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The purpose of this blog is to educate the public about Political ideas and principals as well as comment on current events.
We have posted historical documents such as the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence for our readers to study and compare to the ideas that we present. We will post other documents in the future.
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We hope that this blog will be an interesting and helpful one for those who are in the pursuit of knowledge, and we hope that you will be able to learn from it.
~The writers of this forum
Featured Article
Is the Patriot Act a good thing?
By Aaron Reale
In these days of Post 9/11, in the days of terrorism, and the days of Illegal immigration, we must know who is in our country and why they are here. With our open borders and many illegal immigrants (some of which are terrorists) coming in with fraudulent documents, what legal way do we have to keep America safe from the terrorists who are already in our country. How do we do this? The Patriot Act. But what is the Patriot Act?
The USA PATRIOT Act, commonly known as the Patriot Act, is an Act of Congress which President George W. Bush signed into law on October 26, 2001. The acronym stands for: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-56).
The Act was passed 45 days after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. It substantially expanded the authority of U.S. law enforcement agencies for the stated purpose of fighting terrorism in the United States and abroad. Among its provisions, the Act increased the ability of law enforcement agencies to search telephone and e-mail communications and medical, financial and other records; eased restrictions on foreign intelligence gathering within the United States; expanded the Secretary of the Treasury's authority to regulate financial transactions, particularly those involving foreign individuals and entities; and enhanced the discretion of law enforcement and immigration authorities in detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism-related acts. The act also expanded the definition of terrorism to include "domestic terrorism," thus enlarging the number of activities to which the Patriot Act's expanded law enforcement powers can be applied.
Now a lot of people around the U.S. have come out in opposition to the Patriot Act, because they believe it is an invasion of privacy, and against the constitution. They get this claim by quoting the 4th amendment which says:
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
People think that the Patriot Act is breaking this amendment's rules, and that is why they are against it, but they don't know the truth behind the Patriot Act. People think that the government wiretaps random people, which is a violation of the constitution, but this is simply not the case.
The Patriot Act is used by the FBI and the CIA, to discover if there might be a terrorist or a terrorism plot afoot, but they don't do this by the means the public think they do. They do not just randomly wiretap. What they do is they sit down at a computer and enforce a tactic known as Data-mining. They type a word like Terrorism or Bomb into the computer, and then their computer will go through computers around the country, looking for these words on a computer. If they find the word they were searching for, they will then look at that document. If it the document says something like: "Police arrest NJ man with bomb strapped to chest", then they will leave it alone and keep searching. But if they find an email saying: Dear Achmed, I am building a bomb, and I am planning to blow up the U.N., then because of this proof, they are now presented with probable cause. They then MIGHT wiretap that person to see what their exact plans are, and because of this, they are able to arrest the terrorist/bomber and the U.S. is safer for it. So contrary to popular belief, the FBI/CIA/Government does NOT see all your private information, they do not know more than they need to about you, because since they only Data-mine for certain words, no one will see your personal info and documents that do not contain the words they search for.
Since 9/11 we have caught 17 potential acts of terrorism, because of the Patriot Act. And with as many as 15 known Al'Queda terrorist cells in the U.S. today, the Patriot Act is one of the most needed tools in the War On Terrorism.
The Patriot Act is not an infringement on personal liberty, and it is not an invasion of privacy because it does not violate the 4th amendment, it is fully constitutional. In a time of terrorists and terrorism, America must be kept safe from harm, and If we are to do so legally, constitutionally, and rationally, the Patriot Act must kept and enforced until the time comes where it is not needed anymore. It is a good thing, and it is constitutional, and it will help to keep us safe.
Dixi,
~ Aaron Reale