Posts Tagged ‘civil liberties’

SusanAnne Hiller

Obama Signs Patriot Act Extension: MSM and the Left Silent

by SusanAnne Hiller

President Obama signed the renewal of the Patriot Act in the quiet of a slow-news Saturday–the Act was set to expire Sunday, February 28–as reported by The Hill.

Photo Credit: AP Photo

Photo Credit: AP Photo

The reauthorization did NOT include any reforms to the current Patriot Act–an odd display of agreement and submission to Bush-era policy–even though the Democrats had the numbers to reform the Act. The continuance of the current Patriot Act signals that Democrats are fearful of further controversary in light of American’s distrust and poor approval ratings of the Democrat-controlled Congress. From the Hill:

The House approved the bill 315-97 on Thursday, a day after the extension passed the Senate.

The provisions, including roving wiretaps, records access and tracking terror suspects not affiliated with any group, were set to expire on Sunday. Democrats opposing the extension were unable to add desired civil-liberties protections.

The Patriot Act was first passed by Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as a defense mechanism against terrorists.

The House and the Senate, behind the scenes of the healthcare fervor, quietly passed this bill with little oppostion and outrage. Democrats could have modified the Patriot Act, but didn’t.

(more…)

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Posted Feb 28th 2010 at 8:34 am in Congress, Defense, News, Obama, Politics | 123 Comments

Laurie Essig

Counterpoint: Borat of the Right Releases Fantasy of ACORN Prostitution Ring

by Laurie Essig

In the “gee, I made this not very smart person look really stupid” genre of film making- the sort of “ask stupid questions and play ridiculous characters and edit to make funny” made most famous by Sacha Baron Cohen- comes “Baltimore Acorn Workers support prostitution.”

Acorn is a community organizing network that works on a variety of issues, from voter registration to fighting predatory lending practices. In other words, it is just the sort of organization for poor people that the Right loves to hate.

borat okeefe

According to the news stories, the video may show two (Black and seemingly not terribly educated) Acorn employees trying to help two (white and seemingly educated) young people figure out how to start a brothel with girls from El Salvador (who, not coincidentally, are here illegally).

ACORN workers caught on tape allegedly advising on prostitution – CNN.com.

Within this fantasy is every fear and desire of the far right: evil Black women activists, poor people, illegal immigrants, and sex. (more…)

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Posted Sep 13th 2009 at 5:45 pm in ACORN, Politics | 512 Comments