Is The United States Government Really Functional - A Point to Ponder
Posted by Cindy Marshson in Uncategorized, tags: Congress, government, law, legal, politics, Senate, Uncategorized, United States, US Congress, US Government, US SenateA drive to vote hostile to the extension of the PATRIOT Act was called for by a number of groups. The voting was scheduled February 8, 2011. The so-called H.R. 514 is about to be extended, but it needs a YES vote by a full two-thirds of the House’s members. The reauthorization was seen as being fast-tracked on the road to the House floor.
Contentions were aired questioning the way the bill would be extended. One point that was raised was that there were no noteworthy reforms to the previous law that would deserve its extension. According to critics, there is no provision for supervision and responsibility. If ever, it is very weak and would not hold water.
Last year yet, the bill was proposed and debated on. Among the proposed reforms were on the areas of checks and balances. As the older edition was criticized as missing of these features, the new one is “ripe” with those. But the debates and negotiations went on until the deadline was already close. The move for extension of the old version came up as soon as the amendments could no longer make it to the deadline. In February of last year, the extension was moved until this February 2011. In addition, there was a promise made to completely consider the raised concerns prior to the next deadline.
The apprehension with the impending extension is that no debates are possible. Given until December 8, 2011 to extend, there is no true reform that could be expected. The projected amendments would not be carried out since no one is given the opportunity to offer changes. The result would be the identical PATRIOT as it was a year ago.
It can be presumed that there is something about the bill that raised such reaction. For one, the law makes it possible for the administration to put any person under observation. Covert court orders can be given under Section 215. With this, access to private data could be approved. These include internet, phone and commercial records.
Foreign intelligence wiretaps could be permitted under this law. Anyone could be wiretapped, even those without connection to any foreign power or terrorist group. Any telephone number, electronic mail account or other communications facility can be accessed whenever government “feels” there is a need to do so.
Those have been the provisions that critics say should not be included in the renewal. In order for it to be significant, genuine reforms should be done. Weak points must be removed, and new checks and balances ought to be built-in. This can be done if debates are permitted. This is the only way to ensure that civil liberties are protected.
If you worry about the US government, then you should consider using an IP Changer to help safeguard your Internet identity. Who knows what the government will come up with next.
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