Patriot Act Essay

The Patriot Act Essay
September 11, 2001 was one of the worst days in U.S. history. Many Muslim men hijacked planes
and crashed them into the world trade center buildings, and the pentagon killing almost 3,000
innocent people. After this incident, every Muslim was seen as a terrorist so the U.S government
enacted the patriot act, which gave more power to the federal law–enforcement and intelligence
gathering in suspected terrorist crimes. The patriot act gives the government power to do
whatever they want for "national security" and take away the civilians civil rights. The
government can tap into cell phones and listen in on conversations or even watch what people
are searching on the internet. Since the passing of the patriot act racial profiling has grown in the
past years especially towards Muslims. The patriot act may have seemed like a good idea at the
time but in reality it just gives the government a way to strip citizens of their rights, is
unconstitutional, and it needs to be removed. Once the patriot act was enacted racial and ethnic
profiling spiked. Now Muslim men are 65% more likely to be stopped for "random searches" at
transportation hubs such as airports. According to Ibrahim Hooper, "American Muslims have
already lost many their civil rights and All Muslims are considered suspects" (Bork). The biggest
sign of this is supposedly ethnic profiling that is now occurring all over the country but mostly in
airports but other places as well. "This form of discrimination is felt to be
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The Patriot Act Of 2001 Essay
One beautiful morning in September 2001 many people went about their day like they have
before. Some off to work, or traveling for business, or to visit family, and in a blink of an eye our
lives in America changed forever. We were attacked, on our own soil, not once, but four times.
That fourth plane didn't make it to its destination, thanks to the brave souls aboard that sacrificed
their lives to save others. On that fateful day 2,753(NYmag) families would never be the same, as
well as the rest of us that watch in disbelief. The attacks on September 11th 2001 led to something
called the Patriot Act. In the days after 9/11 Congress hurried to pass a bill to give law–enforcement
agencies the power to fight domestic terrorism. On October 26, President George W. Bushsigned
three hundred page USA Patriot Actinto law (Crf.org). The USA Patriot Act of 2001 was created
to prevent and catch terrorist in the United States and around the world. The contents of it has been
one of great controversy in the rights of our privacy and the violation of our constitutional rights.
Can we give up too much freedom to keep us safe? Where do we draw the line to keep our Country
safe?
We can thank the Patriot Act to longer waits at airports and more scrutiny when it comes to going
through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checks at the airport. We can no longer carry
more than two ounce bottles on to planes as well, most people just grumble and get on with it
because they

Patriot Act Essay
The "Patriot Act"
In the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Congress sprang into action. Within a
month, U.S. lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the USA Patriot Act of 2001, giving law
enforcement and intelligence agent's broader authority to fight terrorists operating in the United
States.
Signed into law by the President on October 26, the Patriot Act is designed to fight terrorism on
several fronts. First, it gives the U.S. government authority to hold foreigners suspected of terrorist
activity for up to seven days before charging them with a crime. The legislation also gives
investigators the legal right to tap any phone a suspected terrorist might use....show more content...
the titles of books an individual has purchased or borrowed or the identity of individuals who have
purchased or borrowed certain books. The Patriot Act authorizes the use of devices to trace the
telephone calls or e–mails of people who are not suspected of any crime. American citizens and
permanent legal residents' investigated and sought information on the basis of activities protected by
the First Amendment.
The Patriot Act allows investigators to use the tools that were already available to investigate
organized crime and drug trafficking. Many of the tools the Act provides tolaw enforcement to fight
terrorism have been used for decades to fight organized crime and drug dealers, and have been
reviewed and approved by the courts.
This Act allows law enforcement to use surveillance against more crimes of terror. Before the Patriot
Act, courts could permit law enforcement to conduct electronic surveillance to investigate many
ordinary, non–terrorism crimes, such as drug crimes, mail fraud, and passport fraud. Agents also
could obtain wiretaps to investigate some, but not all, of the crimes that terrorists often commit. The
Act enabled investigators to gather information when looking into the full range of terrorism–related
crimes, including: chemical–weapons offenses, the use of weapons of mass destruction, killing
Americans abroad, and terrorism

