"Patriot Act" part 2 in the works...

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/08/attack/main539929.shtml


The Justice Department is preparing to attempt to expand the 2001 Patriot Act to increase surveillance within the United States while restricting access to information and limiting judicial review, a nonprofit government watchdog group asserted Friday.
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Among other things, it would prohibit disclosure of information regarding people detained as terrorist suspects
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the measure would create a DNA database of "suspected terrorists;" force suspects to prove why they should be released on bail, rather than have the prosecution prove why they should be held; and allow the deportation of U.S. citizens who become members of or help terrorist groups.

Draft here: http://www.privacy.org/patriot2draft.pdf

If passed (highly unlikely), the shooting WILL start

Who are you going to shoot? LEO's? In that case, could I sell you some burial insurance? I've been thinking about a new career.

You don't want to sell burial insurance to someone you know is going to need to be buried soon. :eek:

Did I say anything about myself personally? No. You drew that conclusion on your own. But, if you don't think that there are folks out there who will start knocking off those who vote something like this into law, you need to think it over again.

Now, where did the LEO reference come from? :confused:

Article headlined "Justice drafts law to wiretap, detain in secret" was by-lined The Washington Post, described this thing as "a potential successor to The Patriot Act". Seems as if the name of this proposal is Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003, doesn't that sound like something guaranteed to make you sleep better.

A draft of this thing has been posted on the Internet, and Justice hasn't questioned it's authenticity. If it should get to The Floor, think our congresscritters will have actually read the thing, before voting on it? Get on to your "congress critters" NOW.

FIX observed:

Draft here: http://www.privacy.org/patriot2draft.pdf

If passed (highly unlikely), the shooting WILL start

Clicking on the link EVENTUALLY brings forth items though in dribs and drabs. Wonder why, as this is not "normal", as I recall.

If privacy.org is too slow, use the [mirror] link below.

Among the high points are reduced accountability for Executive branch investigations, "strengthening" of WoMD statutes, forfeiture of citizenship if you're a "terrorist," and a 5 year sentencing enhancement if you use encryption to conceal any federal crime.

Draft of Patriot II and various related documents:
www.public-i.org (http://www.public-i.org/dtaweb/report.asp?ReportID=502).

Clicking on the link EVENTUALLY brings forth items though in dribs and drabs. Wonder why, as this is not "normal", as I recall

It's a PDF. A PDF is typically larger for a given amount of info than an HTML page. Reading PDFs across the Internet is painful. It's better to right click the link, and select "save as" to download the PDF and read locally.

Chris

The words "domestic security enhancement" gives me the chills!

fix,

Who enforces the laws like them or not? LEO's

If your privacy is invaded under this act, who do you think will be doing it? The legisltators don't do the ground work. Some LE agency will do it.

If you think someone is going to drop politicians over this,then why didn't they over the Clintoon Crime bill which brought us the AW ban and the 10 capacity mag? Why not over the other countless outrages our government throws at us?

Fact is, all you really can do is urge the Legistlators not to pass this. If you want to get violent, well then that would be up to you but I don't think you or anyone else who tries to will get far.

You got the vote. Use it and persuade others to.

If your idea of running a business is selling life insurance to guerilla revolutionaries, I have a fascinating investment opportunity involving the leasing of bridges to municipalities I'd like you to hear about.

I'll tell you what - if the provisions of this bill bear any resemblance to what I 've seen and read, it scares the pee-waddin's outta me. I mean - it goes FAR beyond anything I recall, have read about or been told about some of the draconian measures that our government took during WWII. I realize that it's still a long way from law, but I'm dumbfounded that ANY American would even suggest something like this. It's amazing ! :uhoh:

Don,

The City of Louisville is actually looking for 2 bridges over the Ohio River. Perhaps you could arrange to have the Golden Gate and the Bay Bridge from the PRK moved out here for, oh 10 years or so? Our Governor will gladly pay. He just got caught with his pants down ala Bill Clintoon.

http://www.infowars.com/print_patriotact2_analysis.htm

Congressman Ron Paul (R-Tex) told the Washington Times that no member of Congress was allowed to read the first Patriot Act that was passed by the House on October 27, 2001. The first Patriot Act was universally decried by civil libertarians and Constitutional scholars from across the political spectrum. William Safire, while writing for the New York Times, described the first Patriot Act’s powers by saying that President Bush was “seizing dictatorial control.

On February 7, 2003 the Center for Public Integrity, a non-partisan public interest think-tank in DC, revealed the full text of the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003. The classified document had been leaked to them by an unnamed source inside the Federal government. The document consisted of a 33-page section by section analysis of the accompanying 87-page bill.


