Become A True Patriot: Reclaim Control Over Your Individual Identity
The evil emitting from Washington is worse than ever, and is going to get to
the point of no return. I SUGGEST THAT ALL THAT READ THIS REVIEW THE VERSES
OF REVELATION BEGINNING AT CHAPTER 12.
Folks:
Please read this piece below by former Congressman
Bob Barr and thoughtfully share it with others. Our most precious asset is our
individual identity. When others claim control over our personal-private data
and effects via secret sneek-peak-search operations then we have a "out
of order" situation that must be corrected.
Concerning the debate over the future of the PATRIOT
ACT, former Republican Congressman, Bob Barr, wrote in the Washington Times
on May 16th the following:
"To date, for example, the Justice Department
has failed to disclose how many U.S. citizens' homes, businesses or records
have been secretly searched under the Patriot Act provisions, such as Section
213, or even how many National Security Letter searches have been executed."
What we have here is a hidden evil that's a raging
inferno beneath the surface of our society that's threatening to devour all
that We The People hold dear to our hearts regarding God, Family and Country.
Evil never, ever, will agree to be held accountable. Once evil is held to an
account it simply vanishes and seeks another opportunity in another home, situation
or body to continue propagating it's destruction.
It's time to peacefully talk about this hidden
evil in a calm, rational way. And while we are doing so it's important to acknowledge
where this evil is sourced. It's not sourced in any one of the public servants
who are trying to do their jobs, It may be manifesting through them, but they
are not the End-Source. Let's be sure to acknowledge where the End-Source of
this madness really resides. Reach into your mind, heart and soul and ask God
to provide direction to receive the proper guidance and answers so that we can
resolve these issues peacefully.
It's time for individuals in America and the world
to reclaim the responsibility and sense of ownership regarding their personal
identity. This process can only begin by acknowledging the true End-Source of
our creation and then working from that secure foundation. This is what the
Founding Fathers of America did. And this is the job that Americans have to
finish. Once this foundation is secured then a great celebration of Divine Providence
and Truth can be freely received and shared throughout our wonderful world.
Peace and God Bless,
Fred Smart
===================
http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20050516-091558-3655r.htm
Commentary: Washington Times - May 16, 2005
Clearing the air on the Patriot Act
By Bob Barr
When Assistant Attorney General Christopher Wray
stepped down as head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division a few days
ago, The Washington Times reported his allegation that critics have "misled
the public" about the secretive search powers authorized and expanded by
the Patriot Act. As a former Member of Congress who voted in favor of the legislation
in 2001, I believe many provisions in the Act are appropriate for the government
to uncover and prosecute acts of terrorism.
I believe just as strongly, however, that other provisions go far beyond this
vital mission and undermine our constitutional freedoms and Fourth Amendment
rights. In making this point openly, whether in Town Hall-style debates with
Justice Department officials, or in testimony before the House and Senate Judiciary
Committees, I am hardly "misleading" anyone.
When Congress passed the Patriot Act just 45 days
after September 11, we recognized that some of the powers allowed were extraordinarily
intrusive and eroded our normal system of checks and balances. As such, we made
sure certain sections of the act would sunset on Dec. 31, 2005. The current
call for review and expiration of these sections is therefore not a "mistake,"
as charged by Mr. Wray, but a sound, deliberate, and lawful decision -- passed
by Congress and signed by President Bush. In fact, Attorney General Alberto
Gonzales himself has said he is willing to discuss possible amendments to the
law (although he has not yet embraced the types of reforms we believe are needed).
Justice Department officials, like Mr. Wray, also
tend to obscure the reality that some of the powers authorized for "Uniting
and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept
and Obstruct Terrorism," as the Patriot Act was sold to the American people,
are really being used in non-terrorism cases. Through the ongoing oversight
hearings Congress is holding, we have learned more about the government's
increasing use of secret search powers not in terrorism cases but in run-of-the-mill
criminal cases. One of the most controversial portions of the act is Section
213, the "sneak and peek" provision. This allows law enforcement agents
to secretly search our homes and offices, take whatever they wish, and yet not
notify us for weeks, months or indefinitely. (Americans
are told this is to secure "protection". The only protection
is to those who are breaking the law.We are no longer
secure in our own country.)
Mr. Wray also asserts that "the American people should know that every
provision is subject to oversight by the courts." This is not
the case. Some of the expanded Patriot Act power allows law enforcement
alone to order disclosure of extensive records; without going before a judge,
and without having to show any specific and articulable facts connecting the
records to a foreign terrorist. Under Section 505, the FBI can issue National
Security Letters (also known as "administrative subpoenas") to obtain
financial records, credit reports and Internet service provider (ISP) information,
without court approval; moreover, the recipient is gagged by statute from disclosing
the search. A federal court recently ruled that this power goes too far,
noting that "an unlimited government warrant to conceal, effectively a
form of secrecy per se, has no place in our open society."
One of the biggest spin maneuvers by supporters
of the Patriot Act is the claim that only the extreme left opposes any of the
law's provisions. For instance, in a recent Times op-ed piece, Douglas MacKinnon,
press secretary for Bob Dole when he was a senator, said that "if our Congress
does allow the Patriot Act to expire, those cheering louder than those on the
far left will be those who mean us the greatest harm." Such venomous hyperbole
should have no role in this debate.
I am chair of a coalition called Patriots to Restore
Checks and Balances (PRCB), which includes the American Conservative Union,
Gun Owners of America, and many other leading conservative organizations, all
of which support our military and our law enforcement, but all of whom also
believe that modest, substantive reforms to certain parts of this sweeping legislation
are necessary to keep those powers in balance. We believe that allowing federal
agents to secretly search individuals' homes and businesses without notification,
poses a grave threat to the fundamental freedoms our Fourth Amendment was written
to protect.
We believe in traditional conservative values,
like accountability. Putting sunsets in the law helps ensure greater accountability,
no matter who occupies the White House, by creating incentives for the Justice
Department and the FBI to tell the American people how the extraordinary powers
are being used. To date, for example, the Justice Department has failed to disclose
how many U.S. citizens' homes, businesses or records have been secretly searched
t(without benefit of signed orders)
under the Patriot Act provisions, such as Section 213, or even
how many National Security Letter searches have been executed.
To fix these controversial sections of the law,
PRCB supports the bipartisan SAFE Act. This legislation would maintain those
Patriot Act provisions that are truly necessary to keep Americans safe, while
placing important checks on those expanded authorities that are out of line
with the Constitution. Primary sponsors of the SAFE Act include Sen. Larry Craig,
Idaho Republican -- a solid conservative and fellow NRA board member; hardly
a "flaming liberal" and certainly as staunch an anti-terrorist as
you'll find in the Congress.
When leading conservative groups share some of
the same concerns as organizations on the other end of the ideological spectrum,
I think it's time for Congress to ignore the hyperbole of the defenders of the
status quo and pay attention.
Bob Barr, a former Republican member of the House of Representatives from Georgia,
is a columnist for United Press International.
(ATG: The above has been posted as received. Related
articles are also posted on this site. Emphasis added)
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