I confess that I do not know all I should about the Patriot Act. There are arguments on both sides I am sure. That said,
this LA Times editorial sure makes me like the Act less. (Via
Kaus )
For those who don't want to click through, short version: Cuban-American is dean at the U.S. Naval War College. Being moved by the previous Pope's position toward Cuba, in the past five years or so, he has come to side with anti-embargo advocates. This has upset many friends of the president. He goes to visit family in Cuba on a legal trip. While there he has an affair. He comes home and gets prosecuted for lying about the purposes of his trip. How did the government get the information? "Sources close to Coll believe that his liaison was discovered through secret wiretaps by the Justice Department at the behest of influential Cuban hard-liners." {In an effort to be "fair and balanced" I include a link to
this Washington Post article which suggests that the affair was the "real reason for the trip" and that the disclosure of the purpose of the trip "came out during a standard debriefing at the Naval War College". I link, you decide}
So the Patriot Act may not yield many arrests of terrorists, but at least it is nabbing the President's enemies who are having extramarital affairs.
Regards,
Comotion