Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001
The Act was passed by wide margins in both houses of Congress and was supported by members of both the Republican and Democratic parties. It has been criticized for weakening protections of civil liberties, as well as being overboard in regard to its circumstances of application. In particular, opponents of the law have criticized its authorization of indefinite detentions of immigrants; searches through which law enforcement officers search a home or business without the owner’s or the occupant’s permission or knowledge; the expanded use of National Security Letters, which allows the FBI to search telephone, e-mail, and financial records without a court order; and the expanded access of law enforcement agencies to business records, including library and financial records. Since its passage, several legal challenges have been brought against the act, and Federal courts have ruled that a number of provisions are unconstitutional.
Due to the Patriot Act's controversial nature, a number of bills were proposed with which to amend the USA PATRIOT Act. These included the Protecting the Rights of Individuals Act,[14] the Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act,[15] and the Security and Freedom Ensured Act (SAFE),[16] none of them passed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_PATRIOT_Act
The Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act
Backed by Ron Paul, this act had the goal of creating a 90-day review period in which parts of Sections 4-10 of the USA PATRIOT Act could be removed. These aspects would include: the use of roving wiretaps, secret record searches, detention and deportation of noncitizens, monitoring of religious institutions and the requirement that airport baggage screeners be U.S. citizens.[3] This bill was presented to the House on September 24, 2003, and was referred to subcommittees for consideration. No action was taken before the end of the 108th Congress. The bill will need to be re-introduced in order to be considered again. The proposed bill drew an angry response from the Justice Department who called their efforts "misguided" and "silly" and accused the sponsors of trying to promote fear through misinformation. [4]
Fear Through Misinformation? Like the same way our government instilled fear in the American people by misinforming them about what really happened to the trade towers? But concern from the American people about secret searches, wiretaps, and church surveillance is "misguided" and "silly" because we're expected to give up our civil liberties to accept a false sense of security.
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety"
-Benjamin Franklin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin_True_Patriot_Act
Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003
The Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003, also known as The Patriot Act II, and various other similar names was draft legislation written by John Ashcroft's Department of Justice. The Center for Public Integrity obtained a copy of the draft, marked "confidential," on February 7, 2003 and posted it on its web site along with commentary.
The draft version of the bill would have expanded the powers of the United States Government while simultaneously curtailing judicial review of these powers. Members of the United States Congress said that they had not seen the drafts, though the documents obtained by the CPI indicated that House speaker Dennis Hastert and US Vice President Dick Cheney have received copies.
Provisions of the February 7th draft version included:
* Removal of court-ordered prohibitions against police agencies spying on domestic groups.
* The FBI would be granted powers to conduct searches and surveillance based on intelligence gathered in foreign countries without first obtaining a court order.
* Creation of a DNA database of suspected terrorists.
* Prohibition of any public disclosure of the names of alleged terrorists including those who have been arrested.
* Exemptions from civil liability for people and businesses who voluntarily turn private information over to the government.
* Criminalization of the use of encryption to conceal incriminating communications.
* Automatic denial of bail for persons accused of terrorism-related crimes, reversing the ordinary common law burden of proof principle. All alleged terrorists would be required to demonstrate why they should be released on bail rather than the government being required to demonstrate why they should be held.
* Expansion of the list of crimes eligible for the death penalty.
* The United States Environmental Protection Agency would be prevented from releasing "worst case scenario" information to the public about chemical plants.
* United States citizens whom the government finds to be either members of, or providing material support to, terrorist groups could have their US citizenship revoked and be deported to foreign countries.
Patriot Act 2 was widely condemned, although the Department of Justice claimed that it was only a draft and contained no further proposals. But, some provisions of this act have been tacked onto other bills such as the Senate Spending bill and subsequently passed.
The ACLU, The Loyal Nine and the Bill of Rights Defense Committee have all been vocal opponents of the PATRIOT Act of 2001, the proposed (as of 2003) PATRIOT 2 Act, and other associated legislation made in response to the threat of domestic terrorism that it believes violates either the letter and/or the spirit of the U.S. Bill of Rights.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_Security_Enhancement_Act_of_2003
These are just pieces of legislation that came to pass after the 9/11 attacks.
