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WASHINGTON - The Senate on Friday refused to reauthorize major portions of the USA Patriot Act after critics complained they infringed too much on Americans' privacy and liberty, dealing a huge defeat to the Bush administration and Republican leaders.
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In a crucial vote early Friday, the bill's Senate supporters were not able to get the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster by Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and their allies. The final vote was 52-47.

President Bush, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Republicans congressional leaders had lobbied fiercely to make most of the expiring Patriot Act provisions permanent.

They also supported new safeguards and expiration dates to the act's two most controversial parts: authorization for roving wiretaps, which allow investigators to monitor multiple devices to keep a target from evading detection by switching phones or computers; and secret warrants for books, records and other items from businesses, hospitals and organizations such as libraries.

Feingold, Craig and other critics said those efforts weren't enough, and have called for the law to be extended in its present form so they can continue to try and add more civil liberties safeguards. But Bush, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert have said they won't accept a short-term extension of the law.

If a compromise is not reached, the 16 Patriot Act provisions expire on Dec. 31, but the expirations have enormous exceptions. Investigators will still be able to use those powers to complete any investigation that began before the expiration date and to initiate new investigations of any alleged crime that began before Dec. 31, according to a provision in the original law. There are ongoing investigations of every known terrorist group, including al-Qaida, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Islamic Jihad and the Zarqawi group in Iraq, and all the Patriot Act tools could continue to be used in those investigations.

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Snipped to this point:  "None of us wants it to expire, and those who threaten to let it expire rather than fix it are playing a dangerous game," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat.

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Here's their point:  "We don't give a rat's @$$ about your rights; we're going to continue to abuse you and yours under color of law, and you'll like it!"

Uncle Joe would tell us we're making things too complicated authorizing the government to break into your home and search your personal affects when you are NOT there.  Stalin would advise the government to break into your home when you ARE there, and take YOU away!  No warrant needed, just an anonymous tip-off from your neighbor, boss, co-worker, daughter...
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Most of the patriot act is uncontroversial and supported by near everyone, including me.

But there are, I think it's 16, provisions that are blantly unconstitutional, unamerican and should expire.  That's what the democrats and some republicans blocked today.  I hope we will let those parts die, but I imagine they'll get a three month or one year extension until some hearings can be had.

Again, just because some Muslim extremists flew planes into the world trade center doesn't make the fourth amendment to the United States constitution void.

And you KNOW that Muslims flew planes into the Twin Towers because....?

And you KNOW that Muslims flew planes into the Twin Towers because....?


And you KNOW that Muslims didn't fly planes into the twin towers because......?

I'm not going to get into the tinfoil hat theories.

Even if this stuff does expire, and the FBI can't do this stff, the job will be shifted to the NSA (No Such Agency, as it was called).  He11's bells, they are probably already doing it.

And you KNOW that Muslims flew planes into the Twin Towers because....?

There's been huge amounts of buzz about this on the internet, including on this board.  My contention is the the scientific studies of the attack, explosions, and collapse don't jibe with the "official version."  There are also multiple unanswered questions about the way the authorities handled the aftermath that make the official version suspicious.  I'm neither ready to conclude it was an inside job nor dismiss puzzling evidence as "tinfoil hat" theories.
The 9/11 massacres are like the JFK assassination.  We the people (well, some of us) want the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth...and we're never gonna get it.

IMO, the USA PATRIOT act should be repealed immediately and new legislation--more open and consensual--should be enacted.

Re:  the collapse of the Twin Towers and Building 7, I refer you to Steven E. Jones, Professor of Physics at BYU, who demonstrates that it was explosives that brought down those buildings.  Read about it here:

http://www.physics.byu.edu/research/energy/htm7.html

Re:  the PATRIOT Act, I agree with you in that is should be repealed.  However, I believe that it should be replaced with nothing.  We don't need it, or anything else that gives government power to snoop into our snail-mail, email, homes, wallets, or lives.

CNN conducted an informal poll on the Patriot Act today.  Should it become permanant, or something like that.  9% thats nine% of those who responded said yes.  NINTY ONE% said NO.  At least some of the people have spoken.  Do you think Lil' Georgie and his cabal are listening?