Refresh my memory-were the republicans vehemently against The Patriot Act?I forget

[w8liftinglady]

http://www.aclu.org/national-security/aclu-fact-sheet-patriot-act-ii


I am against The TSA handling of it's passengers.I don't remember the R's coming out en masse regarding the Patriot Act.Did that occur(same mindset).

[hobbit709]

1. They were ALL in favor of the "Enabling Act of 2001"

[PassingFair]

2. So were WE. All except Russ Feingold. n/t

[hobbit709]

3. This boy wasn't, of course they don't care about my opinion.

[w8liftinglady]

4. I was curious...because they so vehemently protest when they aren't in charge

[Fuzz]

5. I remember DU being on the right side of that issue.

But don't bet on my memory. ;)

[PassingFair]

7. I was talking about our representatives.

DU was SCREAMING against passing the Patriot Act.

And the Patriot Act was renewed without too much
ado on our part, being HIDDEN in another bill.

80 dems in Congress voted against it, but it
passed with NO CHANGES to the original.

http://thatsmycongress.com/index.php/2010/02/26/house-democrats-sneak-through-patriot-act-vote/

[leveymg]

6. The GOP thugs just want to see a successful act of terrorism to blame Obama, exonerate Bush.

"See, sh-t happens. But, Obama caved in to some ill-advised public criticism of TSA. He's responsible, worse than Bush", is all we'll hear from the captive corporate media until the next election, at which time, the reckoning.

[aquart]

9. The TSA is worthless in preventing terrorism.

And I'm so sorry that you have invested in their nonsense.

[leveymg]

10. I'm with Juan Cole on this one. Here's his column yesterday:

I don't think either of us are "invested" in this nonsense. We both have big concerns, however, with how the issue can be exploited and politically misused by those who want to take away what remains of our liberties if there is another mass casualty incident. http://www.juancole.com/2010/11/looking-for-petn-scanning-grandma-at-the-airport-and-the-future-of-air-travel.html

Looking for PETN, Scanning Grandma at the Airport, and the Future of Air Travel
Posted on November 22, 2010 by Juan
59Share

In all the furor about the new TSA scanners and pat-downs at airports, what surprises me is that there is very little discussion of what exactly the inspectors are now looking for and why they are shifting tactics.

The old scanners and procedures designed to discover metal (guns, knives, bombs with timers or detonators) are helpless before a relatively low-tech alternative kind of explosive that is favored by al-Qaeda and similar groups.

The inspectors are looking for forms of PETN, or pentaerythritol tetranitrate, which is from the same family of explosives as nitroglycerin and which is used to make plastic explosives such as Semtex.

Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, used PETN, as did Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the crotch bomber, last year this time over Detroit. PETN was in the HP cartridges sent by a Yemeni terrorist in cargo planes recently. And, a suicide bomber put some up his anus and used it in an attempt to assassinate the son of the Saudi minister of the interior (which does counter-terrorism). Yes, he was the first ass bomber, and he missed his target, though he no longer cares about that, what with being dead and all.

The problem with PETN is that it cannot be detected by sniffing dogs or by ordinary scanners. But if you had a pouch of it on your person, the new scanners could see the pouch, and likewise a thorough pat-down would lead to its discovery.

The TSA guys are trying to look more systematically for PETN. That is why they have adopted these more intrusive methods. And, there has been chatter among the terrorist groups abroad about launching attacks on American airliners with this relatively undetectable explosive.

None of us likes the result, which is a significant invasion of privacy.

But if al-Qaeda and its sympathizers could manage to blow up only a few airliners with PETN, they could have a significant negative effect on the economy and could very possibly drive some American airlines into bankruptcy. Al-Qaeda is about using small numbers of men and low-tech techniques to paralyze a whole civilization, which was the point of the September 11 attacks

Since the Bush administration hyped the ‘war on terror’ trope half to death, many in the American public no longer want to hear about this danger. But it is part of my business in life to deliver the horrific news that the threat is real. . . . MORE

[aquart]

8. Shhhhhhhhhh. Let them get rid of it. It's theirs anyway.

Finally occurred to them that anyone in charge would have all that nasty power.

[ixion]

14. Well, not really... it was authored by Joe LIEberman, a Dem at that time

and there was a Dem majority when it was passed.

Nope, both sides own that horror.

[NightWatcher]

11. what's the problem unless you've got something to hide

wasnt that their response?

[AnneD]

12. I was and have always been against the Patriot Act.....

both as reactionary and misnamed. But at the time, objecting was like pissing in the wind. However there have been pockets of resistance ON BOTH SIDE and I call for an effort to stop demonizing the other side. This is a divide and conquer strategy by the powers that be to keep their control. As we DEMS have sadly learned, there is not but a nickel's worth of difference in the two parties (as our GOP thinking brethren will soon come to realize too now that the GOP is back in power).

The best comments about it came from my daughters then middle school theater group at a PTO open house performance. They actually recited key provisions of the Patriot Act (which few actually read). You could see the shock on all the parents faces as the kids were reciting it and the meaning sunk in. They ended by reciting the BOR. The applause was thunderous. Yes there are pockets of resistance, even in Texas. And yes , to put it bluntly, we are being grped, raped and even mind f#%$ by our government.

[w8liftinglady]

15. excellent post.

my local pundits have come out en masse against TSA,and I,as always,want to remind them of this,as well.

[AnneD]

17. Thank you.....

as a peer, your thoughts are important to me. Hope all is well with you and yours, Aside from my daughters numerous 'enhanced pat downs this last week, we are ok. The only thing we can figure was her crime was being young, cute and well endowed. She went through the scanner and they saw something suspicious. Even when they figured out it was her scrunchy, they insisted on a pat down. No, it was not a woman and yes when the got to her crotch, she said the guy pushed upward into her labia. We have traveled the world and are use to security checks but the latest TSA shit is beyond the pale. It is wrong on so many levels. We are like boiled frogs. Some of us noticed when we were thrown into the pot, some noticed when the cold water got warm, and even more are noticing that the water is starting to boil. Some folks will never know til their last dying breath, and then it is too late. I don't hold it against folks for not noticing right away, but I do think they are stupid for not noticing the preponderance of evidence.

[ixion]

13. There was one person, and he was a (D): Russ Feingold

all the others voted to piss on the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

[woo me with science]

16. The news today has repeatedly referred to "right wing" or "libertarian" protests,

as though liberals are all in favor of having your family groped.

You are right. It is DEMOCRATS who have sounded the alarm about government intrusion since I can remember.