Obama signs Patriot Act extension without reforms

[frigidmagi]

Christian Science Monitor

[quote]President Obama signed a one-year extension of three sections of the USA Patriot Act on Saturday without any new limits on the measures that many liberal groups and Democrats said were necessary to safeguard American civil liberties.

The provisions allow the government, with permission from a special court, to obtain roving wiretaps over multiple communication devices, seize suspects’ records without their knowledge, and conduct surveillance of a so-called “lone wolf,â€

[The Minx]

Obama continues to disappoint. Some change indeed, what a let-down. :(

Fuck it's practically useless as over 42 cities and 3 entire fucking states have passed laws making cooperating with any invoking of the Patriot Act illegal!

While I really don't like the Patriot Act, I'm a bit surprised at this. Can they actually do that? What happened to the supremacy clause?

[SirNitram]

I'm not surprised. Nor upset. He was a compromiser, a centrist. He wants to fix things, but thinking he'd repeal everything we hate was wrong. He ran as a great comprimiser.

[Steve]

Lies, all lies! Trying to lure us into a false sense of security! We know Obama is a SECRET SOCIALIST trying to turn us into a Communist society and take away our guns and Bibles!

We're onto you!

[/sarcasm mode]

Yeah, not surprised either. Honestly, think of it this way. Say Obama kills the Act. Four months from now, another Fort Hood happens, or even worse an actual attack by foreign terrorists. The Republicans will have a field day with the scared sheep that are American citizens.

[General Havoc]

Oh Steve... Steve... you had me right up until the "Scared sheep" comment. I was just about to agree with you, and you threw it away... *sigh*.

Regardless, I'm disappointed as well, but I don't suppose there's much to do about it now.

[frigidmagi]

Yeah, not surprised either. Honestly, think of it this way. Say Obama kills the Act. Four months from now, another Fort Hood happens, or even worse an actual attack by foreign terrorists. The Republicans will have a field day with the scared sheep that are American citizens

Scared Sheep?

You know when I said 42 cities and 3 states? I was wrong.

It's 4 states and 322 cities and towns in short a vast chunk of the population. This Includes Washington D.C itself. That's not the action of scared sheep. I'm getting sick and tired of hearing that.

Scared Sheep don't maintain all volunteer militaries. Scared Sheep don't take a hell of a chance on a new guy from a minority and let him be President. Scared Sheep don't pass measures defying their own governments on the Patriot Act, Immigration, gun laws and so on and so forth.

It's a tired worthless meme that has no feet in reality.

[Steve]

Okay, the last line went a bit too far, but I don't think it disproves the point. If Obama and the Democrats de-fang the Patriot Act and we later get another major terrorist event, or hell, any event, the Republicans will crow that it's because of the Democrats "putting American lives in jeopardy"... and there are quite a number of people who will buy that line.