*Note: On February 10, 2003 I discovered that not only was there a house version that had been covertly brought to Hastert, but that many provisions of the now public Patriot Act II had already been introduced as pork barrel riders on Senate Bill S. 22. Dozens of subsections and even the titles of the subsections are identical to those in the House version. This is very important because it catches the Justice Department in a bald-faced lie. The Justice Department claimed that the secret legislation brought into the House was only for study, and that at this time there was no intention to try and pass it. Now upon reading S. 22, it is clear that the leadership of the Senate is fully aware of the Patriot Act II, and have passed these riders out of their committees into the full bill. I spent two hours scanning through S. 22 and, let me tell you, it is a nightmare for anyone who loves liberty. It even contains the Our Lady of Peace Act that registers all gun owners. It bans the private sale of all firearms, creates a Federal ballistics database, and much more.

The bill itself is stamped “Confidential – Not for Distribution.” Upon reading the analysis and bill, I was stunned by the scientifically crafted tyranny contained in the legislation. The Justice Department Office of Legislative Affairs admits that they had indeed covertly transmitted a copy of the legislation to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, (R-Il) and the Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney as well as the executive heads of federal law enforcement agencies.


It is important to note that no member of Congress was allowed to see the first Patriot Act before its passage, and that no debate was tolerate by the House and Senate leadership. The intentions of the White House and Speaker Hastert concerning Patriot Act II appear to be a carbon copy replay of the events that led to the unprecedented passage of the first Patriot Act.

There are two glaring areas that need to be looked at concerning this new legislation:


1. The secretive tactics being used by the White House and Speaker Hastert to keep even the existence of this legislation secret would be more at home in Communist China than in the United States. The fact that Dick Cheney publicly managed the steamroller passage of the first Patriot Act, insuring that no one was allowed to read it and publicly threatening members of Congress that if they didn’t vote in favor of it that they would be blamed for the next terrorist attack, is by the White House’s own definition terrorism. The move to clandestinely craft and then bully passage of any legislation by the Executive Branch is clearly an impeachable offence.


2. The second Patriot Act is a mirror image of powers that Julius Caesar and Adolf Hitler gave themselves. Whereas the First Patriot Act only gutted the First, Third, Fourth and Fifth Amendments, and seriously damaged the Seventh and the Tenth, the Second Patriot Act reorganizes the entire Federal government as well as many areas of state government under the dictatorial control of the Justice Department, the Office of Homeland Security and the FEMA NORTHCOM military command. The Domestic Security Enhancement Act 2003, also known as the Second Patriot Act is by its very structure the definition of dictatorship.


I challenge all Americans to study the new Patriot Act and to compare it to the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence. Ninety percent of the act has nothing to do with terrorism and is instead a giant Federal power-grab with tentacles reaching into every facet of our society. It strips American citizens of all of their rights and grants the government and its private agents total immunity.


Here is a quick thumbnail sketch of just some of the draconian measures encapsulated within this tyrannical legislation:


SECTION 501 (Expatriation of Terrorists) expands the Bush administration’s “enemy combatant” definition to all American citizens who “may” have violated any provision of Section 802 of the first Patriot Act. (Section 802 is the new definition of domestic terrorism, and the definition is “any action that endangers human life that is a violation of any Federal or State law.”) Section 501 of the second Patriot Act directly connects to Section 125 of the same act. The Justice Department boldly claims that the incredibly broad Section 802 of the First USA Patriot Act isn’t broad enough and that a new, unlimited definition of terrorism is needed.


Under Section 501 a US citizen engaging in lawful activities can be grabbed off the street and thrown into a van never to be seen again. The Justice Department states that they can do this because the person “had inferred from conduct” that they were not a US citizen. Remember Section 802 of the First USA Patriot Act states that any violation of Federal or State law can result in the “enemy combatant” terrorist designation.


SECTION 201 of the second Patriot Act makes it a criminal act for any member of the government or any citizen to release any information concerning the incarceration or whereabouts of detainees. It also states that law enforcement does not even have to tell the press who they have arrested and they never have to release the names.


SECTION 301 and 306 (Terrorist Identification Database) set up a national database of “suspected terrorists” and radically expand the database to include anyone associated with suspected terrorist groups and anyone involved in crimes or having supported any group designated as “terrorist.” These sections also set up a national DNA database for anyone on probation or who has been on probation for any crime, and orders State governments to collect the DNA for the Federal government.


SECTION 312 gives immunity to law enforcement engaging in spying operations against the American people and would place substantial restrictions on court injunctions against Federal violations of civil rights across the board.

SECTION 101 will designate individual terrorists as foreign powers and again strip them of all rights under the “enemy combatant” designation.

