Ah, the Patriot Act. I can't believe this thread wasn't several pages long and shut down by the moderators considering the strong feelings and beliefs we all have.
Naomi Kleins 'Shock Doctrine' pretty much sums things up. It goes something like this: ideas are debated and laws envisioned that would never get passed in the light of day. They are shelved until something shocking happens and presto, chango, some huge, voluminous doctrine is trotted out and sold to us as the only way to set thing right.
It's generally too big to read and great amounts of pressure are taken to ensure it's passed lest you are some kind of traitor, commie, or leftist. The situation is dire, or made to seem so, and drastic programs are touted as the only answer. It's only after the fact that as things take a turn for the worse, strange or completely absurd that one asks why are you doing this and the answer is,
"The Patriot Act".
Looking back, it was just one big excuse to do massive amounts of data mining on the citizenry: their buying habits, trading, communications, etc.
This revelation was withheld from the public by the New York Times a couple of months after Bush won his second term. Had that info been made public, he wouldn't have won re-elction.
Go figure.
Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary security, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
--Ben Franklin 1759
All the best,
Nonoise
Naomi Kleins 'Shock Doctrine' pretty much sums things up. It goes something like this: ideas are debated and laws envisioned that would never get passed in the light of day. They are shelved until something shocking happens and presto, chango, some huge, voluminous doctrine is trotted out and sold to us as the only way to set thing right.
It's generally too big to read and great amounts of pressure are taken to ensure it's passed lest you are some kind of traitor, commie, or leftist. The situation is dire, or made to seem so, and drastic programs are touted as the only answer. It's only after the fact that as things take a turn for the worse, strange or completely absurd that one asks why are you doing this and the answer is,
"The Patriot Act".
Looking back, it was just one big excuse to do massive amounts of data mining on the citizenry: their buying habits, trading, communications, etc.
This revelation was withheld from the public by the New York Times a couple of months after Bush won his second term. Had that info been made public, he wouldn't have won re-elction.
Go figure.
Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary security, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
--Ben Franklin 1759
All the best,
Nonoise