Patriot Act, continued...

Yesterday we mentioned that the Senate overwhelmingly approved the Patriot Act 89-10. We got the usual liberals caterwauling about "bye bye constitution" and other stupidity.

This morning at Q&O blog there is some timely commentary that ya'll might also find interesting. (not the libs, of course, because their minds are made up - darn the facts to the contrary...)

From James Sensenbrenner (Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee):

Zero. That's the number of substantiated USA Patriot Act civil liberties violations. Extensive congressional oversight found no violations.

Six reports by the Justice Department's independent inspector general, who is required to solicit and investigate any allegations of abuse, found no violations.

Intense public scrutiny has yet to find a single civil liberty abuse. Despite many challenges, no federal court has declared unconstitutional any of the Patriot Act provisions Congress is renewing.

Building upon this stellar record, congressional negotiators added more than 30 civil liberty safeguards not included in current law to ensure that the Patriot Act's authorities would not be abused in the future. Remarkably, that's still not enough for some.

And finally:

Regrettably, some criticizing the government for weak port security tried to block the Patriot Act renewal, which helps law enforcement strengthen port security. The law also combats terrorism financing networks and enhances penalties for attacks against railroads and mass transit. In short, the Patriot Act is an essential tool in the war on terror.

We must never forget we are a nation at war with an enemy determined to extinguish our nation, our values and our civil liberties. The Patriot Act has kept us safer and has not violated anyone's civil rights. It deserves to be renewed.

But of course, the libs are way more interested in the "rights" of the terrorists themselves. To them, the terrorist's "rights" trump ours as US citizens to survive. To live freely - which also means freedom from fear of future attacks.