House passage came after lawmakers only narrowly defeated a bipartisan effort to restrict searches of Americans’ messages swept up by the program — a major change that national security officials had warned would gut the law. The vote reflected widespread skepticism of the program.
The legislation still must be cleared by the Senate and signed by President
National security trumps privacy.
Apparently, the warrantless surveillance provision dates from 2008, an artifact of the police state laws that were passed by leveraging 9/11.
Steve
Never let a crisis go to waste.
Yep. And the general populace has already forgotten.
Ben Franklin is screaming louder from his grave every day but no one is listening - “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
National security trump liberty? Good grief! Patriot Act on Steroids. Pretty soon it will look like Siberia.
The Captain
I remember a luminary, still in the news from time to time, running for POTUS some years ago, and pounding the podium as he demanded “more wire taps, more surveillance, more Patriot Act”.
The “General Rants” dealt with both imposed theocracy and police state tactics, along with wealth transfer.
Steve…welcome to Shiny-land