America is becoming an “attention deficit democracy” ---- real Americans know we're a republic, not a democracy
choose sides carefully On Feb 3, 8:17 pm, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > The Patriot Act and Attention Deficit DemocracyBy James Bovard > The American political system failed when Congress and the media recently > rolled over in favor of extending the most onerous provisions of the USA > PATRIOT Act. Despite stark evidence of both the law’s abuses and widespread > popular opposition, Bush got a rubber-stamp extension of a law that has come > to symbolize boundless government intrusions since 9/11. > The reenactment of the Patriot Act symbolizes how America is becoming an > “attention deficit democracy” characterized by pervasive negligence and > ignorance throughout society and much of the government. Most Americans > appear to no longer care whether there is any leash on government power. > Many Americans did try to stop this juggernaut. More than 400 cities and > communities have passed resolutions condemning or opposing the Patriot Act. > Yet Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), an opponent of the bill, perfectly captured > what Congress did: “What we are seeing is quite simply a capitulation to the > intransigent and misleading rhetoric of a White House that sees any effort to > protect civil liberties as a sign of weakness.” > The Founding Fathers intended Congress to be a vigorous check on and balance > to executive power. But Congress has never done anything more than concoct > fig leafs for itself in response to public outrage over the Patriot Act. In > late 2004, Congress mandated the creation of the Privacy and Civil Liberties > Oversight Board. But the board is totally controlled by the branch of > government committing the abuses. The president appoints all five board > members, and the board is located in the White House. Bush dallied before > announcing his picks, and then appointed as chairman the former co-chair of > Lawyers for Bush-Cheney. The board never bothered to hold a single meeting. > With the Patriot Act renewal, Congress made what Senate Judiciary Committee > chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) described as “cosmetic changes” and then > congratulated themselves for defending civil liberties. > With the revised Patriot Act, it will be more difficult for the feds to seize > public library records with a Section 215 search warrant (approved by the > secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court). But the feds will still > be able to seize library records by invoking other provisions in the law. > Businesses, nonprofit groups, and other organizations hit by Section 215 > search warrants are prohibited from disclosing that they have been compelled > to surrender customers’ information and other data to the feds. The new, > improved Patriot Act will allow individuals and organizations hit by such > searches to publicly complain about the intrusion but only after they wait a > year after they have been searched, and only if they can persuade a federal > judge that the G-men acted in bad faith. A 365-day waiting period is > Congress’s notion of due process and fair play for American citizens. > The biggest Patriot Act bombshell of recent times detonated last November > when the Washington Post revealed that the FBI is issuing 30,000 National > Security Letters (NSLs) a year. The Patriot Act made it far easier for the > FBI to use NSLs to compel private citizens, banks, nonprofits, and other > entities to surrender information upon demand. These subpoenas, like Section > 215 searches, are accompanied by a gag order: Anyone who discloses receiving > such a “letter” can be sent to prison. FBI field offices issue NSLs on their > own in cases that they claim involve international terrorism or clandestine > intelligence activities. > NSLs empower the FBI to seize records on people’s earning, spending, travels, > web searches, emails, and telephone calls. Each NSL can lasso the records of > thousands of people. Federal judge Victor Marrero ruled that the Patriot > Act’s NSL provision “has the effect of authorizing coercive searches > effectively immune from any judicial process.” (The Bush administration is > appealing the ruling). > The White House hyped the Patriot Act renewal as a political triumph. The > Associated Press reported, “Republicans declared victory as they sought to > polish their national security credentials this midterm election year.” > Republicans prattled on about how the revised Patriot Act provides > “safeguards.” Apparently, a “safeguard” is anything that a government > official can mention when asked about possible abuses of federal powers. > If enough Americans comprehend this “patriot” charade, it will become far > more difficult for the White House and Congress to pull off similar > infringements on freedom in the future. At the very least, citizens can still > make it hot for anyone in Washington who betrays his oath to uphold the > Constitution.TrackBackhttp://jimbovard.com/blog/2011/02/03/patriot-act-and-attention-deficit-democracy/trackback/ -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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