President George W. Bush appeared Tuesday morning at Kleinhan's Music Hall with several local law enforcement officials to promote the much-maligned Patriot Act, which is scheduled to expire at the end of next year. Sept. 11 showed that we need a unified intelligence gathering system, but the powers Bush is requesting push the limits of the Constitution too far.
Quite simply, computer databases across various levels of intelligence are inadequate. The problem is not that different sections legally cannot pass along information, but the technology is not in place to pass bulletins and information across the country quickly.
Bush understands that, saying we must "coordinate between the federal government and the state government and the local government like never before. We've got to share information on a real-time basis." Former President Bill Clinton echoed those claims when he came to speak at the University at Buffalo two years ago, and several of those changes have been put in place since Sept. 11.
The rest of the act, however, consists of attacks on the Fourth Amendment and questionable tactics of using the government's ability to easily gather intelligence on foreigners as part of the law enforcement process. Currently, the executive branch must submit those requests to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court, which has only turned down one request in over 20 years.
The FISA process is quick and does not require much government information in order to be granted. The new Patriot Act would not only let FISA affect Americans, but the secretive process would mean the executive branch would not have to reveal who or why it categorizes someone as a terrorist.
Being forthcoming with information was also frowned upon while discussing presumption detentions and the denial of bail. There were complaints about how too much government information had to be revealed in order to keep someone in prison before they are declared guilty, especially when the case contains intelligence. If the government insists on keeping someone in prison or denying them bail, all the information should be forthcoming in order to prevent executive abuses.
A lot of work needs to be done so that local law enforcement officials are aware of national announcements. Fighting terrorism by promoting freedom and hope is a lofty goal that cannot come overnight, and must be accompanied by treating some aspects of terrorism as law enforcement.
The only way to ensure that our rights as Americans are not breached in the process is to fully understand the small changes with law enforcement and intelligence gathering. In the choice between liberty and death, Patrick Henry prioritizes for us and will hopefully remind every American how to react to the new powers of the Patriot Act.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
