During the 2000 elections when George W. Bush was fighting those who had launched the anti-Bush mimic website, he was quoted as saying "there ought to be limits to freedom." It is now clear from his "USA PATRIOT Act" (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) that President Bush has now transformed his opinion into law. Signed by Bush on 10/26/01, the USA PATRIOT Act had a largely unexamined whirlwind tour through Congress, gaining widespread support in both chambers. The vote in the House was 357-66 while the vote in the Senate was 98-1. Russ Feingold (D-Wis) was the only Senate dissenter and Sheila Jackson-Lee was the only Houston-area Representative to vote against the Act. Slipping past the myopic media lens, the bill landed on Bush’s desk for hurried signature. During the signing ceremony, Bush, always the *quintessential wordsmith*, said, "today we take an essential step in defeating terrorists while protecting the rights of all Americans."

But I ask how well did the authors of the USA PATRIOT Act strike a balance between security and civil liberties? Like much of the legislative effluent that gushes from Washington these days, the answer is not good. In its 150 pages of text, the Act makes many changes and revisions to existing laws. Changes that will give the FBI, CIA and other governmental and law enforcement authorities the ability to:

1. Indefinitely detain and deport legal non-citizens without charge,
2. Spy on anyone by poking about in telephone and internet communications, medical and mental health records, financial documents, as well as school records,
3. Secretly search homes, businesses, as well as other properties without prior notice.

There are other draconian provisions in the Act that are summarized in the table below. Many of these law-enforcement actions require little judicial oversight, little probable cause, and minimal demonstration of extenuating necessity. Furthermore, they do not even require the slightest hint of terrorism as the motive and can be applied to anything labeled as a "criminal" act. As such, these "investigations" have broad application and could occur under a dark cloak of secrecy.

In principle, it is difficult to argue against stopping terrorism. The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were ghastly and have had a significant negative impact on all of our lives. The Anthrax outbreak has made the nation even more fearful. It is terribly important that our nation’s leaders respond in a principled manner and show leadership during these extremely difficult times. It is also terribly important that terrorists, like all criminals, be caught and punished. However, it is even more important that our basic freedoms and civil liberties be preserved.

The USA PATRIOT Act appears to move in the opposite direction and poses a clear and present danger to our civil liberties. The passage of this bill is a sad day for the American people and another dreary line written in the sad chapter of the Cheney/Bush era. While there is a weak sundown provision in the bill that requires that Congress renew the wiretapping and electronic surveillance powers before 12/31/05, there are few other checks and balances to keep these measures from being abused.

Our government and law enforcement agencies have a spotty record in protecting civil liberties. The government’s treatment of labor organizers in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, the COINTELPRO operations of the 1960’s and 1970’s, the Watergate Scandals, the activities of CREP (Nixon’s Committee to Reelect the President) and recent infiltration and raids of left wing antiglobalization and environmental activists by domestic law enforcement authorities are historical examples of such abuses. It is a psychological maxim that past behavior often predicts future behavior. Since the provisions of this law are so broad, it is hard to see how these new powers bestowed upon law enforcement and intelligence authorities will not be abused. Not only can the government subject ordinary Americans to surveillance through secret monitoring of e-mails, internet browsing habits, and telephone use, but law-abiding dissenters can be subject to secret searches or so called "black bag" jobs and legal immigrants can be detained with little recourse.

The passage of the USA PATRIOT Act will probably usher in a new era of aggressive covert governmental intervention including against legal and constitutionally protected efforts to oppose IMF/World Bank style globalization, ruthless US intervention abroad, domestic environmental, degradation and a myriad of other issues (including the reelection of certain government officials).

Furthermore, precisely because they are cloaked in a dark woolen cape of secrecy, such abuses may be difficult to drag out into the light of day. This situation is made even worse by the state of our weak media that so easily capitulates to pressure from their corporate owners and sponsors who also sponsor and control the government officials upon whom our trust rests. In an admittedly cursory perusal of the press, I saw precious little time and space devoted to discussions of the USA PATRIOT Act. Media analysis was limited to wire service reports in the Houston Chronicle, a few articles in the New York Times, a very brief blurb on local TV news, and a short piece on PBS's News Hour. Suprisingly, there was an editorial against the Act in that beacon of liberal media the Washington Post. Overall, there has been a dearth of in-depth examination and debate.

This omission should surprise no one given the speed at which the media has caved to Cheney/Bush administration pressures regarding the Afghanistan bombing exercises. Civil liberties groups have vowed to monitor the implementation of the USA PATRIOT ACT. However, that will likely be difficult owing to the clandestine nature of many of the activities it allows. Monitoring the Act's implementation will require the efforts of independent and vigilant journalists as well as civil liberties watchdogs. Given the state of the media in the U.S., it is likely that only independent media sources will seek to discover and report on such abuses and they will have to work (to the best of their ability and or until they are shut down) to keep our government honest.

For those who are not up to speed on these issues, I suggest consulting with the ACLU. The entire Patriot Act can be viewed at here, Common Dreams, or at the Human Rights Watch, People For The American Way also has information and opinion relevant to this issue. As always, the Independent Media Centers are available for fast-breaking information; the Houston IMC. You can also check out Free Speech Radio News and Democracy Now! in Exile, both of which can be heard on Real Audio.

Editor's note: Since the passage of the "Patriot" Act, President Bush has gone further in his curtailing of civil liberties. By Executive order, Bush has established military tribunals that can try "terrorism" suspects in the United States or abroad in secret without court oversight or civil procedure protections. As this issue goes to press, more than 600 unnamed individuals who were rounded up after the events of 9/11/01 remain in federal custody on unknown charges.

Mark Wilde is a regular HRR columnist. His previous writings include:
Media Response after 9/11