LAB1663.NET - Sam’s bit o’ the web

Well, it looks like our old friend the USA PATRIOT Act is going to get a little more time on the books, despite repeated and documented instances of the abuse of a number of its provisions.

On vote of 315-97, the House of Representatives approved the bill, a day after it cleared the Senate. It now heads to President Barack Obama to sign into law.

Given that the Democrats hold a 255-178 majority in the House, it’s obvious that a number of Democrats voted to pass this extension of one of the most flawed and blatantly unconstitutional laws in recent American history.  And given his comments on the issue, most people fully expect President Obama to sign the extension.

It’s not that I expected anything different.  From the Obama DOJ’s continued use of State Secrets Privilege, to their ignoring of other black site prisons during their pledge to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility (the deadline for which has come and gone anyway), to their agreement to try certain terror suspects under the farcical Military Commissions Act, it’s apparent that candidate Obama’s pledges in the arena of civil liberties were lip service and that President Obama has no intention of actually improving the state of personal freedom in America.

That’s to say nothing of their inaction on non-defense related civil liberties issues such as his original pledge to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and work with Democrats in Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

When I voted for Barack Obama, I knew I was going to get some things that I didn’t like.  I knew I would get government spending that I thought was excessive.  I knew I would get muddled military policy in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But I honestly though he might work to improve our nation’s treatment of its own citizens and those of other countries that fall under our legal jurisdiction.  I’m disappointed to find that I was wrong about that.

So if you want to prove me wrong, if you want to prove that your time as a constitutional lawyer was more than just prep school for politics, do me a favor and veto this extension, Mr. President.

Otherwise in 2012, I’ll be writing in “the Ghost of Patrick Henry.”