PATRIOT Act II

[tonybradley]

Then again, I could be mistaken and you may be posting this in reference to something else, but I feel it is intended to try and prove Patriot Act II is in place. If needed, I will more than happily obtain the nessessary links to prove that it is in fact still under heavy rewrite, and nowhere near release, from sources well known and trusted.

Whether or not this particular bill is actually titled "Patriot Act II" is irrelevant. The fact that the real Patriot Act II bill was torn to shreds and the confetti was shipped back to Ashcroft and Bush is addressed in the article:

The leak and ensuing public backlash frustrated the Bush administration's strategy, so Ashcroft and Co. disassembled Patriot Act II, then reassembled its parts into other legislation. By attaching the redefinition of "financial institution" to an Intelligence Authorization Act, the Bush Administration and its Congressional allies avoided public hearings and floor debates for the expansion of the Patriot Act.

A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet. The Patriot Act II is alive and well- just under the alias of having been shoved into other bills that get less scrutiny and media attention.

The bottom line from my original post remains that they borrowed key provisions of Patriot Act II, stuck them into the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 and then hid behind the media circus of "catching" Saddam Hussein so they could sign it in secret and strip more of the Bill of Rights away while nobody was looking.

[RoadClosed]

The bottom line from my original post remains that they borrowed key provisions of Patriot Act II, stuck them into the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 and then hid behind the media circus of "catching" Saddam Hussein so they could sign it in secret and strip more of the Bill of Rights away while nobody was looking.

You do realize the bill was authored during the summer and Saddam was captured after it was approved and ratified. There was nothing secret about it, I didn't think. Are you specualting they knew were Saddam was and waited almost 2 weeks to dig him out of a hole and Bush quckly signed the bill the very instant he was captured so no one would notice after months of debate and final approval? Or that in the 70s the government decided that financial records are public in their eyes and the FBI never needed a warrent to get your account information?

Personaly I'll keep my money in the bank but others might want to stop using credit cards, ATMs and writing checks. I can definitely see their point though. I guess I'll give up a little freedom for security that my money is secured in a vault and insured, even though Ben Franklin says the opposite about freedoms and security. The article mentioned that credit cards were added in the scope broadening, they were always there (unfortunately) because banks process them and banks have always been open to government snooping along with a host of related industries like stock brokering etc, that's why my uncle Mike the militia dude keeps his money behind the glovebox in his van. lol.

I can side with those who desire less intrusion into their financial lives, after all we can't make a penny without the government taking a large majority away and forcing us to report our earnings. You want privacy, let's go after that.... I see the need for taxation, but I would like to get away with my side jobs not being snooped and taxed once in a while. Which brings me to my own personal theory, Patiot ACT II? Nope, I think the G-man as a government whole, is after more taxes, and that pisses me off. I bet bet Bush didn't even read the thing. He read the executive summary attached in my opinion, just like 99 percent of the CEOs out there.