SECTION 102 states clearly that any information gathering, regardless of whether or not those activities are illegal, can be considered to be clandestine intelligence activities for a foreign power. This makes news gathering illegal.

SECTION 103 allows the Federal government to use wartime martial law powers domestically and internationally without Congress declaring that a state of war exists.

SECTION 106 is bone-chilling in its straightforwardness. It states that broad general warrants by the secret FSIA court (a panel of secret judges set up in a star chamber system that convenes in an undisclosed location) granted under the first Patriot Act are not good enough. It states that government agents must be given immunity for carrying out searches with no prior court approval. This section throws out the entire Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches and seizures.

SECTION 109 allows secret star chamber courts to issue contemp charges against any individual or corporation who refuses to incriminate themselves or others. This sections annihilate the last vestiges of the Fifth Amendment.

SECTION 110 restates that key police state clauses in the first Patriot Act were not sunsetted and removes the five year sunset clause from other subsections of the first Patriot Act. After all, the media has told us: “this is the New America. Get used to it. This is forever.”

SECTION 111 expands the definition of the “enemy combatant” designation.

SECTION 122 restates the government’s newly announced power of “surveillance without a court order.”

SECTION 123 restates that the government no longer needs warrants and that the investigations can be a giant dragnet-style sweep described in press reports about the Total Information Awareness Network. One passage reads, “thus the focus of domestic surveillance may be less precise than that directed against more conventional types of crime.”

*Note: Over and over again, in subsection after subsection, the second Patriot Act states that its new Soviet-type powers will be used to fight international terrorism, domestic terrorism and other types of crimes. Of course the government has already announced in Section 802 of the first USA Patriot act that any crime is considered domestic terrorism.

SECTION 126 grants the government the right to mine the entire spectrum of public and private sector information from bank records to educational and medical records. This is the enacting law to allow ECHELON and the Total Information Awareness Network to totally break down any and all walls of privacy.

The government states that they must look at everything to “determine” if individuals or groups might have a connection to terrorist groups. As you can now see, you are guilty until proven innocent.

SECTION 127 allows the government to takeover coroners’ and medical examiners’ operations whenever they see fit. See how this is like Bill Clinton’s special medical examiner he had in Arkansas that ruled that people had committed suicide when their arms and legs had been cut off.

SECTION 128 allows the Federal government to place gag orders on Federal and State Grand Juries and to take over the proceedings. It also disallows individuals or organizations to even try to quash a Federal subpoena. So now defending yourself will be a terrorist action.

SECTION 129 destroys any remaining whistleblower protection for Federal agents.

SECTION 202 allows corporations to keep secret their activities with toxic biological, chemical or radiological materials.

SECTION 205 allows top Federal officials to keep all their financial dealings secret, and anyone investigating them can be considered a terrorist. This should be very useful for Dick Cheney to stop anyone investigating Haliburton.

SECTION 303 sets up national DNA database of suspected terrorists. The database will also be used to “stop other unlawful activities.” It will share the information with state, local and foreign agencies for the same purposes.

SECTION 311 federalizes your local police department in the area of information sharing.

SECTION 313 provides liability protection for businesses, especially big businesses that spy on their customers for Homeland Security, violating their privacy agreements. It goes on to say that these are all preventative measures – has anyone seen Minority Report? This is the access hub for the Total Information Awareness Network.

SECTION 321 authorizes foreign governments to spy on the American people and to share information with foreign governments.

SECTION 322 removes Congress from the extradition process and allows officers of the Homeland Security complex to extradite American citizens anywhere they wish. It also allows Homeland Security to secretly take individuals out of foreign countries.

SECTION 402 is titled “Providing Material Support to Terrorism.” The section reads that there is no requirement to show that the individual even had the intent to aid terrorists.

SECTION 403 expands the definition of weapons of mass destruction to include any activity that affects interstate or foreign commerce.

SECTION 404 makes it a crime for a terrorist or “other criminals” to use encryption in the commission of a crime.

SECTION 408 creates “lifetime parole” (basically, slavery) for a whole host of crimes.

SECTION 410 creates no statute of limitations for anyone that engages in terrorist actions or supports terrorists. Remember: any crime is now considered terrorism under the first Patriot Act.

SECTION 411 expands crimes that are punishable by death. Again, they point to Section 802 of the first Patriot Act and state that any terrorist act or support of terrorist act can result in the death penalty.

SECTION 421 increases penalties for terrorist financing. This section states that any type of financial activity connected to terrorism will result to time in prison and $10-50,000 fines per violation.

SECTIONS 427 sets up asset forfeiture provisions for anyone engaging in terrorist activities.

