ooo rejected

[DESX]

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/US/Terrorism

WASHINGTON - The Senate on Friday refused to reauthorize major portions of the USA Patriot Act after critics complained they infringed too much on Americans' privacy and liberty, dealing a huge defeat to the Bush administration and Republican leaders. In a crucial vote early Friday, the bill's Senate supporters were not able to get the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster by Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and their allies. The final vote was 52-47.

[Minrott]

Goodness.

[Ouchyfish]

I don't know what all the fuss is about unless people are afraid of the government getting out of control in the future with tighter and stronger patriot act-type laws. So far the Patriot Act hasn't inconvenienced me one fucking bit. If it cracks down on ragheads blowing shit up over here, more power to it.

[Phlegm]

They rejected it because of a couple of provisions in the Patriot Act. Once they modify these provisions, the Patriot Act will be ratify.

[Minrott]

unless people are afraid of the government getting out of control in the future with tighter and stronger patriot act-type laws

That's exactly what I'm afraid of. Miami police randomly surrounding and questioning people at banks. Wisconsin sheriff's deputies randomly pulling people over on I94 for K9 searches. National ID and ID on demand issues coming up in Congress. A populace with the opinion "if you're not doing anything wrong what's the problem?"

The problem is it's a slippery slope and this little bit at a time is desensitizing the public to the infractions against their freedom.

[Ouchyfish]

That I can understand. It's a lose-lose situation. if we lighten up investigations, we leave ourselves that much more open to attack. if we tighten it, we run the risk of gustapo type shit in the (near?) future.

[Arlos]

Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.

-Arlos

[Phlegm]

Senate extends the Patriot Act six more months. From CNN:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Senators voted late Wednesday night to extend some expiring and controversial provisions of the Patriot Act for six months after leaders announced minutes earlier that they had reached a bipartisan agreement.

Approval in the Senate, many of whose members said they wanted an extension so the act could be retooled, leaves House approval as the final hurdle to keep the Patriot Act intact for now.

It was not clear when the House of Representatives would act. Though most members have left Washington for holiday break, the House has not yet formally adjourned, and the remaining members could convene to approve the bill if leaders in both parties agree.

Last week, the House voted 251-174 to renew the 16 provisions after striking a compromise that altered some of them. The provisions were set to expire at year's end if not renewed.

The House approved a bill that would have extended most of them permanently, but a filibuster after the bill reached the Senate stopped the measure from moving forward.

Republican leaders tried to break the filibuster Friday, but could muster only 52 of the necessary 60 votes. Four Republicans crossed party lines to oppose the extension.

That vote came on the same day that The New York Times reported that President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens without warrants.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, cited the newspaper report as the reason he opposed permanently renewing the Patriot Act provisions, and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, called the newspaper's revelation "devastating" to the renewal effort.

Bush pushed senators to reauthorize the provisions, insisting they were vital to give law enforcement and intelligence agencies the tools they need to fight terrorism.

"I appreciate the Senate for working to keep the existing Patriot Act in law through next July, despite boasts last week by the Democratic leader that he had blocked the Act," Bush said in a statement released by the White House. "No one should be allowed to block the Patriot Act to score political points, and I am grateful the Senate rejected that approach."

"The Patriot Act is a vital tool for America in the war on terror," the president said. "The Act has torn down the wall between law enforcement and intelligence officials to help us connect the dots and prevent attacks ... The Act will expire next summer, but the terrorist threat to America will not expire on that schedule. I look forward to continuing to work with Congress to re-authorize the Patriot Act."

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, announced the agreement from the Senate floor after days of behind-the-scenes wrangling that ended the Senate impasse over the act.

Frist had been one of the most outspoken supporters of re-authorizing the provisions, arguing that a vote against immediate reauthorization "amounts to defeat and retreat at home."

In announcing Wednesday's agreement, however, Frist said that the agreement to extend the act was evidence "that there is broad bipartisan support that the Patriot Act never should expire."

"This is a win for America's safety and security, and I'm pleased the Senate was able to rise above the partisan politics being played by the minority to do the right thing," he said in a statement. "We should build on this effort to strengthen these anti-terrorism tools, safeguard our civil liberties and permanently extend the remaining provisions."

The Wednesday agreement marks a tidal shift among GOP leaders who have fervently resisted Democratic offers to temporarily extend the act so it could be revisited.

At least one Democrat applauded the new Republican sentiment.

In a statement calling the extension a "victory for the American people" because it strikes a balance between security and privacy concerns, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said Congress now has time to "get the Patriot Act right."

"I'm glad the president and Republican leaders have agreed with Democrats that we needed an extension," he said. "There's a right way and a wrong way to mend the Patriot Act. The wrong way is to force senators to cast their votes on legislation written in the middle of the night. The right way is the agreement we have tonight."

Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, has said the extension would enable common sense to re-enter the debate over the act. Before the Wednesday announcement, Leahy told reporters that 52 senators -- including eight Republicans -- had signed a letter to Frist calling for an extension.

Sen. John Sununu, R-New Hampshire, who co-sponsored the measure with Leahy, said there are "a number of different ways that we could work through this issue." He added that an extension would give senators time to work out their differences on the act.

"I do think there are changes that can be made, acceptable to both the House and Senate, that will enable us to get strong, bipartisan majorities in both chambers," he said.

The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act, created after the September 11, 2001 attacks, allows the government broad authority to investigate people suspected of involvement in terrorist activities.

Controversial measures include those allowing the FBI -- with a court order -- to obtain secret warrants for business, library, medical and other records, and to get a wiretap on every phone a suspect uses.

[Eziekial]

This is just a 6 month extension but I bet most if not all of these provisions will pass once the holiday season is over and people forget about the NSA spying issue.