Secret PATRIOT Act
Sen. Ron Wyden says it’s worse than you think:
Congress is set to reauthorize three controversial provisions of the surveillance law as early as Thursday. But Wyden says that what Congress will renew is a mere fig leaf for a far broader legal interpretation of the Patriot Act that the government keeps to itself — entirely in secret. Worse, there are hints that the government uses this secret interpretation to gather what one Patriot-watcher calls a “dragnet” for massive amounts of information on private citizens; the government portrays its data-collection efforts much differently.
So, we have secret interpretations of laws and selective enforcement of laws. This is getting creepy.
May 26th, 2011 at 9:49 am
I am just shocked by this news. Shocked I say.
May 26th, 2011 at 10:28 am
Gee, it’s like we live in a police state or something.
May 26th, 2011 at 10:58 am
Markie Marxist sez: “We’re sovietizing Amerika at a fairly good pace. The dumbass hippie generation has been very helpful. They don’t know their ass from their karma, but they’ve served well as useful idiots.”
May 26th, 2011 at 11:22 am
“Getting” Creepy? More like “is” Creepy.
May 26th, 2011 at 11:41 am
double secret interpretations mean that War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery and Ignorance is Strength,
May 26th, 2011 at 11:44 am
The Patriot Act is NOT patriotic. Our government has long since been hi-jacked by a corporate fascist oligarchy to which many in Congress grovel in craven appeasement.
May 26th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
Or alternatively Wyden’s talking out his ass to score points.
I don’t tend to take claims like that seriously from the vast majority of politicians – and while Wyden is by no means the worst Democrat around [indeed, he’s not even the worst Democrat from my state], I don’t know that I trust him to be Completely Fair And Accurate rather than score points here.
“Hints” from an anonymous “watcher” are now facts?
It’s important to apply critical thought even when you want to agree with the speaker.
Arguably, that’s the most important time to demand evidence.
May 26th, 2011 at 1:54 pm
Guess the slogan should say.
Don’t mess with Texas; Molest Texas…
May 26th, 2011 at 1:54 pm
Doh wrong article…
May 26th, 2011 at 4:04 pm
“This is getting creepy.”
It’s been creepy for a very long time. That is to say; we took this exit off the main highway before you were born. The fact that we’ve come to the “bridge out” sign at the edge of the canyon might be more alarming to you, but we’ve been going pedal-to-the-metal toward this cliff for generations. Thank your grandparents or your great grandparents, or your great-greats.