For two days the House Pretended to Fail to Keep PA spying powers, but then quietly renewed them.

Nope, it's good news, but there are still 19 days to go. And who knows what replacement somebody's carving into stone tablets as we speak?

Powers once granted to a bureaucracy are rarely surrendered willingly. It will be fascinating to see how much time it takes for the agencies involved to cease and desist their programs.

This is GREAT news! And kudos to the 26 House Republicans who broke ranks on this one!

It's very good news, let's hope the trend continues.

Monkey said:

This is GREAT news! And kudos to the 26 House Republicans who broke ranks on this one!

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And shame on the dems that voted to continue! Nancy Pelosi needs to get them in line.

I've got my fingers crossed. I'm going to keep them crossed for the rest of the month until the defanging is complete.

+1 to the guarded optimism. Nineteen days -- I'm not counting the chickens, but I'm sure watching the eggs awful close. Gods, I can't wait till that blot is off our laws.

PinkAmy said:

And shame on the dems that voted to continue! Nancy Pelosi needs to get them in line.

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There was a hundred and twenty some-odd Democrats that voted against it, but they, too, were breaking with their party. Obama and many of the higher-ups were all for preventing the expiration.

Still, it was a Republican who brought it up for a vote, and they did try their damndess to get all the R's to toe the line.

Funnily enough, according to this link: http://www.rlc.org/2011/02/09/patriot-act-renewal/

Only half of the 26 Republicans that voted against renewal were Tea-Party backed...while 15 of the Tea Party backed R's voted FOR renewal. Among those FOR renewal were Michelle Bachmann, Kristi Noem and Jamie Herrera.

I'm seeing a lot of "This failed thanks to the Tea Partiers!" on the internet, which is bizarre, considering there were 122 Democrats who voted against it, as opposed to 13 Tea Partiers and 13 Republicans.

I'm having a hard time finding a list of Democrats who voted against renewal.

This is going to be replaced by the "Prove You're a Patriot Act". Criteria will include willfully accepting that your civil rights were suspended as of 9/11. Why do you need a law when the sheeple have rolled over and accepted illegal search and seizure as a fact of life? Renewal or not, NOTHING is going to change. We are still going to be subjected to unlawful intrusions on the part of the government. Congratulations everybody, it's Miller time.

Torrance said:

This is going to be replaced by the "Prove You're a Patriot Act". Criteria will include willfully accepting that your civil rights were suspended as of 9/11. Why do you need a law when the sheeple have rolled over and accepted illegal search and seizure as a fact of life? Renewal or not, NOTHING is going to change. We are still going to be subjected to unlawful intrusions on the part of the government. Congratulations everybody, it's Miller time.

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This. I would hold off on that party for a little while there, folks.

And you see nothing good in nearly 150 of our elected representatives voting for a return to previous limits on the government's spying powers?

Wow.

Diana Hignutt said:

This. I would hold off on that party for a little while there, folks.

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Exactly.

It will be renewed. The republicans just pulled the trigger a little early.

Should be basically the same as we have now.

Thank god.

Keep up the good work, law enforcement.

Monkey said:

And you see nothing good in nearly 150 of our elected representatives voting for a return to previous limits on the government's spying powers?

Wow.

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We'll see. I hope I don't have to say, "told ya so." I hope you are right. I hope you can say it with a big 'ol smile on your face. I no longer have any sense of optimism left for this country, its politicians, its citizens, or its future.

Diana Hignutt said:

We'll see. I hope I don't have to say, "told ya so." I hope you are right. I hope you can say it with a big 'ol smile on your face. I no longer have any sense of optimism left for this country, its politicians, its citizens, or its future.

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So move. For real.

I don't understand. Im not saying that in the classic, "If Bush wins, Im moving to Canada" or love it or leave way.

You deserve to be happy. Maybe there is a country out there where you can be proud to live in.

Have you thought about it?

