“Civil liberties do not mean much when you are dead.”
— Sen. James Bunning (R-KY)
It looks like the Patriot Act is going to become permanent, since the Senate just approved the latest bill. The only significant changes deal with warrantless searches in libraries and the ability for people to challenge a national security letter gag order. Everything else– all the horrors and stupidity– will be extended indefinitely.
As evidenced by Sen. Bunning’s comment, Congress apparently thinks there are only two possible futures for our country: a police state, or a massive terrorist invasion. Scary.