Lesson #1: Find out what the Patriot Act flap is all about...

[whistle]

...Chairman Sensenbrenner was apparently very threatened by the hearings and the witness testimony, so what are these provisions in the Patriot Act that will expire on December 31, 2005 that the repukes are so desperate to keep in place that they are:

<snip>

The temporary provisions are Sections:
201 (wiretapping in terrorism cases),
202 (wiretapping in computer fraud and abuse felony cases),
203(b) (sharing wiretapinformation),
203(d) (sharing foreign intelligence information),
204 (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) pen register/trap & trace exceptions),
206 (roving FISA wiretaps),
207 (duration of FISA surveillance of non-United States persons who are agents of a foreign power),
209 (seizure of voice-mail messages pursuant to warrants),
212 (emergency disclosure of electronic surveillance),
214 (FISA pen register/trap and trace authority),
215 (FISA access to tangible items),
217 (interception of computer trespasser communications),
218 (purpose for FISAorders),
220 (nationwide service of search warrants for electronic evidence)
223 (civil liability and discipline for privacyviolations), and
225 (provider immunity for FISA wiretap assistance).

The unimpaired provisions of Title II are: sections:
203(a)(sharing grand jury information),
203(c)(procedures for grand jury and wiretap information sharing that identifies U.S. persons),
205 (employment of translators by the Federal Bureau of Investigation),
208 (adding 3 judges to FISA court),
210 (access to payment source information from communications providers),
211 (communications services by cable companies),
213 (sneak and peek warrants),
216 (law enforcement penregister/trap and trace changes),
219 (single-jurisdiction search warrants for terrorism),
221 (trade sanctions), and
222 (provider assistance to law enforcement agencies).

<more>
<link> http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/RL3218...

[In Truth We Trust]

1. kick for truth

[whistle]

5. Try this link....

http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/RL32186.pdf

or cut and paste to the address line but where it has <RL3218...>
replace that part with <RL32186.pdf>

the DU link is being corrupted for some reason

[peacetalksforall]

2. Link not working.... n/t

[Demit]

3. Closest link I could find, to this info--

http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html

Epic.org looks like a great source for information on privacy matters. A good site to bookmark!


"About EPIC

EPIC is a public interest research center in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1994 to focus public attention on emerging civil liberties issues and to protect privacy, the First Amendment, and constitutional values.

EPIC publishes an award-winning e-mail and online newsletter on civil liberties in the information age – the EPIC Alert. We also publish reports and even books about privacy, open government, free speech, and other important topics related to civil liberties. ..."

[whistle]

4. This is a good link also, thanks.....

...let me see what happened to the original link to the summary report

[whistle]

6. I'm looking at the form report at this link and my question....

...relates to something I heard Rep Sheila Jackson Lee from TX say yesterday. I believe it was when she was on the Randi Rhodes show, Ms Lee said that when the Patriot Act was being debated in the committee right after 9-11, the judiciary committee had agreed on a number of bi-partisan modifications to the language of the various sections of the Patriot Act. Those recommendations are what went to the House of Representatives, where the majority republicans as led by James Sensenbrenner and then Attorney General Ashkroft, changed all (not some, but ALL) of the recommended language back to the original Patriot Act language as it was drafted before ever having been presented to the House. That was what got voted into law, but only after the democrats forced the House and I guess the senate to have those most troubling sections (the 16) appended with a Sunset provision of December 31, 2005.

The two year plus history of the actual implementation of the Patriot Act, as expected, has been an endless account of judiciary and civil rights abuses by law enforcement agencies against suspect immigrants and also U.S. citizens. These are the issues which the democratic minority had tried to bring out in Friday's hearings, but which Sensenbrenner and the republicans closed down. They denied testimony by numerous witnesses who were in the hearing room and Sensenbrenner even disallowed much of testimony by the four witnesses who were called forward. So I believe that both links here are valuable, as the one from October 24, 2001 was what got reversed back to the original language and was passed.

It would be interesting to also include here the Revised Patriot Act language that came out of committee and see what actually happened to the language by the republican blockers. Note also the long form name of the Patriot Act:

"Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001".

The entire Act needs to be suspended and rewritten to protect the civil liberties of ALL citizens and legal residents of the United States.