Democrat paranoia about Patriot Act surfaces again

NY Times:

As Congress prepares to consider extending crucial provisions of the USA Patriot Act, civil liberties groups and some Democratic lawmakers are gearing up to press for sweeping changes to surveillance laws.

Both the House and the Senate are set to hold their first committee hearings this week on whether to reauthorize three sections of the Patriot Act that expire at the end of this year. The provisions expanded the power of the F.B.I. to seize records and to eavesdrop on phone calls in the course of a counterterrorism investigation.

Laying down a marker ahead of those hearings, a group of senators who support greater privacy protections filed a bill on Thursday that would impose new safeguards on the Patriot Act while tightening restrictions on other surveillance policies. The measure is co-sponsored by nine Democrats and an independent.

Days before, the Obama administration called on Congress to reauthorize the three expiring Patriot Act provisions in a letter from Ronald Weich, assistant attorney general for legislative affairs. At the same time, he expressed a cautious open mind about imposing new surveillance restrictions as part of the legislative package.

“We are aware that members of Congress may propose modifications to provide additional protection for the privacy of law abiding Americans,” Mr. Weich wrote, adding that “the administration is willing to consider such ideas, provided that they do not undermine the effectiveness of these important authorities.”

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Maybe it is because I am a retired lawyer living in Washington, Texas, but I have never lost a minutes sleep with concern about how the Patriot Act would effect my life negatively. It has not and it never will. I am also hard pressed to recall any examples of how it has harmed any innocent person. That is why the concerns expressed by the Democrats who want to change it just do not seem to be based on fact or reason, but instead are based on their own paranoia about a government they now control.

I would, in fact, feel safer if they left the law as it is.