cannabisnews.com: President Urges Renewal of Patriot Act





President Urges Renewal of Patriot Act
Posted by CN Staff on April 17, 2004 at 09:26:03 PT
By Alex Wong, Getty 
Source: Associated Press 
Washington -- Declaring the Patriot Act a vital tool in the war on terror, President Bush says Congress would place the nation at greater risk of attack if it fails to renew the law's wide-ranging law enforcement powers. Key elements of the post-Sept. 11 law are set to expire next year and "some politicians in Washington act as if the threat to America will also expire on that schedule," Bush said Saturday in his weekly radio address.
"To abandon the Patriot Act would deprive law enforcement and intelligence officers of needed tools in the war on terror, and demonstrate willful blindness to a continuing threat." Several conservative Republicans have joined liberal Democrats in saying that portions of the law are too intrusive on Americans' lives. They are threatening to allow the provisions to die at the end of next year. Some want to impose more judicial oversight of how police and prosecutors conduct investigations. "Our government's first duty is to protect the American people" and the Patriot Act "fulfills that duty in a way that is fully consistent with constitutional protections," Bush said. Asked Friday whether Bush was making a campaign issue of the Patriot Act, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the president is "going to continue to talk about it" and there are "some clear choices on this issue ... in this election." Bush's remarks strike a theme that he will return to next week, beginning Monday in Pennsylvania, a state that is key to his re-election hopes. There, he and law-enforcement officers will stress the Patriot Act's importance. On Tuesday, the president will speak about the Patriot Act again with law-enforcement officers in Buffalo, the site of recent criminal cases against the Lackawanna Six, a group of Yemeni-Americans convicted of supporting terrorism by briefly attending al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. "Since I signed the Patriot Act into law, federal investigators have disrupted terror cells in at least six American cities," said Bush. He said that since Sept. 11, the Justice Department has charged over 300 people in terrorism-related investigations, more than half of whom have been convicted or pled guilty. A recent study concluded that while the Justice Department has sharply increased prosecution of terrorism-related cases since the Sept. 11 attacks, many fizzled and few produced significant prison time. Bush says the Patriot Act must not be weakened. The law "tore down the artificial wall between the FBI and CIA, and enhanced their ability to share the information needed to hunt terrorists," said the president. He said the Patriot Act also marked a major shift in law enforcement priorities in which "we are no longer emphasizing only the investigation of past crimes, but also the prevention of future attacks." Because of the law, FBI agents can better conduct electronic surveillance and wiretaps on suspected terrorists, he said. Source: Associated Press Author: Alex Wong, Getty Published: April 17, 2004 Copyright: 2004 The Associated Press Related Articles:Web-Tappinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18623.shtmlBush's Meandering Moral Compass http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18546.shtmlDrugs, Money and The Patriot Act http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13861.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #10 posted by Truth on April 18, 2004 at 07:42:43 PT
Billos
I think he truly thinks that by locking up his fellow americans over political differences he is being a patriot. It demonstrates that his rational thinking isn't.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by kaptinemo on April 18, 2004 at 06:47:00 PT:
To be more succinct
We don' need no steekeeng PATRIOT Act.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by kaptinemo on April 18, 2004 at 05:45:02 PT:
A word about fear...and who's afraid
I'd like to add my own tup'pence on the general discussion regarding the supposed 'fear' Americans were purportedly experiencing:Remember the DC Sniper incidents? I live in the area the murderers were striking randomly. Someone asked me at work, "Have you changed your life any because of it? Are you afraid?" I replied that No, I hadn't changed anything about my daily routine, as people were more likely to have a car accident than be shot by these punks, and you deal with that roll of the dice every day. Are you afraid to go out the door, knowing that it's a 100% probability that, in this area with so many wretched drivers on the road, that you'll have an accident in 5 years? We have amongst the highest car insurance rates in the Nation; even good drivers get gouged. She smiled and nodded when she saw what I was getting at.Now, remember the silliness about 'duct tape'? Nightly on the 'Evening Snooze', you'd see some person being interviewed, ostensibly in full possession of their wits, prattling on about they had just visited the hardware store to buy duct tape to create a safe place in their homes from possible bioterrorist attacks.So, I'm asking you all, good readers...how many people did YOU actually see doing that? Hmmm?For the record, I DON'T KNOW OF A SINGLE PERSON AT WORK OR IN MY SOCIAL CIRCLES WHO DID. Perhaps because I normally don't associate with fools willingly? And dare I say you share the same sentiment?The only force that has a *long-term stake* in perpetuating fear is the government. Period. A terrorist strike can last only moments. But a government program can last decades; the Cold War lasted 50 years. The DrugWar we are experiencing is not 30 years old, but *90* years old. Both periods of time were (and are!) marked by exaggerations of the actual threat levels as opposed to (even then at their inception) warnings from rational people that the threat was blown out of proportion. EVEN WORSE, such exaggeration *could cause more damage to society through 'overcompensation' (like dimished civil rights to fight what amounts to a 'boogeyman') than the ostensible threat*. But to do so meant continuing to empower the economic and political fortunes of those deriving their sustenence from these conflicts.We cannabists (and the more rational if intellectually dishonest antis) know this. Hence the nightly parade of supposedly normal people having their irrational behavior being fronted as being prudent. To perpetuate fear of an unlikely event to maintain continued control of a spooked populace.Heeeeeey, Uncle! Lis'sen up! Shove yer freakin' duct tape and yer Crayola Crayon alerts; I'm still an American, dammit, and I REFUSE TO LIVE IN FEAR.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by jose melendez on April 18, 2004 at 05:20:19 PT
