The Pencil Story: Why the Patriot Act Must Expire

When I was a kid growing up in Hilton, New York, I was a real sucker.  There was this kid, Andy Antonucci, who used to hit me on the head, burp in my face and stuff like that.  Don't fret; this is not a woe-is-me story, most kids get picked on... I'm getting to the point.  The thing is that every once in a while, at well-placed irregular intervals, this Antonucci kid would play nice.  He'd sidle up to me and say, "Hey, big guy.  How ya doing?  No, really!  Nice day, huh?  Hey, you know what?  I don't have a pencil.  Could I borrow yours?  I'd really appreciate it.  No, seriously.  Hey, thanks.  I just need it for a second.  I'll be right back!"  Then he'd take the pencil across the room, get his droogies' attention, point at me, smirk, then snap the pencil in two and go on his merry way.

Advance to the present day...

Now that I've grown up, I'd like to think my bullshit detector is a bit more refined.  We have the Republicans in Congress trying to get the USA Patriot Act extended, even though they promised its provisions would expire later this year.  These GOP politicians are swearing up and down that, although, golly gee, the provisions of the USA Patriot Act allow for the curtailment of civil liberties and the intrusion of Big Brother government into the most personal aspects of our lives, they aren't actually going to curtail your civil liberties; they aren't going to snoop into your personal life.  No, no, the Republicans insist, they are going to be judicious, careful, virtous executors of the Patriot Act; the only people who will be harmed are the bad guys.  The evil ones.  The dead-enders.  The traitors.  The terrorists.  Not you, ha ha ha, no, not you!

Trust us.

We'll be good, the Republicans say.  You just run along now and don't worry your pretty little head none.  We'll take care of everything.

Trust us.

When the Republicans trot this line out, they depend on you to be a Class A sucker.

After all, if you paid attention, you'd know what happens when you go ahead and trust George W. Bush and the Republicans.  When you give Bush and the Republicans the green light, they:

take us to war on false pretenses
fire staffers who tell the truth
identify CIA agents by name on petty vendettas
kick out ticket holders at public events because they wear a Democratic Party affiliation
kick out ticket holders at public events because their car has the wrong bumper sticker
arrest peaceful protesters for moving out of protest pens
place noncitizens in indefinite detention without charges or access to a lawyer
place citizens in indefinite detention without charges or access to a lawyer
classify embarassing documents having nothing to do with national security

and, just yesterday, prevent invited and attending witnesses from testifying in a hearing, and prevent their Democratic colleagues from asking questions in the same hearing, because as Republicans they don't like what the witnesses say and don't like the questions their colleagues are asking.

This is history, friend.  Recent history.  You know you can't trust the Republicans because when you did it before, they let you down.  Again.  and Again.  and Again.  and Again.  and Again.

So now you're holding the metaphoric pencil.  You know what the bullies did the last time they asked for a favor, the last time they asked you to trust them.

It's up to you.  Are you going to be a sucker?  Are you going to shrug your shoulders, mutter "OK," and get ready for the next inevitable smack upside the head?  Or are you going to contact your Representative and give her or him holy Heck until s/he promises to let the USA Patriot Act expire?