Today marks the 8th birthday of the the USA PATRIOT Act, signed into law by George W. Bush on this day in 2001. Those were different times, the nation was still reeling from the September 11th attacks and the measure was passed easily through Congress. The words for which the act was named -- "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism" -- and the vaguely stated purpose -- "to deter and punish American terrorists in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes" -- made people feel safe and secure, not, as many feel now, skeptical of exactly what the Patriot Act is being used for.
To make a long story short, in singing happy birthday to the Patriot Act today, we also sing happy birthday to its offspring/hellspawn: the widespread breech of American privacy, blanket requests of personal information, warrantless surveillance, sneak-and-peek warrants and the general erosion of many constitutional rights, just to name a few. So, happy birthday to you, Patriot Act, here's to many more, I'm sure.
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