Let's please get back to the OP, folks? Thank you.

I find it very disturbing when so-called conservatives and patriots support the infringement of protections offered by law and our founding document. It's disgraceful, cowardly and downright un-American.

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin

Torrance said:

I find it very disturbing when so-called conservatives and patriots support the infringement of protections offered by law and our founding document. It's disgraceful, cowardly and downright un-American.

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I dont find them to be an infringement.

Love the protections of the patriot act and the law enforcement tools it provides.

Diana Hignutt said:

We'll see. I hope I don't have to say, "told ya so." I hope you are right. I hope you can say it with a big 'ol smile on your face. I no longer have any sense of optimism left for this country, its politicians, its citizens, or its future.

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I'm not talking about the future, or even saying the decision will stand. I'm saying that we just saw about 150 elected reps vote to return to saner limits on government power, and I'm happy about that.

If these parts of the Patriot Act get renewed later on, that'll be a discussion for later on.

billythrilly7th said:

I dont find them to be an infringement.

Love the protections of the patriot act and the law enforcement tools it provides.

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Loved. Provided. Still, those that are afraid and paralyzed by their own fear have invented a new welfare state wherein the responsibility for personal safety is now a mandate of the federal government and a raison d'etre for abusive bureaucracies.

billythrilly7th said:

So move. For real.

I don't understand. Im not saying that in the classic, "If Bush wins, Im moving to Canada" or love it or leave way.

You deserve to be happy. Maybe there is a country out there where you can be proud to live in.

Have you thought about it?

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I have responsibilities here. I'm not the one who changed, btw, the country did.

Torrance said:

Loved. Provided. Still, those that are afraid and paralyzed by their own fear have invented a new welfare state wherein the responsibility for personal safety is now a mandate of the federal government and a raison d'etre for abusive bureaucracies.

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I think the #1 purpose of the government is too keep us alive.

Nothing else it does will matter if you're dead.

A good economy means little to a dead person.

Good healthcare means little to a dead person.

Etc.

And I realize there is a line.

I just don't think the patriot act crosses it. And I'm glad our elected leaders have felt the same way over the past ten years. And I'm confident they will continue to feel that way.

Diana Hignutt said:

I have responsibilities here. I'm not the one who changed, btw, the country did.

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Everything is the same. Still go to movies. TV. Sports, parks. The beach. Amusement parks. People in love. Kids. It's all the same as it's always been.

Work, enjoy, don't take anything too seriously. Life is too quick.

Gotta roll with the minor changes.

It will all be alright. I promise.

billythrilly7th said:

I think the #1 purpose of the government is too keep us alive.

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Then why in hell haven't they done something about the friggin' lightning? Your chance of dying from a lightning strike is 20 times that of dying from a terror attack.

Or how about heart disease? Traffic accidents? All much, much higher probabilities.

Why are cigarettes and fatty foods, even potato chips still available for that matter, if the #1 purpose of government is to keep us alive?

billythrilly7th said:

I think the #1 purpose of the government is too keep us alive.

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Well, then you're for welfare, health care, etc... because if it is the responsibility of the government to "keep us alive" they need to feed us and to maintain us.

Nothing else it does will matter if you're dead.

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No, being free matters more to me than living and abandoning what makes America... well, America.

A good economy means little to a dead person.

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A bad economy might mean the difference between life and death for a person.

Good healthcare means little to a dead person.

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No worries there, you want to make sure that the government keeps us all alive, so get in line for your freebie and don't forget to ask for a complimentary lollipop.

And I realize there is a line.

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No, I don't think you do.

I just don't think the patriot act crosses it. And I'm glad our elected leaders have felt the same way over the past ten years. And I'm confident they will continue to feel that way.

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Well, you're likely right as Big Sis has been stirring the fear pot today... right on cue. I'm sure that there are many frightened folks hyperventilating into paper bags while sitting on hold for their congressperson.