ekim
Gret work!For the record, "real race cars" are sponsored by corporations in collusion with Congress to circumvent the Sherman Act:from: http://www.stolaf.edu/people/becker/antitrust/statutes/sherman.html Section 1. Trusts, etc., in restraint of trade illegal; penaltyEvery contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal. Every person who shall make any contract or engage in any combination or conspiracy hereby declared to be illegal shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $10,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any other person, $350,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding three years, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court. Section 2. Monopolizing trade a felony; penaltyEvery person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $10,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any other person, $350,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding three years, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court.also, from: http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/guidelines/primer-ncu.htm    American consumers have the      right to expect the benefits of free and open competition — the      best goods and services at the lowest prices. Public and private organizations      often rely on a competitive bidding process to achieve that end. The      competitive process only works, however, when competitors set prices      honestly and independently. When competitors collude, prices are inflated      and the customer is cheated. Price fixing, bid rigging, and other forms      of collusion are illegal and are subject to criminal prosecution by      the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice.      
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by billos on April 17, 2004 at 17:44:48 PT:
          Truth
You said that for a prohibitionist to claim to be a patriot is nothing short of b......s...I concur.....what I wanted to ask is......has anyone noticed that all these prohibitionists are now wearing lapel pins of the United States Flag as if it is to signify: "I am one of the most patriotic bastards you'll ever meet!"Are these Freudin slips because they are all lying turncaots.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by ekim on April 17, 2004 at 17:20:34 PT
Crossfire------------
was one of the last calls on C-span yesterday to ask Robert Novak what he thought about last weeks fbi hearing on how they were preoccupied by cold war thinking as 100 fbi agents were at Rainbow 5 days before 9-11 and asked him about the AARP ad about spending 75 billion the last 5 years on the drug war and that being a sign that things should change. Bob said no the hearings did not say that. and no AARP was in trouble with the members for siding with the Med bill. He also said he suspected i was for legalization.For the record the fbi said it was preoccupied with the drug war -- Mr. Novak was so taken with his driving abilities that he was proud to say "last year I was 72 and received a certificate for driving a real race car " Ya this great specimen of a person that has over 50 years of reporting the news as he sees it --wants to hide behind the First Amendment and not reveal his sources then boasts of how he drives a new fast Corvette and likes driving race cars------------says nothing about the 100 FBI Men at Rainbow Farm and all Tom and Rollie wanted was the Gov't to regulate Cannabis Laws and stop the black market---- and Bob still says he is for smaller Gov't. 
http://www.minorml.org
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by Max Flowers on April 17, 2004 at 16:22:58 PT
OverwhelmSam
I'll go one better... I never believed for a minute that anyone in this country was walking around in fear as they are coloring us as being. I haven't seen a single fearful person. Maybe in NYC it's different for some people and that would be very understandable. But I don't think as a society we're like that anyway. I haven't seen anyone who wants their freedoms reduced in trade for alleged "greater security." They (feds) SAY we're asking for that, but I don't think anyone is actually asking for that. I think you would find that the general attitude is "we'll fight wherever and whoever we have to domestically, and we'll endure attacks and tragedy if we have to, but don't turn the USA into a police state."At least I know that's my view.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by OverwhelmSam on April 17, 2004 at 15:36:21 PT
Just a Comment.
George W. Bush is such a fear mongerer. I truly hope people see through his fear tactics.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by medicinal toker on April 17, 2004 at 14:56:03 PT
Patriots Urge Removal of Bush!
Remember what they said about Bush 1? "It's time for them to go."Once again, it's time for them to go, all the way to dog cages at Gitmo!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by Truth on April 17, 2004 at 11:07:01 PT
prohibition
Prohibiting folks is anti-freedom. For a prohibitionist to claim to be a patriot is nothing short of b. s....What is bush thinking? I think his years of gulping and snorting solvents shorted out a synapse or two.
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment