Obama Signs Extension of PATRIOT Act

By Aaron Dames on May 29, 2011 in News 34

Oh Obama, what happened to you?

Did you lose yourself? Did they get to you? If so, then how? You represented some good principles when you ran for president, and you said a lot of good things.

It’s not that you lied, but it’s like you made promises that you couldn’t keep. I don’t blame you, it’s a structural and systemic problem, it’s not your fault. But, will you be coming back to the side of the citizenry anytime soon? Will you leave the side of multinational corporations and the big bankers and the military industrial complex? Or is is possible that you were never with us in the first place? Sometimes you make me more sad and angry than George W. Bush did when he was president (at least you didn’t steal the elections!).

Regardless, enjoy the G-8. If you get a chance, please tell those protesters I say hi. P.S. What do you think of Ron Paul?

Lisa Mascaro writes in the the LA Times:

Acting with minutes to spare, President Obama approved a four-year extension of expiring provisions of the Patriot Act, after Congress overcame mounting opposition from both parties to narrowly avoid a lapse in the terrorist surveillance law.

Obama, attending an international summit in France, awoke early Friday to review and approve the bill, directing that it be signed in Washington by automatic pen before the provisions expired at midnight Thursday Eastern time.

The administration had warned Congress that any interruption in the surveillance authority would threaten national security.

Passage came late Thursday after a protracted political struggle that played out over several months, a sign of increased unease with powers granted to the federal government to investigate citizens and foreigners in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Conservative Republicans, many of them elected with backing from the “tea party” movement, and liberal Democrats resisted attempts to extend the three expiring provisions of the act.

Read More: LA Times

Civil Liberties, Government, Obama, PATRIOT Act, Police State, Politics, Surveillance, War On Terror

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Hadrian999

Is this a shock to anyone, politicians only dislike unrestrained power when they aren’t holding the reins
Hadrian999

Is this a shock to anyone, politicians only dislike unrestrained power when they aren’t holding the reins
- GoodDoktorBad
  
  That’s the sad part -it isn’t very shocking at all. Lies have become the norm- we expect to be lied to!
  
  That’s the most shocking truth… to realize it is so frightening to people, they just shut down and accept the
  condition. Many seek to defend it and apologize for it because that’s all they know. The alternative is to turn around and meet ourselves and that of course can be the most frightening of all…
  - jackedu317
    
    Americans won’t stand to be lied to, they’ll demand it…
Anonymous

That’s the sad part -it isn’t very shocking at all. Lies have become the norm- we expect to be lied to!

That’s the most shocking truth… to realize it is so frightening to people, they just shut down and accept the
condition. Many seek to defend it and apologize for it because that’s all they know. The alternative is to turn around and meet ourselves and that of course can be the most frightening of all…
Pissedoff

I am sick of people apologizing for the fact that Obama’s presidency is just a third term of Bush. If a Republican was doing some of the crap Obama is doing the left would be ALL OVER him like they were with war criminal GWB. Just because you voted for this scum bag and want to like him, doesn’t mean you should let him off the hook and say, Oh well, we can’t blame you, its the system but we wish you’d come back to our side. We need a president with some balls to stand up and do whats right. We wont ever get that if we have apologists on the left or right who let the president get away with being a corporate shill and a liar.
Pissedoff

I am sick of people apologizing for the fact that Obama’s presidency is just a third term of Bush. If a Republican was doing some of the crap Obama is doing the left would be ALL OVER him like they were with war criminal GWB. Just because you voted for this scum bag and want to like him, doesn’t mean you should let him off the hook and say, Oh well, we can’t blame you, its the system but we wish you’d come back to our side. We need a president with some balls to stand up and do whats right. We wont ever get that if we have apologists on the left or right who let the president get away with being a corporate shill and a liar.
Pissedoff

I am sick of people apologizing for the fact that Obama’s presidency is just a third term of Bush. If a Republican was doing some of the crap Obama is doing the left would be ALL OVER him like they were with war criminal GWB. Just because you voted for this scum bag and want to like him, doesn’t mean you should let him off the hook and say, Oh well, we can’t blame you, its the system but we wish you’d come back to our side. We need a president with some balls to stand up and do whats right. We wont ever get that if we have apologists on the left or right who let the president get away with being a corporate shill and a liar.
KxBk6U

Keep in mind the last President that tried to buck the system was John Kennedy
KxBk6U

Keep in mind the last President that tried to buck the system was John Kennedy
Rex Vestri

This video may help explain what happened:

http://youtu.be/rKsUmIpPBMw
Rex Vestri

This video may help explain what happened:

http://youtu.be/rKsUmIpPBMw
lj

before this post devolves into some shit-throwing show of “I told you so, fag liberals”, i think this is some actual “death of the politician”-esque moment that everybody can agree, whether you saw it coming or not(we don’t care if you did), that american politics and anyone involved is suspect and guilty until proven innocent, and we can stop projecting our utopias onto the Obama’s, Paul’s, etc. If you’re still clinging to some one-size fits all approach to this “country”: “free the markets”, “abolish private property”, you’ve gotten ahead of yourself. It’s clear we need a psychological reevaluation of ourselves and those in power. we’ve lost ourselves in cultural narratives of bumper sticker quotes and abstract concepts that politicians pile up as means to crawl over us and proceed to take a steaming dump.
Who knows, I’m probably an idiot, I’m sure the right candidate is right around the corner. that’s that can-do, worthless Tony Robbins self-help mantra we all need, America.
It’s all pretty comical if you think about it, because, ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space, and what the hell else do you think an individual as the LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD would do? “well my candidate wouldn’t do this because he…”……give it a fucking rest, presidential leaders in any form do not work [someone posts a Jack Bauer 24 situation in 3,2,1...]. Whether you’re taking your base number for human live on earth as 200,000 or 5,000, we’ve had the time and the technology, I say we stop wasting our energy on all this “presidential” hypnosis. It’s a structurally and psychologically-debilitating(asshole-generating) position.
i’ll figure something out, you figure something out, and meet me at the docks
lj

before this post devolves into some shit-throwing show of “I told you so, fag liberals”, i think this is some actual “death of the politician”-esque moment that everybody can agree, whether you saw it coming or not(we don’t care if you did), that american politics and anyone involved is suspect and guilty until proven innocent, and we can stop projecting our utopias onto the Obama’s, Paul’s, etc. If you’re still clinging to some one-size fits all approach to this “country”: “free the markets”, “abolish private property”, you’ve gotten ahead of yourself. It’s clear we need a psychological reevaluation of ourselves and those in power. we’ve lost ourselves in cultural narratives of bumper sticker quotes and abstract concepts that politicians pile up as means to crawl over us and proceed to take a steaming dump.
Who knows, I’m probably an idiot, I’m sure the right candidate is right around the corner. that’s that can-do, worthless Tony Robbins self-help mantra we all need, America.
It’s all pretty comical if you think about it, because, ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space, and what the hell else do you think an individual as the LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD would do? “well my candidate wouldn’t do this because he…”……give it a fucking rest, presidential leaders in any form do not work [someone posts a Jack Bauer 24 situation in 3,2,1...]. Whether you’re taking your base number for human live on earth as 200,000 or 5,000, we’ve had the time and the technology, I say we stop wasting our energy on all this “presidential” hypnosis. It’s a structurally and psychologically-debilitating(asshole-generating) position.
i’ll figure something out, you figure something out, and meet me at the docks
lj

before this post devolves into some shit-throwing show of “I told you so, fag liberals”, i think this is some actual “death of the politician”-esque moment that everybody can agree, whether you saw it coming or not(we don’t care if you did), that american politics and anyone involved is suspect and guilty until proven innocent, and we can stop projecting our utopias onto the Obama’s, Paul’s, etc. If you’re still clinging to some one-size fits all approach to this “country”: “free the markets”, “abolish private property”, you’ve gotten ahead of yourself. It’s clear we need a psychological reevaluation of ourselves and those in power. we’ve lost ourselves in cultural narratives of bumper sticker quotes and abstract concepts that politicians pile up as means to crawl over us and proceed to take a steaming dump.
Who knows, I’m probably an idiot, I’m sure the right candidate is right around the corner. that’s that can-do, worthless Tony Robbins self-help mantra we all need, America.
It’s all pretty comical if you think about it, because, ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space, and what the hell else do you think an individual as the LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD would do? “well my candidate wouldn’t do this because he…”……give it a fucking rest, presidential leaders in any form do not work [someone posts a Jack Bauer 24 situation in 3,2,1...]. Whether you’re taking your base number for human live on earth as 200,000 or 5,000, we’ve had the time and the technology, I say we stop wasting our energy on all this “presidential” hypnosis. It’s a structurally and psychologically-debilitating(asshole-generating) position.
i’ll figure something out, you figure something out, and meet me at the docks
jackedu317

if any politician cared about the people, they would be pushing to abolish the patriot act, not revise it. all politicians are crooks and lairs. ALL OF THEM. they’re puppets working for international bankers, through “non-governmental organizations”. lobbyist bribe politicians for corporate favors. wake up… we don’t need rich men in office to represent the poor… it’s never worked in the past. it will never work in the future.
jackedu317

if any politician cared about the people, they would be pushing to abolish the patriot act, not revise it. all politicians are crooks and lairs. ALL OF THEM. they’re puppets working for international bankers, through “non-governmental organizations”. lobbyist bribe politicians for corporate favors. wake up… we don’t need rich men in office to represent the poor… it’s never worked in the past. it will never work in the future.
jackedu317