Patriot Act
Often our nation sees as a symbol of freedom to the world; however, since the events of 9/11 the U.S
congress signed into law the U.S Patriot Act. This legislation extends the power of the government
by strengthening its oversight authority over the nation, claiming war on terrorism and protection of
national security against any potential threats. As an American citizen, I agree with some of the
terms and measures adopted under the Patriot Act in which the government needs to intercept,
obstruct, and monitor terrorism actions keeping us safe from potential attacks. However, the acts fails
to secure American liberties, rather it facilitates and encourages the government to be authoritative
on the pretext of the idea of national security, assuming...show more content...
Undoubtedly and clearly the Patriot Act reaches the First Amendment, which is a constitutionally
protected right and a maximum definition of our patriotism. As a result it is reflected in what we
can say, express or thought making us carefully limit the use and meaning of our words, because free
speech terms can be associated against federal law aimed to combat terrorism organizations, accusing
the protesters to participate in civil disobedience, even though the First Amendment is a non–violent
form of expression opposing a totalitarian regime and characteristics of a state monopoly. The Patriot
Act protects and shields the government with absolute authority and power to intimidate or coerce
the way how law–abiding American citizens express, or participating in a peaceful and legal protest
activities, even when all requirements are fallow and permits in public places such as streets,
sidewalks, or any public area. Traditional public forums (protest) should not be an excuse for the
government to

Usa Patriot Act
After the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, a controversial piece of legislation
was adopted and passed called the U.S.A. Patriot Act. The title for this bill is an acronym for "the
United and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and
Obstruct Terrorism Act" (USA Patriot Act).
In the years since the passing of the Patriot Act, there has been much controversy and debate
regarding the positive and negative advantages, and consequences of this bill. As a member of the
law enforcement community I have experienced firsthand some of the changes the Patriot Act has
brought upon this nation. A result of this experience along with information obtained in the studying
of this act and...show more content...
Constitution. Along with this expansion of surveillance powers is the "sneak and peek provision"
(The USA–PATRIOT Act and the American response to terror; panel discussion, 2002). During a
discussion panel in 2002, David E. Suchar discussed this provision stating the "sneak and peek
provision, which allows the government to conduct secret searches of anyone, including citizens,
without notifying the person that they have a search warrant and that the search is authorized".
Suchar further stated this provision is "a very broad standard that probably could be met in a
tremendous number of cases and not limited to fighting terrorism in any way, shape, or form" (The
USA–PATRIOT Act and the American response to terror; panel discussion, 2002, para. 18). From a
civil liberties perspective, the surveillance expansion provisions within the Patriot Act are troubling
when considering the possibility of abuse, and the trouncing of fourth amendment rights. Another
troubling consequence of the Patriot Act and the expansion of surveillance powers is the use of
profiling. In order to efficiently gather intelligence information for the safety of this country, it would
be common sense to develop a target of sorts to better focus the efforts made. Many believe that
Muslims in this country have become the unfortunate targets of profiling. The monitoring of those
with family and business ties to countries rooted with terrorism is a logical direction for

The Importance of the USA Patriot Act Essay
The Importance of the USA Patriot Act
The United States government changed the face of computer and internet use when it signed the
USA Patriot Act on October 26, 2001. This act was created in the wake of the terrorist attacks in
New York City on September 11 that same year. Many people believe that this act is a good thing
and will help in defense against any future attacks. What most people do not know, however, is the
effect of this act on the more general public. This includes individual people, public libraries,
colleges and universities, and even trucking or hauling companies.
The basis of the USA Patriot Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate
Tools Required to Intercept...show more content...
Agencies previously used subpoenas to obtain these records. The problem with this was that there
was a court process that had to be gone through before records could be obtained. Now, the agencies
only need to obtain a search warrant for this, greatly speeding up their process.
The USAPA provides agencies the ability to ask for student records in concurrence with a terrorism
investigation. This was previously protected by Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. These
agencies must, however, receive a court order from a Federal District court. The United States
Immigration and Naturalization Service is given quite extensive powers concerning foreign students.
The school is required to keep visa information on these students and update any changes to these
visas. Science programs have much more requirements than other areas. Scientists must have
thorough background checks before they can obtain materials from the newly–expanded toxin list
that the government keeps. Also, convicted felons, people dishonorably discharged from the
military, illegal aliens, and people convicted of using illicit drugs are not allowed to use these
documented materials.
Most instances concerning trucking or hauling companies comes in the form of the information kept
about their drivers. Extremely thorough background checks are required for drivers of trucks
carrying hazardous waste materials. The main part

Usa Patriot Act Essay
The USA PATRIOT Act was a law passed six weeks after September 11, 2001, which is in October
26, 2001, created by George W. Bush. USA PATRIOT Act is an acronym for "Uniting and
Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct
Terrorism Act of 2001". Which is ironic due to the disagreements about the act that can be described
as it is unconstitutional. Which are caused by the fact that the government is invading the people's
privacy by going through our phones, history of everything that is electronically, messages, phone
logs, etc. without having a legal contract by the government, and going against our natural
(unalienable) rights. It also violates the Bill of Rights, however, mostly on the first and fourth
amendment.
The first amendment is the prohibition of making any law respecting an establishment of religion,
impending the free exercise of religion, abridging freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of
the press, interfering with...show more content...
However, the mains ones are that in section 215 describes how the government's ability is abusive
power due to that they expand their ability to look at records on anyone's activity that is being held
by third parties. Some of these includes doctors, libraries, bookstores, universities, and internet
providers, etc. are being forced to turn in records over to the FBI on their clients or customers
which makes it invading our privacy. Due to the fact that the sweeping powers given to the
government to conduct surveillance on the citizens which leads to the fact that there is less privacy
protection than before. The surveillance used now in days are electronic which can detect suspected
terroists, but that definition is weakened and easy to pass through enough for the government to
create labels on anyone as a suspected terrorist and to start gathering information on these people
who are being

Patriot Act Essay
Patriot Act The 9/11 terrorist attacks caused a great panic in the United States. They threatened the
safety of everyone as a nation. On September 11th, 2001 19 men associated with the Islamic
extremist group named al–Qaeda, hijacked four airplanes and they carried out suicide attacks
against the United States. Two of the airplanes were flown into both towers of the World Trade
Center in New York City, the third airplane hit the Pentagon just outside of Washington, D.C., and
the fourth airplane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. More than 3,000 innocent people lost their
lives that day (Soma). The Patriot Act is a U.S. law passed because of the September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks. The goals of the Patriot Act are to strengthen national security and broaden the
powers of law–enforcement agencies with regards to identifying and stopping terrorists (Justice).
The passing and renewal of the Patriot Act has been extremely controversial. Supporters claim that
it's been helpful in several investigations and arrests of terrorists, while others argue the act gives
the government too much power, threatens civil liberties and weakens the very democracy it seeks
to protect (Smith). I believe the patriot act is an invasion of privacy and it belittles our fourth
amendment. Title one of the patriot act authorizes federal money to accomplish much of the act's
necessities and authorizes the Secret Service to create a nationwide electronic crime task force. This
section also gives the

