So-called "Patriot" Anti-terrorism Law

Josey1

So-called "Patriot" Anti-terrorism Law December 29, 2001 - by Albert V. Burns Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to ask you a rhetorical question. How many of you would be willing to sign a contract which you had not been allowed to see, let alone read? I am sure that very few of you would be stupid enough to do such a thing. Okay, how about the idea of handing a signed blank check to a stranger? Or, even more extreme, what if someone came to you and asked that you sign a total power of attorney giving him or her absolute control over all your possessions AND your future actions? Oh, yes, I almost forgot - the power of attorney would also control the assets and future lives of your children as well! Again, I seriously doubt that there would be very many Americans who would be dumb enough to do any such incredibly short sighted thing. How then explain the actions of our Congress? How can you possibly understand the actions of the MAJORITY of 435 members of the House of Representatives and 100 members of the Senate in passing into law a bill which not ONE member of either house had even seen let alone had time to read and understand? How could they enact into law, a bill of close to 400 pages of text, which they had not only not seen but upon which there had not been even ONE hearing held in EITHER house of Congress? And then when such irresponsible actions had taken place in both houses of Congress, how could our estimable President Bush sign such a bill into law - again without having seen or read it? (Obviously, SOMEBODY had written the bill and knew what it contained - but WHO was it?) I am reminded of a 1978 book, written by Bill Richardson who was at the time a member of the California State Senate. With unbelievable candor, he titled his book: "What Makes You Think We Read The Bills?" Granted our Utah State Legislature has, on occasion, passed bills with an inadequate knowledge of what they were voting into law. However, to the best of my knowledge they have never YET acted affirmatively on a bill which was not even available yet. True, many members may not always READ the bills they vote on but, at least, they have had the opportunity to study them if they wanted to. We are talking here, of course, about the so-called Patriot Bill of 2001. In the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks, the actions described above are exactly what took place in Washington, DC. This so called "Patriot" anti-terrorist law was passed 357 to 66 in the House. Both Cannon and Matheson blindly voted in favor, Hansen did not vote on the bill either way! In the Senate, TWO versions of this bill were passed. The Senate version passed 96 to 1 with Russ Feingold, a Democrat from Wisconsin being the sole voter against the bill in the Senate. The House version was later passed by the Senate 98 to 1! Both Bennett and Hatch voted FOR this monstrosity BOTH times! This new law gives law enforcement and intelligence agencies vast new powers, supposedly to combat terrorism. It expands the list of crimes deemed "terrorist" acts; increases the authority of law enforcement to search people's homes and business records; expands the FBI's wiretapping and surveillance authority for search warrants and electronic surveillance devices including email and the Internet. Law enforcement officials at the state AND the national level are scratching their heads trying to understand the often vague and extremely broad definitions of what constitutes "terrorism" and how they are to prosecute it when found. Already, unbelievable as it may sound to you, there are those who advocate including active Christians and those who strongly SUPPORT the U. S. Constitution in the category of "potential terrorists!" To give you an idea of just what a "Pandora's Box" of evil this new law has produced, I have to tell you that, come April 15th, 2002, every single one of YOU who pay income taxes to the U.S. government WILL BE GUILTY of a federal crime - WHETHER you DO pay or DON'T pay. How do you like THAT for a trap? According to the Patriot bill, ANYONE who gives money to any individual or group who have contributed to or supported a terrorist organization, whether they KNEW of such support at the time they gave to the organization or not, is guilty of a federal crime. The Taliban has been officially ruled by the government as a terrorist organization. The United States Government has, ITSELF, given millions of dollars TO the Taliban group. It follows, therefore, that if you DO pay your income taxes to the federal government, under this law you are GUILTY of a federal felony even if you didn't know of their support of the Taliban. (Of course, if you DON'T pay your income taxes you are ALSO guilty of a federal felony!) Let's see you wiggle out of this one! Aren't you proud of the manner in which our Congress and President are "protecting" us? http://www.friendsofliberty.com/alburns/2002/122901.htm