Patriot Act/NSA spying on Americans

[Tepshen73]

What is everyones views on the Patriot Act and President Bush giving the NSA the authority to spy on Americans.

[excession]

[Tepshen73]

[iceman5]

[Tepshen73]

[Tepshen73]

[kennyg]

I'm on page 350 of The People's History of America....after reading through most of this i can honestly say the government has way too much power. I'm really thinking about moving to Canada...our country is sick.

[excession]

[Tiburon]

...and how unpopular it SHOULD be at this moment.

Makes you wonder about how much the administration TRULY knew about 9/11 beforehand, or if

[tinfoilhat]
...they perhaps just used it as an excuse to do what they had wanted to do all along, as in invade Iraq, topple Hussein, etc...
[/tinfoilhat]

I don't believe in conspiracy theories, but this stuff really has legs.

Yes, I voted for Kerry--not that he or the Democrats are any better--the lesser of two evils.

[Felonius_Monk]

If I was Bush, I too would be pissed off that relatively secret operations had been exposed to the public. Sometimes governments and security services have to do things in secret to accomplish the aim of preserving the greater good. Why is spying on american citizens any different to spying on anyone else? Do you believe there are no american muslims, for instance, who have some sympathies with Al Queada and potential links to radical groups? Would you rather they, or, for instance, groups pertaining to organised crime, were not monitored by the security services just because they hold an american passport?

Most governments do some pretty shady things and I certainly don't agree with all that has happened in MY name in terms of anti-terror legislation and foreign policy in the UK, but I think it's naive to believe that governmental organisations haven't had some level of espionage within their own borders in the developed world for a long time, or to believe that it's unnecessary.

It's my (largely uneducated and possibly similarly naive ) opinion that, in most cases, with the exception of some knee-jerk post 9/11 laws, legislation and general political attitudes in the west have been moving in the direction of gradually increased openness and decreased secrecy since the cold war. In some respects our civil liberties are being challenged from a few political sources but on the whole I think it's nothing to worry about, certainly in our lifetime. The amount of fuss that people kick up about something so relatively benign as the patriot act (abhorrent though some of the ideas behind it seem to be) suggests to me that Newspeak and Big Brother are still a long way away from being forced upon an unsuspecting western populace!

[Zuccala]

Kenny, you are more than welcome here, low crime, guns are almost non existant, no tax on winnings, free health care, and most of all none of that "War on Terror" stuff!! LOL

[MVPSPORTS]

Decriminalized marijuana anybody???

[Zuccala]

Oh yeah, decriminalized Marijuana. I forgot to mention we don't have a threat level inidcator either!!LOL

I feel sorry for u guys. The constant terror the government tries to put u in. U guys need a break. Or the government to lay off the dramatics.

[redhouse]

Doesn't the Patriot Act also allow for people to be imprisoned outside the normal judicial system for an indefinite period of time and for reasons that may or may not be disclosed.

I find that more troubling than the thought that someone is listening to my phone calls.

[Tepshen73]