2004: Patriot Act III

This repost is dedicated to Former Senator Russ Feingold, the only "nay" vote on the original monstrosity:

The original USA PATRIOT Act, as students of history know, was passed more or less unanimously by a terrified Congress in the weeks after Nine Eleven Day. Though much of it appeared to have been drafted well in advance of the attacks, and most of the members who voted for it were not given enough time to actually read it, doubters were swept up in the national wave of gullibility and jingoism that was granted to the White House by a benevolent deity. Reportedly, House and Senate leaders issued thumbscrews during the actual vote in order to keep overly independent legislators from wavering.

Patriot I broadened the government's police powers to fight the scourge of terrorism. It gave the administration new jurisdiction, more or less unimpeded by judicial oversight, to detain and interrogate resident aliens without charging or trying them. So far federal authorities have show a gleeful lack of restraint in trying out these new powers, and federal judges (with a few exceptions) have shown a general willingness to keep out of their way. Conveniently, the Act amended the official definition of "terrorism" to include any activities which "appear to be intended" to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion."

Civil libertarians on both the right and the left, lacking any other excuse to get their panties in a bunch, focused on the flexibility inherent in the use of the word "appear." Even Nixonian loyalist William Safire complained that the Act gave President Bush "dictatorial power." Of course, the next day, he also announced that he would continue to act as a willing conduit for deceptive leaks in an effort to help enhance that dictatorial power. But still, it was an electrifying moment!