Patriot Act Essay
The USA Patriot Act is very important to everyone in the United States of America. There are many
people that are anti–patriot act because they feel it infringes on there constitutional rights. At the
same time, there are enormous amounts of people that are pro–patriot act putting the safety of the
home front as their number one priority. This act was very instrumental in giving our intelligence
agencies the tools necessary to intercept terrorist messages and fore warn us of any possible attacks.
The Patriot act positives out weigh the negatives. The positives are law enforcement being able to use
surveillance that investigators used to investigate organized crime and drug traffickers. The Federal
Bureau of...show more content...
Enforcement agencies can now pull records of business, and bank records to see what transactions
possible terrorist are doing and whom they are dealing with. Law enforcement, intelligence, and
national defense communities no longer have to worry about the legal constraint before talking to
each other to protect the welfare of the United States citizens. The United States government can
now use up to date equipment to fight the digital battle in gathering information. Warrants can be
obtained in any district in which terrorism–related actions happened, in spite of where they will be
executed. Victims of computer hacking can now give authorities permission to track hackers and
treat them the same as physical trespassers. The Patriot act has also increased penalties for those that
intend to commit a terrorist crime. These are most of the positive of the USA Patriot Act.
The American Civil Liberties Union represents the negatives of the USA Patriot act. Disadvantages
are the USA Patriot act take away checks on law enforcement . Some citizens believe it gives the
law enforcement agencies to much control. The invasion of privacy threatens the very rights and
freedoms that we are struggling to protect. For example, without a warrant and without probable
cause, the FBI now has the power to access your

The Patriot Act
In the wake of September 11, many things happened very quickly. Along with the beginning of a
'"'war'"' against terrorism, an act was passed to help prevent future terrorism in the USA. The name
of this is the USA Patriot Act. The act legalizes manysurveillance techniques that were once
prohibited. The act has been passed without debate, and the new privileges given to our
government have not been thoroughly examined. The law enforcers of our country are now
capable of monitoring the citizens in ways most people are not aware of. Some of the surveillance
laws are self–terminating after four years, but many of the more important laws are permanent.
What will these new surveillance laws be used for after the war on...show more content...
America has a rival that we have declared war against, terrorism. But after terrorism is suppressed,
whom will our country battle next and when will the adversaries show themselves? During the
idleness after terrorism is vanquished, government law enforcers are given a chance to misuse the
new surveillance laws. This is because there will be little for the law keepers to do other than to turn
their attention to the American citizens. These laws are not made to charge average people with
misdemeanors; they are to be used for national security. With monitoring techniques similar to those
legalized in the USAPA being used on all of AmericaВЎВЇs citizens, there would be a greater sense
of oppression among the people. To be oppressed and governed in such a way by police is marshal
law. As a safeguard, the government added an expiration date on most of the surveillance
regulations except one of the key laws. This law allows something called a pen register trap and trace
device order to be modified. A pen register trap and trace device order is a court order that is used
for information gathering. It is very simple to get this court order, because it originally just recorded
the phone numbers made by a selected person. The court does not require any results from the tap
either.

Pros And Cons Of The Patriot Act
USA PATRIOT Act: Better Sorry than Safe
In today's society, you are always being watched. The USA PATRIOT Act wants it to stay that way.
According to Chris Plante in, "A Short, Crucial Explanation of the USA PATRIOT Act and USA
Freedom Act," the USA PATRIOT Act, or the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing
Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, creates an, "[...]
expansion of government power pertaining to domestic surveillance, law enforcement, and border
security." (The Verge). TheUSA PATRIOT Actallows increased spying on citizens in the United
States in order to decrease crime and terrorism. The Patriot Act Poll Results via ISideWith tell a
story of a lack of understanding about the USA PATRIOT Act, however, with approximately 55%
of Americans supporting the act. However, despite the belief it is a well–regulated, necessary act,
the USA PATRIOT Act must be repealed due to the abuses the act allows, the violations of citizens'
rights, and the inefficiency of the act in preventing crime and terrorism.
One common idea many Americans have is that the USA Patriot Act keeps them safe. Even Robert
Mueller, the former director of the FBI, believed having such an act in place prior to 9/11 could
have prevented the attacks (CBS News). He further explained that having the act in place at the time
could have tracked the phone of one of the terrorists that carried out the attacks. He implies here that
the information from the act is

