Loading ...If you haven’t already, now’s the time to get out your party hats to celebrate the 14th anniversary of the USA PATRIOT Act.
You know about the law, I’m sure; passed barely six weeks after the 9/11 attacks, the USA PATRIOT Act is one of the most sweeping, liberty-destroying pieces of legislation in American history.
Remember the rule of thumb: the more high-sounding the name of a law, the more disastrous its effects. And the USA PATRIOT Act absolutely conformed.
It stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Interdict and Obstruct Terrorism.
And this name is truly disingenuous when you think about it.
Seriously, how was America to become more ‘united’ by allowing warrantless searches, vastly expanding the powers of secret courts, and completely doing away with entire sections of the Constitution?? That’s just absurd.
The name itself is a cruel joke on liberty.
At 132 pages, the USA PATRIOT Act was a pretty beefy piece of legislation. But what most people fail to realize is that the law is entirely incomprehensible.
Instead of simply stating in black & white what the new dark powers of government would be, the USA PATRIOT Act makes obscure modifications to other laws.
Here’s an example of what I’m talking about, pulled from page 20 of the text of the legislation: read more