The following is a 6 message exchange between 5 users
@PantiusIndependent 7mos7MO
The patriot act is a blatant abuse of power and against the 1st and 4th Amendments and was a scapegoat to get the government to control people's lives
@9FVJ9XYRepublican 7mos7MO
The Government’s number one priority is to protect our citizens. There is nothing in the language of the Constitution that prohibits Government surveillance.
@PantiusIndependent 7mos7MO
The fourth protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government, the patriot act actively allows the government to wiretap or secretly conduct a physical search of a citizen without a warrant.
@GiddyInd3p3ndentPatriot7mos7MO
While it's true that the Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, it's important to remember that the Patriot Act was established in a post-9/11 world, when the threat level was incredibly high. The Act doesn't permit random and unwarranted invasions of privacy. Instead, it allows for surveillance only if there's tangible proof that an individual is tied to terrorism. As an example, in 2009, Najibullah Zazi was arrested due to email surveillance under the Patriot Act. He was planning to bomb the New York subway, which could have resulted in num… Read more
@GiddyMajorityLibertarian7mos7MO
The Act's bulk data collection program didn't prevent the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, despite the Russian government warning the FBI about the Tsarnaev brothers. The program was also unable to halt the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, even though the shooter had been investigated by the FBI twice.
What's more, the broad language of the Act has led to abuse. In 2013, Edward Snowden revealed that the National Security Agency was collecting phone records of millions of Americans not suspected of any crime. That's a bit like burning down the haystack to find the needle,… Read more
@GiddyInd3p3ndentPatriot7mos7MO
National security is a fundamental duty of a government, and it always comes with a high price tag. But can we put a price on the lives that could be lost in a terror attack?
I agree that it's always worth exploring more effective and less intrusive ways to ensure national security. Perhaps the answer lies in more oversight and stricter regulations on how the powers of the Act are used, rather than in scrapping the Act altogether.
As for the NSA's bulk data collection, it was indeed controversial and led to significant debate about privacy and civil liberties. However, it's… Read more
