PATRIOT Act Extension

... means that I'll probably not feel "safe" in the US for the next 10 years. Not that I've got anything to hide, but, because I'm no longer considered a "neighbour" when I go to the US, I'm a "foreigner."

Permitting the US government to pry -- at will -- into personal afffairs, to interpret individual actions via involuntary and incidental record keeping methods, and, then, to make value judgements based upon these records is unreasonable. It is another step toward the status as Police State that the US should simply own up to.

The USA PATRIOT act seeks to redefine "patriotism." In supporting the scrutiny of tiny facets of everyday life, personal interest, and freedom, this act is anti-democratic on its face. It is a reactionary piece of legislation and, now that it has been extended, exemplifies the nature of the current administration. This legislation could not have been enacted during peacetime, the national interest would not permit the limitation of liberty without the presence of a threat. However, because the legislation was pushed -- unread -- through Congress and the Senate in the traumatized days of post-9|11 Washington, the interest laid on the side of its ratification. Now the same tactic is being employed. Hypersensitivity in a post-7|7 phase is, again, siding national interest with the tenets of this act. A clear and present danger, er... a muddied phantom menace of freqent reference, is here. Thus, the Act stays.

A non-patriot is one who would work against the ideals of America and, in the eyes of authority, would seek to destroy America by a "terrorist" attack of one form or another. Terrorists are, as defined by President Bush himself, "evil doers" and followers of "ideologies of hate." The President ought to take a good long look in the mirror. Under these broad terms, he would surely include Hip Hop artists, homosexuals, and most free-thinking individuals. Any who oppose the status quo and are suspect of inducing change will be treated as a threat. Soon enough, graffiti, anti-War songs, protest marches, and -- gasp -- overt sexuality will be the acts of terror that embroil the nation.

The PATRIOT act as a standard of patriotism, under the understanding that liberty is sacrificed in favor of security, is the most anti-patriotic act that could be instituted by the current or any administration. They seek to redefine the conduct of 'Americans' to fall in-line with the concerns of "national security" -- a neo-McCarthyistic attitude. Whether or not the police forces of the US will utilize this freedom in the interests of the people, or in the interests of the State has yet to be seen. However, the state has ensured that the power for these organizations to act in the interests of the state is present.

The 7|7 Bombing of London is still a recent event and, probably, the overshadowing rationale for the ratification of the PATRIOT Act extension in the House. As previously stated, the attacks in London proved very beneficial to the efforts of the Bush Administration and the War on Terror. It couldn't have worked better if they'd planned it themselves. The intense scrutiny of Gulf War II has, temporarily waned in the wake of great interest in the 7|7 Attacks. In terms of a distraction, it came right on cue.

This begs the question, if al Qaeda had succeeded in swinging popular opinion against the hegemonic efforts of the Bush Administration, particularly with respect to US occupation of the Middle East, and the scrutiny of the war was at an all time high, why would they have bombed London? Seems counterproductive to me; the search for al Qaeda has since intensified and spread thicker across the globe. Bush has gained more support for the War on Terror.

For each action there is an equal and opposite reaction. A little terror there promotes interest in security over here. Being naturally balanced, no one is any the wiser.

One furhter note: NYPD engaged in random bag checking at subway stations across the city, presumably a product "High" probability of a terrorist attack today, the 7|7 bombing 15 days ago, and the passage of the PATRIOT Act Extension through the House. If you've got the power, why not exercise it? Besides, it is in the interest of public safety, no matter what the Fourth Amendment states.

Gotta wonder how long it took the German proletariat to get used to Facism/Totalitarianism.