:banghead:

Talking Points I: Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 ("Patriot II")

The USA PATRIOT Act was signed into law on Oct. 26, 2001. For months, Congressional legislative and committee staff have anticipated follow-up legislation. The Administration consistently indicated that, although many ideas were being considered, specific proposals weren't ready to be shared with Congress. However, on Friday, Feb. 7, 2003, the non-partisan Center for Public Integrity (CPI) posted on its website a copy of a confidential draft of proposed legislation dated Jan. 9, 2003, entitled the "Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003," together with a "control sheet" which appears to show that the confidential draft had been transmitted on Jan. 10, 2003, to House Speaker Hastert (IL) and Vice-President Cheney (presumably in his capacity as President of the Senate). Availability of the document was publicized by Bill Moyers on his Feb. 7, 2003, PBS TV program, "Now with Bill Moyers," when Mr. Moyers interviewed Charles Lewis, the head of CPI. The Justice Department did not dispute the authenticity of the draft, although it denied that Rep. Hastert or Vice-Pres. Cheney had been sent the document.

The proposed law would radically expand law enforcement and intelligence gathering authority; reduce or eliminate judicial oversight over certain surveillance; authorize secret arrests, detentions, and grand jury subpoenas; create a DNA database of individuals who are suspected of association with terrorism or terrorist groups; create new death penalty provisions; and empower the government to remove American citizenship from persons who belong to or support disfavored political groups.

Some highlights of the proposed act:

Increases secret surveillance. The proposed act would create broad new powers of surveillance by the Administration, broadening the definitions of who can be secretly watched, the certification that the Administration must make to receive a warrant, and the circumstances in which the Administration can conduct surveillance without a warrant. It would terminate or alter consent decrees set up to curb illegal surveillance by local law enforcement authorities.

Increases control over immigrants. The proposed act would expand the control of the Justice Department over immigration matters, including expedited deportation. It would criminalize many regulatory violations and remove judicial discretion from some immigration rulings.

Establishes new crimes, criminal procedures, and sanctions. The proposed act would create new crimes, criminal procedures, and punishments relating to non-violent activities that could be linked to terrorism or groups deemed to be "terrorist groups" by the Administration. It would give the Justice Department new powers concerning certification of evidence, submission of secret evidence, and mandatory pretrial detention. It would permit surveillance of the content of home computers and multi-use handheld devices, and would permit surveillance of banking and credit accounts. It would expand the Justice Department's subpoena power to include "administrative subpoenas," issued without judicial oversight. It would increase the government's control over banking activities and further enhance money laundering provisions. It would make even standard encryption of Internet and e-mail messages an enhancement to other felonies.

Names new death penalty crimes. The proposed law would provide for imposition of the death penalty for certain terrorism-related crimes.

Grants right to autopsy. The proposed act would give federal officials power to order an autopsy without permission during a federal criminal investigation if the death occurred from terrorist attack or "other deadly crimes."

Decreases access to public information. The proposed act would restrict public Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) access to public information about those detained during terrorism investigations. It would restrict available public information about potential pollution by private chemical businesses, curtailing environmental and local government oversight. The proposed act would also prohibit disclosure of information by witnesses and others subpoenaed in terrorism cases, transforming these investigations from public to secret.

Establishes a new terrorist-related DNA database. The proposed act would create a DNA database under Justice Department control. Anyone the Administration suspects of association with terrorism would be forced to contribute DNA samples. Any "reasonably necessary" means could be used to get the samples, and failure to comply would bear criminal penalties. The DNA database information could be shared with state and local law enforcement agencies.

Alters procedure for taking away U.S. citizenship. The proposed act would allow the government to strip a citizen of his or her citizenship by government inference of intent to relinquish citizenship, inference rising from behavior including fighting with a hostile foreign government or terrorist organization, or even engaging in lawful activities of a group designated as a "terrorist organization" by the Attorney General.

Allows extradition without treaty and expanded deportation. The proposed act would permit extradition of individuals to countries with whom the U.S. has no extradition treaty. It would permit deportation to any location deemed acceptable by the Attorney General if deportation to the country of origin is "impracticable, inadvisable, or impossible," even if the destination's government is not recognized by the U.S. or it has no government at all.

The proposed act is laced with interactions between federal law enforcement activities and foreign intelligence activities. It would further intermingle traditionally separated federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The proposed act completely by-passes the Homeland Security Department, new home to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and numerous crime and foreign intelligence operations. In addition, the provisions of this proposed act would represent a fundamental change from the Constitutional framework of separation of powers of the branches of government, to delegating power to the Administration without oversight or accountability. It would further decrease information about government functions to the public. The proposed act would remove numerous protective walls between government agencies, erected by statute and regulation to correct past abuses.

http://www.fcnl.org/issues/immigrant/sup/patriot-2_tlkpts.htm