Patriot Act 'making America safer,' Bush says
If he really wants to improve intelligence, the president should follow John Kerry's lead and focus on improving the Patriot Act to make sure that the agencies charged with protecting our security are talking to one another and have the resources they need. Simply playing election-year politics with the Patriot Act won't accomplish that goal.
- Phil Singer, John Kerry campaign spokesman
Since the Bushies are increasingly less able to defend their actions (or lack of same) prior to 9.11, it's becoming apparent that they are feeling the heat. Now it seems that they are willing to grasp at anything that makes it appear that they are on top of the war against terror. I suppose this would account for why, 20 months before it is due to lapse, Bush is out beating the drums for the PATRIOT Act.
HERSHEY, Pa. -- President Bush gave an impassioned defense today of the Patriot Act, using a visit to this electoral battleground state to warn that if the law begins to expire as scheduled in 20 months it would undermine domestic security.
"It's a law that is making America safer," Bush said of the measure that expanded the government's surveillance and detention powers -- and has been widely criticized by both liberals and conservatives....
Congress approved the Patriot Act after the terrorist attacks, but both liberals and conservatives in Congress want to allow some of the act's provisions to expire and have introduced several bills to do so. They argue that parts of the law are too intrusive on Americans' lives.
Opposition to the law has forced lawmakers to pass resolutions against it in Alaska, Hawaii, Vermont and Maine, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU says more than 291 communities representing nearly 50 million people in 39 states have supported resolutions assailing the law.
Bush did not explain why he felt compelled to promote the law's permanence 20 months before it begins to expire, but his speech came as his administration has been under fire for the steps it took before the attacks with the intelligence it had. The independent commission investigating the attacks has kept the matter in the spotlight for weeks, putting Bush on the defensive on an issue his campaign regards as a political strong suit.
Since when must we erode civil liberties in order to protect them? When Liberals AND Conservatives are united in oppostion to a piece of legislation, you know that something clearly needs to happen. It's time for George W. Bush to recognize the USA PATRIOT Act for what it is- a knee-jerk reaction to 9.11 designed to look as if the Bush Administration was going to (finally) get serious about terrorism.
I'm not saying that we need to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Clearly, the PATRIOT Act is, in some respects, a step in the right direction. Nonetheless, it was implemented with little forethought, and in indeed with some Congressman not even being allowed to see the text of the bill they were charged with voting on. Something so important NEEDS a full and open debate. Otherwise, as is currently the case under the PATRIOT Act, we risk allowing our own government to trample our rights. Rights are much easier to preserve that to reclaim.
We deserve better than the ham-handed approach allowed for in the USA PATRIOT Act. Clearly, we're not going to get it from this administration.
