Patriot Act justice falls short

Many myths have sprung to life over the highly controversial Patriot Act since its adoption following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. In an attempt to dispel these numerous myths, the Department of Justice has created a Web site to clear away the hanging fog.\nThis site, however, has an effect quite the opposite of its intent. According to an analysis released by the American Civil Liberties Union Tuesday, it actually creates new myths while reviving the old ones, a far cry from erasing them.\n"It is inexcusable that Attorney General Ashcroft is using this Web site to further mislead the public about controversial portions of the law," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero. "The American people are entitled to a more honest account."\nRomero seems to have some trouble agreeing with the information the Department of Justice has placed on this Web site, especially the information in an area of the site entitled "Dispelling the Myths." Here are a few of the items of concern:\nThe site claims that Section 215 of the Patriot Act (the section of the legislation that grants the FBI a great deal of power to secretly gather records and personal belongings of "suspects") may only be used to gather "business records."\nYet, as the law reads, Section 215 does so much more than that. This section allows the FBI to demand "any tangible thing" from an individual. The list of tangible things according to the ACLU is a bit more inclusive than merely "business records." Some such "things" might include "books, letters, diaries, library records, medical and psychiatric records, financial information, membership lists of religious institutions and even (as Attorney General Ashcroft said in testimony before Congress) genetic information."\nConcern No. 2: wiretaps. The Department of Justice page proclaims that before the Patriot Act, the FBI lacked the proper authority to place wiretaps on terrorists as well as to conduct what are known as "sneak-and-peek" searches, which are clandestine raids to learn what a suspected terrorist has in a private area, such as his or her home.\nAgain, the ACLU report contradicts this. The report says the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act had already granted the FBI these powers before the passage of the Patriot Act.\nThe Patriot Act made many sweeping changes to our laws and a number of these changes dramatically alter the basic principles of justice. For example, the act authorizes the arrest and detainment of individuals without being issued a writ of habeas corpus, meaning they do not have to be told why they have been arrested, and without the benefit of council. This alters the bedrock of American justice by suspending rights that have until now been classified as unalienable, meaning they may never be suspended for any reason whatsoever.\nWhere in the hell did we go wrong?\n Frankly, it was when we allowed fear to be the author of our legislation. When the laws of our land failed to be based on reason and morality, but rather on nightmares and grief, we lose.\nThere is only one way that we can save ourselves now. We must, in a unified voice, demand that our legislators repeal the Patriot Act. Bombard them with letters. Flood their phone banks. Do not stop until your voice is heard. Otherwise, we may all find ourselves locked-away, without ever having been permitted to seek help nor ever told why we were taken.