

Get it now? When people say their rights have been taken away, it doesn't mean that they have proof that the government has exercised its newfound unConstitutional authority with regard to their specific lives. It just means that they had a right that the PATRIOT Act guarantees they no longer have.

Answer 5

I've always found the Patriot Act to be an unpatriotic end run around due process. I would like to see it sunset and go down in history as a terrible error in judgment along the lines of Manzanar.

That being said, whenever I hear an whines about the Patriot Act and ask exactly whose and which rights have been violated the response is resounding silence.

Answer 6

Immunity against prosecution for the providers of wiretaps doesn't seem too appealing.

The government is no longer required to disclose the identity of anyone, even an American citizen, detained in connection with a terror investigation

Section 215 vastly expands the FBI's power to spy on ordinary people living in the United States, including United States citizens and permanent residents.
- The FBI need not show probable cause, nor even reasonable grounds to believe, that the person whose records it seeks is engaged in criminal activity.
- The FBI need not have any suspicion that the subject of the investigation is a foreign power or agent of a foreign power.
- The FBI can investigate United States persons based in part on their exercise of First Amendment rights, and it can investigate non-United States persons based solely on their exercise of First Amendment rights.

Those served with Section 215 orders are prohibited from disclosing the fact to anyone else. Those who are the subjects of the surveillance are never notified that their privacy has been compromised.

Answer 7

See Doe v Ashcroft and Humanitarian Law Project v Ashcroft for examples of where the Patriot Act has been declared unconstitutional.

Answer 8

LOL @ you asserting they have been fortunate. They performed tense and truly deserved it. no longer purely this evening, yet they performed large with the aid of the playoffs. you should be ignorant of say they have been fortunate. No pass consume crow and get some sleep. you have a tense day of "being mad on the international" previous to you.

Answer 9

For one, it undermines our due process. Checks and balances are what differentiate us from a country like Saudi Arabia or Saddam's Iraq. We have a constitution to protect us from a police state and as a republican, that's what I've always opted for... I thought we were supposed to stand for a small government.
This used to be what conservatives were afraid of...a socialist police state, and here we are the instigators. It's against all laws of democracy and it's against all conservative ideology. Ronald Reagan is turning in his grave.

Answer 10

You must be an Arab terrorist, even if you say you are not. Under the Patriot Act you can be taken away and put in jail and not allowed a lawyer and not be allowed to call anyone to tell them where you are (because you might be triggering an attack.)
You might be calling an Arab terrorist, so your phone can be wire tapped by a government official who does not have to get a independent approval from a court and even though a special court was set up to give quickie approvals, Bush says he doesn't have to get approval.
You might be carrying $10,000 for the down payment on your house and want to carry it in cash despite the risks just to see, just once in your life, what $10,000 in cash looks like and a government agent can stop you on presumption of drug and terrorist involvement, take the money and keep it even if you are innocent and can prove it by where you got the money - "Nobody but a drug dealer carries that much money" actually happened.