a teeny tiny victory

but one i'll take and one i'm happy about. i don't think there is ANYTHING patriotic about the patriot act (personally)

(by the way, did you know EVERYONE who works for certain insurance companies or financial institutions as well as MOST of their agents {that sell certain products} MUST take a stupid-ass 'class' each year BECAUSE OF THE PATRIOT ACT? well no you didn't did you! the reason for that is something or other about funnelling money into terrorist countries or organizations. fine you say to yourselves. we should not be doing such things. oh, i agree with you 100% BUT MOST INSURANCE COMPANIES AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS had policies in place to prevent THAT AND MUCH MORE PRIOR AND IN SPITE OF the PATRIOT ACT)


Court sides with ACLU, strikes down Patriot Act gag provision
ACLU victorious as federal court declares Patriot Act provision a violation of the First Amendment

A federal appeals court ruling late Monday is the cause célèbre of the American Civil Liberties Union, as another provision of the Bush administration's Patriot Act falls to the judicial system.

Until the ruling, recipients of so-called "national security letters" were legally forbidden from speaking out. The letters, usually a demand for documents, or a notice that private records had been searched by government authorities, were criticized as a cover-all for FBI abuses.

recipients to initiate judicial review of gag orders, holding that the government has the burden to go to court and justify silencing "The appeals court invalidated parts of the statute that wrongly placed the burden on NSLNSL recipients," said the ACLU in a release.......

duh!

and if you think it ended LAST YEAR like mueller says, you're stupid. it didn't and it won't until every single one of them (king george and his court) are charged with the crimes they've committed and ARE committing to this day. it's a travesty.

i have a question. do the republicans think they are NOT being spied upon like everyone else? does congress and the senate think they are immune (either party)? they're not. why isn't this being stopped IMMEDIATELY. sure you call a few hearings (roger clemens is more important to you than just about anything else though), for what purpose? nothing will happen

FBI Chief Confirms Misuse of Subpoenas
Security Letters Used to Get Personal Data

By Dan Eggen Washington Post Staff Writer
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III told senators yesterday that agents improperly used a type of administrative subpoena to obtain personal data about Americans until internal reforms were enacted last year.
Mueller said a forthcoming report from the Justice Department's inspector general will find that abuses recurred in the agency's use of national security letters in 2006, echoing similar problems to those identified in earlier audits.
Inspector General Glenn A. Fine reported a year ago that the FBI used such letters -- which are not subject to a court's review -- to improperly obtain telephone logs, banking records and other personal records of thousands of Americans from 2003 to 2005. An internal FBI audit also found that the bureau potentially violated laws or agency rules more than 1,000 times in such cases. ...............

i work for

an insurance company/financial institution. what does THAT have to do with the patriot act you say? PLENTY is what i have to say. yes, it even spills over onto us. we had to make a HUGE overhaul on our systems by a certain date (this year) in order to comply. well, the whole industry did (if you sell certain products). agents have to be 'anti-money laundering' certified (we have no captive agents, so these are ALL agents in the biz, as i said, IF they sell certain products) is it a good idea? well yes in theory and to a certain degree. NOT to the degree they've stated. it cost the industry. sure i don't want money going to terrorists. i also think common sense should prevail. i'd also like to state ALL financial institutions etc HAD anti-money laundering rules and regulations in place LONG BEFORE the patriot act.

that's neither here nor there. we MUST adhere and follow our constitution. we cannot step on it or spit on it or tear it up. we cannot allow our freedoms to be eroded. how hard is it to get a warrant? if you're the type of people who would be seeking a warrant for 'suspected terrorists' i have a gut feeling it would NOT be hard at all to get a judge to sign one. let's keep america free, ok?

Judge Invalidates Patriot Act Provisions
FBI Is Told to Halt Warrantless Tactic

By Dan Eggen Washington Post Staff Writer
A federal judge struck down controversial portions of the USA Patriot Act in a ruling that declared them unconstitutional yesterday, ordering the FBI to stop its wide use of a warrantless tactic for obtaining e-mail and telephone data from private companies for counterterrorism investigations.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in New York said the FBI's use of secret "national security letters" to demand such data violates the First Amendment and constitutional provisions on the separation of powers, because the FBI can impose indefinite gag orders on the companies and the courts have little opportunity to review the letters........