:: Da' Militant One's Lair ::

:: Saturday, December 17, 2005 ::

Maybe the Tide is Turning

In response Bush's attics as M"Master of the Universe" the democrats and four brave republicans voted against cloture on extention of several provisions of the Patriot Act. Read all about it.

Dems block passage of Patriot Act in Senate December 17, 2005

BY DAVID ESPO

WASHINGTON -- In a stinging defeat for President Bush, Senate Democrats blocked passage Friday of a new Patriot Act to combat terrorism at home, depicting the measure as a threat to the constitutional liberties of innocent Americans. Republicans spurned calls for a short-term measure to prevent the year-end expiration of law enforcement powers enacted after Sept. 11.
''The president will not sign such an extension,'' said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), and lawmakers on each side of the issue blamed the other for congressional gridlock.
The Senate voted 52-47 to advance a House-passed bill to a final vote, eight short of the 60 needed to overcome the filibuster backed by nearly all Senate Democrats and a handful of the 45 Republicans.

''We can come together to give the government the tools it needs to fight terrorism and protect the rights and freedoms of innocent citizens,'' said Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.), arguing that provisions permitting government access to confidential personal data lacked safeguards to protect the innocent. ''We need to be more vigilant,'' agreed Sen. John Sununu, a Republican from New Hampshire. Some provisions continue Frist likened the bill's opponents to those who ''have called for a retreat and defeat strategy in Iraq. That's the wrong strategy in Iraq. It is the wrong strategy here at home.'' The practical implications of an expiration of the original law remained somewhat clouded. James Dempsey, executive director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, said law enforcement agencies could continue using Patriot Act provisions against all known terrorist groups such as al-Qaida, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and the Zarqawi group in Iraq. He said even newly discovered members would be subject to Patriot Act investigative tools. The events on the Senate floor underscored the extent of political change since 2001. Then, Feingold cast the only vote against the original Patriot Act, which was designed to give those tracking terrorists some of the authority that had been available only in intelligence investigations.

Much of the controversy involved powers granted to law enforcement agencies to gain access to a wealth of personal data, including library and medical records, in secret, as part of investigations into suspected terrorist activity. The bill also includes a four-year extension of the government's ability to conduct roving wiretaps -- which may involve multiple phones -- and continues the authority to wiretap ''lone wolf'' terrorists who may operate on their own.
Access to various personal records is obtained by order of a secret court established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

AP

:: DM1 12/17/2005 09:08:00 AM [+] ::
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