Gonzales to Defend Patriot Act Renewal link By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - Critics of the USA Patriot Act want the kind of real debate they were denied when the sweeping anti-terrorism law was passed 45 days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says he's willing to accommodate them, but he wants all the law's expiring provisions to be renewed. Gonzales was headed to Capitol Hill on Tuesday no less determined than his predecessor to defend the Patriot Act against arguments that it intrudes into people's lives. But Gonzales is employing a softer tone than John Ashcroft while making the point that the law has helped prevent another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. "The attorney general has said before that if there are suggestions that can add to the government's ability to root out terrorists and aid us in the war on terror, he will certainly work with Congress to do that," Gonzales spokesman Kevin Madden said. "He looks forward to a healthy discussion about those provisions." Gonzales was invited to testify Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee and before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. FBI Director Robert Mueller, who also wants full reauthorization of the Patriot Act, was to join Gonzales for his Senate appearance. The Patriot Act is the post-Sept. 11 law that expanded the government's surveillance and prosecutorial powers against suspected terrorists, their associates and financiers. Most of the law is permanent, but 15 provisions will expire in December unless renewed by Congress. On the same day Gonzales was to speak to the Senate committee, Sens. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., planned to reintroduce legislation designed to curb major parts of the Patriot Act that they say went too far. "Cooler heads can now see that the Patriot Act went too far, too fast and that it must be brought back in line with the Constitution," said Gregory Nojeim, associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington legislative office. The ACLU is part of an unusual coalition of liberal and conservative groups, including the American Conservative Union, that have come together in a joint effort to lobby Congress to repeal key provisions of the Patriot Act. Among the controverisal provisions is a section permitting secret warrants for "books, records, papers, documents and other items" from businesses, hospitals and other organizations. That section is known as the "library provision" by its critics. While it does not specifically mention bookstores or libraries, critics say the government could use it to subpoena library and bookstore records and snoop into the reading habits of innocent Americans. The Bush administration has acknowledged using it only once. But the criticism has led five states and 375 communities in 43 states to pass anti-Patriot Act resolutions, the ACLU says. Even some Republicans are concerned. Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., has suggested it should be tougher for federal officials to use that provision. Gonzales already has agreed to two minor changes to the provision, and was expected to address those Tuesday, a Justice Department official said on condition of anonymity so as not to pre-empt Gonzales' testimony. He will support giving someone who receives a secret warrant under the provision the right to consult a lawyer and challenge the warrant in court, and will back slightly tightening the standard for issuing subpoenas, the official said. Neither change addresses the central concern of opponents, which is that it allows the government to seize records of people who are not suspected terrorists or spies. Critics say the law allows the government to target certain groups, but the Justice Department counters that no Patriot Act-related civil rights abuses have been proven. Just in case, Craig and Durbin want Congress to curb both expiring and nonexpiring parts of the Patriot Act, including the expiring "library" provision and "sneak and peek" or delayed notification warrants. Those warrants — which will not expire in December — allow federal officials to search suspects' homes without telling them until later. The Justice Department said federal prosecutors have asked for 155 such warrants since 2001. Gonzales also notes that the law has been used in non-terrorism cases. For example, federal officials used it to track over the Internet a woman who ultimately confessed to strangling an 8-months-pregnant woman and cutting the fetus from her womb.
I particularly like this quote: "Gonzales also notes that the law has been used in non-terrorism cases." Um - isn't that why people are concerned?
not too long ago in a country, not unlike ours, there was a terrorist attack in a major economic city. The acting president at the time tried to enact some laws to allow for better security against such attacks by allowing the CIA to have more freedom in doing background checks. However, people in the opposing party acted strongly in fighting these laws because it felt a large number of their constituents would be affected. when was this and who was involved?
I'm guessing it was Oklahoma City, the Republicans were the opposition and the specific constituents were the NRA.
I think he MIGHT be referring to NY, NY and the FIRST attempt on the WTC....wouldn't call Oklahoma City a "major economic" City, I might be way off though
I think you MIGHT be right and I wouldn't call OK City a major anything. I should have considered my answer more carefully.
We have to make small sacrifices in our lives in order to prevent terrorists from imposing their will on us. Patriotic Americans gladly make these small sacrifices. Others complain about everything. The naysayers should recognize that they give the government about 10 times more information when they file their taxes than they do under this act. The bottom line is that this makes us safer and makes the terrorists' lives that much harder. It's a win-win.
These "small changes" are indicative that we willingly let them impose their will on us; heck - we did it to ourselves. Instead of flaunting our nation's democracy in the face of their hate, we took steps to turn the US into a police state. What a victory! Patriotic americans no longer have the foggiest clue what it means to be american if they are willing to support this act. Patriotism without critical judgment is just a shield for cowardice and ignorance. False. The FBI does not enter my home without my knowing when I turn in my taxes. Nor do I get locked up without a charge or access to the courts when I turn in my taxes. Etc. Proof? I have a can of elephant repellant with me. It must be working - I haven't seen a single elephant!
ima_drummer2k- Just a stupid attempt on my part at bad humor. sorry. I'm old enough to remember not everything happened like you thunk it might- On October 20, 1942, the US Alien Property Custodian, under the "Trading With the Enemy Act," seized the shares of the Union Banking Corporation (UBC), of which Prescott Bush was a director and shareholder. The largest shareholder was E. Roland Harriman. (Bush was also the managing partner of Brown Brothers Harriman, a leading Wall Street investment firm.) The UBC was established to send American capital to Germany to finance the reorganization of its industry under the Nazis. Their leading German partner was the notorious Nazi industrialist Fritz Thyssen, who wrote a book admitting much of this called "I Paid Hitler." Among the companies financed was the Silesian-American Corporation, which was also managed by Prescott Bush, and by his father-in-law George Herbert Walker. The company was vital in supplying coal to the Nazi war industry. It too was seized as a Nazi-front on November 17, 1942. The largest company Bush's UBC helped finance was the German Steel Trust, responsible for between one-third and one-half of Nazi iron and explosives. Prescott Bush was also a director of the Harriman Fifteen Corporation, (this one owned largely by Roland's brother, Averell Harriman), which owned about a third of the Consolidated Silesian Steel Corporation, the rest owned by Friedrich Flick, (a member of Himmler's "Circle of Friends" who donated to the S.S.). Republican Presidential candidate Bush's great-grandfather, Bert Walker, helped organize the Harriman investment in the Hamburg-America Line of ships, of which grandfather Prescott became a director. It was seized on August 28, 1942 because it was used to give free passage to Nazi propaganda and propagandists, and had earlier shipped guns to the Nazi's private armies to assist their takeover of Germany. by Richard N. Draheim, Jr. "America Outside the Beltway"