Legislation like the Patriot act 2 will become law, and will be heavily enforced, especially during a time of escalating "terror threats" and definitely in the midst of a police state government, which is where we are headed. Obama has already begun to do his part in making sure this nation eventually becomes a police state by supporting operations such as Vigilant Eagle, which targets war-veterans and freedom fighters as threats to national security.
Operation Vigilant Eagle: Another Attack on the Sovereignty Movement
Kurt Nimmo
Infowars
April 19, 2009
Last week the Wall Street Journal reported on an operation launched earlier this year to target veterans who are members of “militia/sovereign-citizen extremist groups.” Operation Vigilant Eagle was launched in February, “two months before a memo giving a similar warning was issued on April 7 by the Department of Homeland Security.” It is described as a collaboration between the FBI and the Pentagon.
As Infowars points out, the Department of Homeland Security document in question was originally created in 2007 under the Bush administration and dusted off and revised under the Obama administration. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has defended the document and offered a weak apology to veterans who are targeted as extremists.
Documents outlining Operation Vigilant Eagle cite a surge in activity by white supremacists and “militia/sovereign-citizen extremist groups.” According to the Wall Street Journal, a February 23 draft memo from FBI “domestic counterterrorism leaders” cited an “increase in recruitment, threatening communications and weapons procurement by white supremacy extremist and militia/sovereign-citizen extremist groups.”
The aim of the FBI’s effort with the Defense Department, which was rolled into the Vigilant Eagle program, is to “share information regarding Iraqi and Afghanistan war veterans whose involvement in white supremacy and/or militia sovereign citizen extremist groups poses a domestic terrorism threat,” according to the Feb. 23 FBI memo.
http://www.infowars.com/operation-vigilant-eagle-another-attack-on-the-sovereignty-movement/
Not only is Obama pin-pointing war veterans and sovereign domestic groups (like us) as potential threats to national security, but he is also summoning the people of this nation to become the civilian eyes and ears of the government.
CIVILIAN SECURITY FORCE
Senator Obama was nearly 17 minutes into his July 2 speech (yet another one where naming Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was required) in Colorado Springs, Colorado when he deviated from his pre-released script and performed without the teleprompter net saying,
"We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." (emphasis added)
The immediate context for that amazing statement was a preview of parts of his plan to vastly expand community service opportunities for Americans of nearly all ages. He said,
"People of all ages, stations, and skills will be asked to serve."
This idea sounds eerily similar to Hitler Youth. Imagine the future of America where standing up for your rights and speaking out against the government will get you ratted out by an entire generation of snitches brainwashed to believe they are making America a safer place.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/07/obamas_civilian_national_secur.html
Man Detained for Displaying “Don’t Tread on Me” Bumper Sticker
Dr. Archie Jones
The American Vision
May 8, 2009
Our friends at The Patriot Depot just received a call from Rosemarie in Ball, Louisiana alerting Patriot Depot that her brother-in-law was stopped by small town Louisiana police and detained by the roadside for half an hour. A background check was conducted to determine whether he was a member of an “extremist” group. Why? Her brother-in-law (name not disclosed for privacy) had purchased and displayed a conservative “Don’t Tread on Me” bumper sticker on his car.
The bumper sticker is based on the famous flag designed by American Revolution era general and statesman Christopher Gadsden. The yellow flag featured a coiled diamondback rattlesnake ready to strike, with the slogan “Don’t Tread on Me!” underneath it. Benjamin Franklin helped make the rattlesnake a symbol of Americans’ reluctance to quarrel but vigilance and resolve in defense of their rights. By 1775 when Gadsden presented his flag to the commander-in-chief of the Navy, the rattlesnake was a symbol of the colonies and of their need to unite in defense of threats to their God-given and inherited rights. The flag and the bumper sticker symbolize American patriotism, the need to defend Americans’ rights, and resistance to tyranny’s threats to American liberty. Those threats included-and include-illegal taxation, profanation of Americans’ rights, and violation of the fundamental principles of American law.
http://www.americanvision.org/the-american-vision-blog/man-detained-for-displaying-dont-tread-on-me-bumper-sticker/
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