House Votes to Extend Patriot Act ("Yawn... man incrementalism is so bo-ring!")

you know...

we look at these things in the abstract...

like...

"okay, they gave themselves the "right" to do bad stuff..."

"but..."

"they haven't done anything yet..."

and that makes sense...

for now...

(...)

unless...

they are using it now...

and we just don't know how...

after all...

we didn't know they arrested 5000 muslims for "terrorism"...

and formally charged 2...

what else don't we know....

what really happened today...

(...)

1 entry found for incrementalism.

in·cre·men·tal·ism ( P ) Pronunciation Key (nkr-mntl-zm)

n. Social or political gradualism.

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incre·mental·ist n.

[Download Now or Buy the Book]
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

(...)

"No Great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen."

--- Epictetus, Discourses, Book I, Chapter 15

(...)

Incrementalism - A Lie from the Pit of Hell!

By Flip Benham

There is a lie that has infected the pro-life movement for the past 29 years. It has paralyzed the Church of Jesus Christ. It has moved us from standing upon the Word of God to end child killing, to relying upon our own ability to make compromises with the enemy of God in order to stop abortion. This lie, more than anything else, has rendered us defenseless and ineffective in the battle for life. It is the primary reason that we still have abortion in our land today. It has caused us to believe that we can legislate this evil out of our culture slowly but surely by education, sound reasoning, and political maneuvering. It is called incrementalism. It gives the appearance of accomplishing a desired end but, in reality, it only enables the enemy to continue killing.

SOURCE - http://www.operationsaveamerica.org/articles/articles/incrementalism.html

(...)

First They Came for the Jews

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.

- Pastor Martin Niemöller



(...)

Yahoo! News

House Votes to Extend Patriot Act

By GLEN JOHNSON,
Associated Press Writer
5 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to extend the USA Patriot Act, the nation's main anti-terrorism tool, just hours after televisions in the Capitol beamed images of a new attack in London.

As similar legislation worked its way through the Senate, House Republicans generally cast the law as a valuable asset in the war on terror. Most Democrats echoed that support but said they were concerned the law could allow citizens' civil liberties to be infringed. Following more than hours of debate, the House approved the measure 257-171.

The bulk of the back-and-forth centered on language making permanent 14 of 16 provisions that had four-year sunset, or expiration, provisions under the original law, which Congress passed overwhelmingly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The bill also proposed 10-year extensions to the two other provisions set to expire on Dec. 31, one allowing roving wiretaps and another allowing searches of library and medical records. They were the focus of most of the controversy as members plowed through the main legislation and 18 amendments.

"While the Patriot Act and other anti-terrorism initiatives have helped avert additional attacks on our soil, the threat has not receded," said Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Rep. John Conyers (news, bio, voting record) of Michigan, the top Democrat on the committee, said that while "I support the majority of the 166 provisions of the Patriot Act," the extensions could lessen accountability. "Ten years is not a sunset; 10 years is semi-permanent," he said.

The Bush administration hailed the vote.

"After measured deliberation and a public debate, the House has again provided the brave men and women of law enforcement with critical tools in their efforts to combat terrorism and protect the American people, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said in a statement.

As the House debated the legislation, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved its own extension of the bill, though it included only four-year extensions for the roving wiretap and records search provisions.

A competing bill also has been approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which would give the FBI expanded powers to subpoena records without the approval of a judge or grand jury. That ensured further Senate talks on the terrorism-fighting measure. The House legislation will also have to be reconciled with whatever emerges from the Senate.

The House debate included frequent references to the attacks earlier in the day, two weeks after larger London blasts that killed 56, including four suicide bombers.

The roving wiretap provision, Section 206, allows investigators to obtain warrants to intercept a suspect's phone conversations or Internet traffic without limiting it to a specific phone or identifying the suspect. The records provision, Section 215, authorizes federal officials to obtain "tangible items" such as business, library and medical records.

Advocates argued that such powers already exist in criminal investigations so they should be expressly continued for terrorism investigations. They also cited safeguards in the bill, such as a requirement that a judge approve the records search.

One amendment, passed by a 402-26 vote, requires the FBI director to personally approve any request for library or bookstore records. Another successful amendment sets a 20-year jail term for an attack against a rail or mass-transit vehicle; a 30-year sentence if the vehicle carries nuclear material; and life imprisonment — with the possibility of the death penalty — if anyone is killed in such an attack.

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., a former FBI agent, recalled using such tools in gang and child molestation investigations.

"All we do in the Patriot Act is say, `Look, if we can go after child molesters sitting in the library and bombers who we need to sneak-and-peek on a warrant, we ought to be able to go after terrorists,'" he said.

Critics heralded the bulk of the existing law, but said the sunsets were wisely inserted amid the inflamed passions following the Sept. 11 attacks, and should be retained to assess the long-term impact of the law.

"Periodically revisiting the Patriot Act is a good thing," said Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass. "The Patriot Act was an effort to answer the most difficult question a democracy faces: How much freedom are we willing to give up to feel safe?"

Democrats were incensed after Republican leaders blocked consideration of an amendment that would have blocked the library searches. The House approved identical language last month in a test vote.

"If you don't like it, come up and speak against it," said Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who sponsored the amendment. "But it has passed once and it would likely pass again."
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The House bill number is H.R. 3199.
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On the Net:

For bill text: http://thomas.loc.gov

SOURCE - http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050722/ap_on_go_co/patriot_act