No, I’m not talking about the health insurance industry giveaway care reform bill. I’m referring to the PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act of 2009, a bill that seeks to extend the Bush administration’s PATRIOT Act.
The following is a summary from a section of the bill, which has, by the way, passed a Senate Committee vote:
That the presumption was ever in favor of an accuser -- the government in this case -- seems antithetical to what I know about Constitutional rights. After all, isn’t our legal system predicated on the notion that we’re innocent until proven guilty?
So this bill places more restrictions on how the federal government can secretly search you. I’m left scratching my head: is that a good thing? Is it a step in the right direction?
The following is a summary from a section of the bill, which has, by the way, passed a Senate Committee vote:
Section 3 -
Amends FISA to revise requirements for applications for access to business records in counterterrorism investigations to require an applicant to present a statement of facts and circumstances relied upon to justify the applicant's belief that the records sought are relevant to an investigation. Repeals the presumption in favor of the government that an application for records is relevant to an investigation. Imposes similar requirements for access to circulation records or patron lists of a library and for orders for pen registers and trap and trace devices (devices for recording incoming and outgoing telephone numbers). Defines and requires "minimization procedures" for minimizing the retention and dissemination of information obtained from such records and devices [emphasis mine].
That the presumption was ever in favor of an accuser -- the government in this case -- seems antithetical to what I know about Constitutional rights. After all, isn’t our legal system predicated on the notion that we’re innocent until proven guilty?
So this bill places more restrictions on how the federal government can secretly search you. I’m left scratching my head: is that a good thing? Is it a step in the right direction?
I'm very, very confused about where you stand.
ReplyDeleteYou say kill the bill, even though you clearly like Section 3 (which, as you say, removes a fishy presumption and increases individual privacy).
So what's left to scratch your head about?
My apologies.
ReplyDeleteIt seemed awfully aparent to me that even by striking the presumption in favor of the federal government, the PATRIOT Act extension still provides mechanisms by which authorities can secretly search you. It doesn't completely remove that ability, mind you, it just places some restrictions on it.
According to our Fourth Amendment, secret goverment searches are still very, very bad.
Without commenting on this specifically...
ReplyDeleteI'll just note that in peacetime, I have a big problem with an issue with an invasive government.
But we're at war.