Thank You Senators

In a 52-47 vote, the Senate failed to renew the Patriot Act and thus saved many civil liberties from once again being thrown out the window. It's my experience that most Americans are truly ignorant about the implications of this Act, which was originally past on the tailcoats of fear. In the wake of 9-11, the President bullied this act through Congress and consequently threw many civil liberties out the window - some liberties that were laid down by our founding fathers. For example, habeas corpus was suspended for all individuals "suspected" of terrorist activity. The end result, individuals could be held indefinitely, without notification to family, without legal representation, at an undisclosed location until the US finished its investigation. I'm pretty sure our founding fathers were turning in their graves on that provision alone. The act also allowed the government "looser" standards for surveillance and wire taps. It also allowed the federal government to dig through library and business records. The FBI was allowed to draft "National Security Letters" without a judge's approval (basically bypassing the entire judicial branch of government, an essential part of our Founding Fathers' checks and balances system). These letters compel businesses to turn over an individual's private records. The most violating provision is the "sneek and peak" warrants. These warrants allow the government to perform a search of an individual's belongings without notifying them that they were searched. The new provisions to the Act, which were approved by the House, included allowing the government to dig through personal medical records. (HIPPA anyone???) So much for the land of the free... Though some of the bill is permenant, 16 provisions will expire on December 31 if a compromise is not reached between the House and the Senate. At this point, it doesn't look like it will - thankfully.

So...Thank you Senator Russ Fiengold (D-Wisconsin) and Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho)for standing up to the American people and threatening a filibuster. Thank you to the four Republican senators who stood along the Democrats preventing the passage of this Act - Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, John Sununu of New Hampshire, and Larry Craig. Yes, I know there were five Republicans that voted against it; however Bill Frist only voted no when he saw he was on the losing side. According to CNN, "He decided to vote with the prevailing side so he could call for a new vote at any time." Now that's a man who stands on his convictions...