Bush signs parts of Patriot Act II into law — stealthily
This is typical and disturbing. And I didn't even hear about it until today, 2 weeks after the fact. I am not finding much more info about it either, via google or at whitehouse.gov. Either the San Antonio Current is crazy, or most media aren't even reporting it (in which case the timing of signing it when Saddam was captured certainly worked as intended).
http://www.sacurrent.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10705756&BRD=2318&PAG=461&dept_id=482778&rfi=6Bush signs parts of Patriot Act II into law — stealthily
On December 13, when U.S. forces captured Saddam Hussein, President George W. Bush not only celebrated with his national security team, but also pulled out his pen and signed into law a bill that grants the FBI sweeping new powers. A White House spokesperson explained the curious timing of the signing - on a Saturday - as "the President signs bills seven days a week." But the last time Bush signed a bill into law on a Saturday happened more than a year ago - on a spending bill that the President needed to sign, to prevent shutting down the federal government the following Monday.
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I like the pro-PATRIOT quotation that tries to justify it: "We don't go to war with the terrorists as we went to war with the Germans or the North Vietnamese. If we apply old methods of following the money, we will not be successful. We need to meet them on an even playing field to avoid another disaster."
Aha! An even playing field! ...Ashcroft and company just want to be able to operate like terrorists! It's only fair!
And of course: "The Senate passed it with a voice vote to avoid individual accountability."