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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rambi who wrote (7210)	12/17/2005 2:10:52 PM
From: Lane3	Respond to of 541346

Things tend to get all smooshed together. I haven't even read about the NSA story. We have some people arguing about the modifications and other people arguing about the whole act. I'm waiting until I'm in the mood and until the story settles down so that you can tell who is on first. Right now it's probably just a bunch of knee-jerk, partisan reactions. I think there's some good stuff in the Patriot Act although whether it belonged in that vehicle is iffy. The fuss over reauthorizing it is really about a few small bits, a tempest in a teapot. The rest is driven by grandstanding and brinksmanship. We have a filibuster on one side and on the other a president who says he won't sign an extension while the few bits get worked out. Pox on both. We have some people arguing about the modifications and other people arguing about the whole act. Here is some stuff that's in the Patriot Act. 203d and 206, for example, seem necessary to me. Facing expiration SIXTEEN PROVISIONS of the USA Patriot Act expire Dec. 31 if not renewed by Congress: Section 201:Gives federal officials the authority to intercept wire, spoken and electronic communications relating to terrorism. Section 202: Gives federal officials the authority to intercept wire, spoken and electronic communications relating to computer fraud and abuse offenses. Subsection 203 (b):Permits the sharing of grand-jury information that involves foreign intelligence or counterintelligence with federal law enforcement, intelligence, protective, immigration, national defense or national security officials. Subsection 203 (d): Gives foreign intelligence or counterintelligence officers the ability to share foreign intelligence information obtained as part of a criminal investigation with law enforcement. Section 204: Makes clear that nothing in the law regarding pen registers — an electronic device that records all numbers dialed from a particular phone line — stops the government's ability to obtain foreign intelligence information. Section 206: Allows federal officials to issue roving "John Doe" wiretaps for spy and anti-terrorism investigations. Section 207: Increases the amount of time that federal officials may watch people they suspect are spies or terrorists. Section 209: Permits the seizure of voice-mail messages under a warrant. Section 212: Permits Internet service providers and other electronic communication and remote computing service providers to hand over records and e-mail messages to federal officials in emergency situations. Section 214: Allows use of a pen register or trap and trace devices — a device that records the originating phone numbers of all incoming calls on a particular phone line — in international terrorism or spy investigations. Section 215:Authorizes federal officials to obtain "tangible items" such as business records, including those from libraries and bookstores, for foreign intelligence and international terrorism investigations. Section 217: Makes it lawful to intercept the wire or electronic communication of a computer hacker or intruder in certain circumstances. Section 218: Allows federal officials to wiretap or watch suspects if foreign intelligence gathering is a "significant purpose" for seeking a Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) order. The pre-Patriot Act standard said officials could ask for the surveillance only if it was "the" sole or main purpose. Section 220: Provides for nationwide service of search warrants for electronic evidence. Section 223: Amends the federal criminal code to provide for administrative discipline of federal officers or employees who violate prohibitions against unauthorized disclosures of information gathered under this act. Section 225: Amends FISA to prohibit lawsuits against people or companies that provide information to federal officials for a terrorism investigation. The Associated Press I can't tell though if you are saying that this is one stone you don't care abour turning, and that there are many you wouldn't turn. We may just have different stones whose undersides bother us. What I was trying to say is that there is a lot of over-reaction all around, people getting exercised all out of proportion to the risks in so many areas. I think that both the Patriot Act and the opposition to the patriot act fall into that category. I posted a little essay about this yesterday--how people see over-reaction on some issues but their own reaction on their own issues is never over-the-top and how dare I suggest it might be so.