Americans won’t stand to be lied to, they’ll demand it…
Grooveboss

well if you don’t like whats going on in your country immigrate. I don’t like brazils weather so i came to colder climate because its seriously hot down there. But americans can spread a lot of good values around the world if they would just explore. And the patriot act has been here for age, but it was called “The Government has more guns then you do”. Now the written law is just dogma and tradition to make people think this was thought out, but its really the law of power gun, germs and steel all over again.
Grooveboss

well if you don’t like whats going on in your country immigrate. I don’t like brazils weather so i came to colder climate because its seriously hot down there. But americans can spread a lot of good values around the world if they would just explore. And the patriot act has been here for age, but it was called “The Government has more guns then you do”. Now the written law is just dogma and tradition to make people think this was thought out, but its really the law of power gun, germs and steel all over again.
- Adam
  
  Guns, Germs, and Steel! I’m just finishing that book now; Jared Diamond is the shit, as the kids say.
  - lj
    
    read critiques of Jared Diamond’s book as well. He is essentially a technological determinist, which is not necessarily a bad thing, its just how he conceptualizes. Anthropologists detest the man but its for the same reason that people can’t sand Howard Bloom’s the Lucifer Principle: some think generalizations backed up by 5-10 sources each are warranted, others do not, its an unwinnable argument when the two sides clash so I’m not trying to argue you with ya here. I liked Manuel DeLanda’s 1000 Years of Non-Linear History, its a disembodied look at the “flows” of dna, animals, plants, agriculture, linguistics, and money, definitely non-anthropologial but at least he doesn’t pretend to be like Diamond.
Anonymous

This is how politicians operate. They run on one platform, then do whatever the hell they want while in office and hope you don’t notice or remember by election time (where they’ve spent the previous year promising they’ll do better). You keep voting, they keep laughing.
SF2K01

This is how politicians operate. They run on one platform, then do whatever the hell they want while in office and hope you don’t notice or remember by election time (where they’ve spent the previous year promising they’ll do better). You keep voting, they keep laughing.
AMorandi

Sorry Obama.It’s not me, it’s you. I really wanted to make this work. I really tried. But we just don’t work out. Sure you did some of the things I expect from you but you really haven’t done enough for me to stick around. I’m disappointed Obama I really am.
AMorandi

Sorry Obama.It’s not me, it’s you. I really wanted to make this work. I really tried. But we just don’t work out. Sure you did some of the things I expect from you but you really haven’t done enough for me to stick around. I’m disappointed Obama I really am.
Rooti

Yet all the liberals hate Ron Paul, the only candidate that can be counted on to get rid of the Patriot Act and end the wars. I don’t agree with all his policies but he is worth the vote if only for those two items.
Rooti

Yet all the liberals hate Ron Paul, the only candidate that can be counted on to get rid of the Patriot Act and end the wars. I don’t agree with all his policies but he is worth the vote if only for those two items.
- Guest
  
  “I don’t agree with all his policies but he is worth the vote if only for those two items. ”
  
  That’s what is going to fuck America.
  
  Again.
chubby

no suprise here, sitting bull was killed by his own people, navajos and apaches were tracked down by their own, borders were drawn to turn former allies against one another….it is not a problem of politics anymore, or the communists or capitalists or the right or left or whatever….it is now down to each individual to consider the possibilities of life without any of those things….hard, but not impossible….they are never going to stop, they are going to go all the way, and they are taking all of us and the entire planet with them as far as they can…they being the powers that be….
chubby

no suprise here, sitting bull was killed by his own people, navajos and apaches were tracked down by their own, borders were drawn to turn former allies against one another….it is not a problem of politics anymore, or the communists or capitalists or the right or left or whatever….it is now down to each individual to consider the possibilities of life without any of those things….hard, but not impossible….they are never going to stop, they are going to go all the way, and they are taking all of us and the entire planet with them as far as they can…they being the powers that be….
Adam

Guns, Germs, and Steel! I’m just finishing that book now; Jared Diamond is the shit, as the kids say.
lj

read critiques of Jared Diamond’s book as well. He is essentially a technological determinist, which is not necessarily a bad thing, its just how he conceptualizes. Anthropologists detest the man but its for the same reason that people can’t sand Howard Bloom’s the Lucifer Principle: some think generalizations backed up by 5-10 sources each are warranted, others do not, its an unwinnable argument when the two sides clash so I’m not trying to argue you with ya here. I liked Manuel DeLanda’s 1000 Years of Non-Linear History, its a disembodied look at the “flows” of dna, animals, plants, agriculture, linguistics, and money, definitely non-anthropologial but at least he doesn’t pretend to be like Diamond.
Guest

“I don’t agree with all his policies but he is worth the vote if only for those two items. ”

That’s what is going to fuck America.

Again.