What are some comparisons and contrasts of the Patriot Act to the original facts of personal liberty?

2 Responses to What are some comparisons and contrasts of the Patriot Act to the original facts of personal liberty?

1. Doc says:

   September 30, 2009 at 2:06 am

   Sadly, as Americans, you have lost more liberties under the new Obama administration than under Bush 43.

   The good majority of "laws" passed under the guise of the Patriot Act were actually already on the books from decades before. Everyone loves to scream about the warrant-less wire taps but what they fail to address or realize is that Democrat FDR came up with that one so as to catch and convict gangster Al Capone.

   When you say "Original" facts of personal liberty are you addressing the Declaration of Independence, The Articles of Confederation or the every growing and expanding Constitution (and more specifically, The Bill of Rights)?

   When Jefferson wrote of "Freedom" in the DoI in 1776, the economy in the colonies had grown over 1000% in the previous 100 years, so what he was REALLY addressing was money. Borrowed from his good friend John Adams, "People who have money are far more free and have far greater a selection from which to choose than do those who have little or no money. Those who have little or no money then, are enslaved to their creditors." He was serving the King due notice that Americans would no longer willingly be enslaved to the King of England.

   With the Articles of Confederation, the attempt there was to address the concerns of states rights VS those of the federal government. The best word to describe it is "diversity." I choose that word because if you look up the root Latin words for it in the dictionary, you come up with:

   Dis, meaning to turn or to tear. And,

   Vertere, meaning apart.

   To turn or to tear apart.

   Because they were so concerned about individuality and individual rights, there was no unity with the Articles of Confederation. So, they came up with the Constitution and to quell the concerns about individual rights, they also wrote the Bill of Rights.

   The basic premise of the BoR’s was to give no one person, group or religion a greater voice. That is to say, the government should show no one favor or preference over all others.

   So, when we compare and contrast Bush administration’s Patriot Act VS Obama. Please bear in mind that the requirement of a search warrant harkens back to a day well before instant communication. Given "Probable Cause," you teater on the brink of racism VS the safety of the many.

   Under the Obama administration, money was offered to the big three auto makers. Anyone who took the money (Chrysler and GM), was then forced into bankruptcy by this administration. GM’s new CEO who had been brought on board to clean up the mess, we forced to resign and GM was forced to give Congress 61% of its stock. GM was then divided and various assetts sold.

   Chrysler too was forced to file bankruptcy for having taken the money and was also forced to sell off their assetts.

   Ford did not take the money and faced no such governances by Congress and Obama.

   The banking industry too suffered the same fate. To be fair, those wheels began in the closing hour of the Bush administration. But it was by the direction of Pelosi, not Bush that forced BofA into the shotgun merger with Merrill Lynch. And it was under Obama and Pelosi that when BofA’s CEO Ken Lewis discovered the $17 BILLION in undisclosed "toxic" mortgages , was forced to continue the purchase even though the writeten rule of law allowed him to back out of the deal. And it was also Obama that essentially forced Lewis to resign.

   So, when you think about the big three. Should Ford make bad business decisions they will be forced to die by them. Should GM make those same bad decisions, Congress will simply infuse more money to avoid recidivism. GM then, is being given preference and favors over Ford. So much for the Bill of Rights and Obama/Pelosi.

   And who benefitted the most for the Cash For Clunkers deal? Remember, Congress owns the banks (thanx to TARP) and they own GM. Who benefitted the least? The used car market gained nothing. All cars brought in, were instantly destroyed. What about the after market resale of refurbished parts? They gained nothing as well. Per Congress, nothing was allowed to be stripped from those vehicles prior to their destruction. Adding to all of this, over 690,000 deals were declined at the close of Cash For Clunkers. Meaning those people will either have to accept their new cars at a higher price than they’d orginally agreed to OR they will have to return those vehicles, pay rent and mileage on them and then quite literally walk home. Their old cars having already been destroyed.

   This is probabaly all far more than you’d intended or thought you were bargaining for. But it’s a great indepth conversation that most Americans simply don’t get or want to get. So, which is worse? having to take your shoes off at the airport? Or, be enslaved to a government gone mad?

   "Those who have little or no money are enslaved to their creditors." John Adams

   *later*

   To JHDH 2008,

   Thank you for proving so susinctly my point about not wanting to think this through and ignoring facts. It seems the entire country is now ladden with the McDonald’s/Burger King mentality crowd. They want it now and they want it their way without regard for how bad "it" is for them. The asker asked us to compare and contrast. I feel I did that. To call my response a rant is just plain wrong. And, considering the depth and detail of my response, I hardly qualify as a bleating sheep.
   References :
2. jhdh2008 says:

   September 30, 2009 at 2:32 am

   Despite the rant above I have lost no personal liberty. I would like one listed that I have lost. Too many people refer to the Declaration of Independence as a law or some God Given rights. It is neither. It is simply a letter written to King George by a bunch of rich landowners stating what they believe. They may hold those truths to be self-evident, but apparently no one else did.
   THere has been very little ppersonalfreedom or liberty in the history of the world. How to treat your slaves is even listed in the Bible.
   The Patriot Act has not inconvenienced me in any way. And I very seriously doubt it has anyone who has nothing to fear. Despite rants, raves and bleating of Sheep.
   References :