Tuesday
Feb082011
Video: Kucinich: "Give Me Liberty Or Give Me A Wiretap"
Video - Dennis Kucinich on Patriot Act reauthorization from the House floor earlier today - Feb. 08, 2011
Meanwhile, while no one was paying attention, the Constitution was forgotten.
---
More Kucinich from earlier today.
- "How about today we take a stand for the Constitution..."
Feb 8, 2011 at 9:39 PM
Reader Comments (5)
http://news.antiwar.com/2011/02/08/house-patriot-act-extension-derailed-by-gop-freshmen-opposition/
In a stunning turn of events, the House of Representatives has narrowly defeated the effort to “fast track” the USA Patriot Act extension for an additional 10 months. The vote needed a two-thirds majority, but managed to only get 277-148.
http://www.activistpost.com/2011/02/saudi-oil-reserves-overstated-by-40.html
http://www.activistpost.com/2011/02/can-jesse-ventura-force-tsa-submission.html
It was the Congressional version of never count your chickens before they're hatched.
And when you do on Capitol Hill, you can sometimes lose a vote.
The newly-minted House Republican leadership botched a vote Tuesday night when it presumed it had the necessary support to reauthorize the Patriot Act, the anti-terrorism law imposed after September 11th.
The GOP expected little trouble with the bill. So Republicans brought the Patriot Act to the floor under a special procedure that requires a two-thirds vote for passage. It's a maneuver that's typically reserved for non-controversial legislation or bills that carry wide support.
http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/02/08/house-unexpectedly-defeats-patriot-act#ixzz1DTXEtmvl
Among the Republicans voting against the measure was Texas Representative Ron Paul, who has long opposed the Patriot Act. In 2005, Rep. Paul described the problems he saw in Patriot Act.
"Many of the most constitutionally offensive measures in the Act are not limited to terrorist offenses, but apply to any criminal activity. In fact, some of the new police powers could be applied even to those engaging in peaceful protest against government policies," Paul wrote.
At the time, Rep. Paul also noted that the Patriot Act undermined important provisions of the Bill of Rights:
The Patriot Act waters down the Fourth amendment by expanding the federal government's ability to use wiretaps without judicial oversight. The requirement of a search warrant and probable cause strikes a balance between effective law enforcement and civil liberties. Any attempt to dilute the warrant requirement threatens innocent citizens with a loss of their liberty. This is particularly true of provisions that allow for issuance of nationwide search warrants that are not specific to any given location, nor subject to any local judicial oversight.
http://www.americandailyherald.com/top-stories/patriot-act-extension-fails-in-house