What's Going On: Wishing I could say “good-bye” to the Patriot Act

 When I walked by the newsstand last week, the headline jumped out at me: “Provisions of Patriot Act Repealed.”

I already had my arm filled with groceries, but that headline was enough to get me to stop, pick up a paper and head back to wait in another Colorado Springs grocery store line. 

“What’s the big deal?” my dad asked about the paper in general and the story specifically. 

“Are you kidding, Dad? The Patriot Act has done more to take away American rights than any foreign or domestic enemies, including every lobbyist who ever lived.”

“Whatever, you liberal,” was my dad’s response, which is pretty much what he always tells me whenever I object to anything the government does, no matter which party is involved. 

Turns out, though, in some regards my dad was right; last week’s story wasn’t a big deal after all. 

For those who don’t remember, the Patriot Act was passed about 20 minutes after the 9-11 attacks. Congress was whipped into a panicked frenzy and passed the legislation without discussion or debate, even though many of its provisions had been unsuccessfully lobbied for by numerous law enforcement and intelligence agencies for decades. 

The new piece of legislation basically voided the First, Fourth and parts of the Fifth Amendment. Take ‘em out, boys. The Bill of Rights is down to seven. 

The American public, which can be brought to a whipped frenzy at the suggestion of controlling gun legislation possibly violating one amendment, passively accepted the new legislation. Scared to death that more terrorists were going to invade, we quietly allowed 30 percent of our first 10 amendments to be desecrated. 

Essentially, the Patriot Act authorized the government to:

- Wiretap your phone without a judge’s order; 

- Search your home without you knowing it, or without a judge’s consent; 

- Force your local librarian (WE’RE COMING FOR YOU, KATHI MOST) to provide a list of every book you have ever checked out;

- Record every website you have ever visited; 

- Maintain a database of every person you have ever called, and how long you spoke to them.

But alas, despite all the promise that headline contained, a vast majority of the Patriot Act remains intact, ensuring the United States government is doing everything in its power to violate your constitutional rights … every … single … day. 

Essentially, what was repealed and revised by the USA Freedom Act (don’t you love these catchy names they come up with) is the government’s ability to maintain those massive databases on who you call and how long you talk. 

Pretty much everything else remains in play. 

And even the changes aren’t very black and white. 

Following Congressional action, the Freedom of the Press foundation stated:

The USA Freedom Act supposedly bans bulk collection of phone records or any other private records, and we certainly hope it actually does. But its provisions are vague and confusing, leading many legal experts to believe they could be re-interpreted in secret—by NSA lawyers with a history of warping the common definitions of ordinary words beyond recognition—and could lead the FISA court to continue to allow the NSA to collect large quantities of Americans’ data in secret.”

Supposedly? Hope it actually does? Anybody else feel less than confident about anything actually being changed?

Regardless of the legalities though, one thing that has changed is there is actually debate and dialogue going on about the Patriot Act. Thanks to Edward Snowden and his leaked documents about the broad-reaching NSA domestic spying program, Americans are finally starting to ask why they are being treated like criminals by their own government. 

In the future, that conversation and dialogue may finally lead to that headline simply reading “Patriot Act Entirely Repealed.”

Gregory Orear is the General Manager/Editor of the Red Oak Express and Glenwood Opinion-Tribune. He can be contacted at publisher@redoakexpress.com.