Patriot Act Essay
September 11, 2001 was the day where everything in America had changed. A series of four terrorist
attacks destroyed the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. As a reaction to this, Congress passed
the Patriot Act, severely limiting citizen's civil liberties as promised by the Constitution. American's
civil liberties and constitutional rights cannot be denied and/or put into jeopardy to protect national
security, for it goes against American ideals and may persecute non–partisan individuals, while
allowing the executive branch to unconstitutionally abuse their power. America was founded of the
ideals of free speech and equality, but if one tries to exercise these rights to the fullest extent, one's
privacy would be jeopardized. The purpose...show more content...
The increased national security as a result of the Patriot Act results in "Every member of the class
denied access or subjected to special investigation will be made to feel less than a full citizen of the
United States or less than a welcome visitor, and that message eventually will be conveyed to all
U.S. citizens" (Heymann, Philip B). The always increasing security measures will make dedicated
Americans feel like they do not belong in this country, and this will spread countrywide and may
result in rebellions. Citizens have already gone through the gruesome process (especially foreign
born Americans) of becoming a citizen, and the increased security would make all of their hard work
mean nothing. A picture of demonstrators reacting to the Patriot Act shows one person with a sign
saying, "The Patriot Act can make you an enemy in your own country"("USA Patriot ActProtest").
This statement further supports the rebellious nature of the Patriot Act because the citizens who
are being directly affected by this act are telling politicians themselves of the unreasonable
suspicion pointed towards many Americans. Section 805 of the Patriot Act allows the government
to give material support to anyone who gives assistance to a terrorist (Abramsom, Larry, and
Maria Godoy). This leads to guilt by association, because a perfectly innocent person who was
unknowingly helping a terrorist could have their privacy invaded. It also raises fear that a good
deed could be somehow linked to a terrorist organization, stifling free

After 911 attacks on the World Trade Center, Congress passed a new law: "The Patriot Act" which
has accomplished exactly what it was designed to do," Bush said. "It has helped detect terror cells,
disrupt terrorist plots and save American lives." The five main provisions that took place in 2006
while Bush was President are: (1) telephone taps, internet taps and voice mails – which allow the
government to tap these devises – with a court order. All telephones used by the individual/suspect
may be tapped without a separate order from the court for each devise in question. The government
is also able to seize voice mail/messages that are in question as being evidence. This is something to
keep in mind: At least 25 police departments own a Stingray, a...show more content...
If deportation and/or if the individual is not charged for the crime in question, then they will remain
in detainment if they are deemed a risk to security. (4) The government now has the power to track
money that they suspect as being "laundered money" across one border to another or from
bank–to–bank. In 2013, The Treasury Department took action in arresting The Liberty Reserve, as a
money laundering organization, using powers under the Patriot Act to effectively cut the company
off from the U.S. financial system. The executives faced charges for laundering $6 Billion dollars in
cyber money. (5) The Patriot Act provisions– allow for an increase in penalty for any/all terrorist
crime with the statue of limitations eliminated. The key to the Patriot Act is empowering the
government to do the right things – while exercising oversight to prevent any abuse of authority. As
long as lawmakers keep a vigilant eye on police authority, the federal courts remains open, and the
debate about governmental conduct is a vibrant part of the American dialogue, the risk of excessive
encroachment on our fundamental liberties is

The Usa Patriot Act
In the mist of America ending its wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan here in the homeland we are still
be proactive in trying to alleviate terrorist threats and opportunities for terroristic activity in our
backyards. When looking at the USA PATRIOT ACT that was enacted to help battle this ongoing
pandemic it has come into question whether the laws of the USA PATRIOT ACTextremely broad,
narrow, and overarching that they leave too much room for interpretation which in the end has led to
violations of a person's rights that they are guaranteed by the US Constitution.
Since the passage of the USA PATRIOT ACT in 2001 by then President George W. Bush and the
renewal of it in 2011 by President Barrack Obama, there has been much debate over...show more
content...
The two provisions that were struck down revolved around the 4th Amendment of unreasonable
search and seizures in regard to intelligence gathering. This ruling stems from a case where the
federal government arrested an attorney in the United States in connection with his alleged
involvement with the 2004 Madrid train bombings. The lawsuit stated that the FBI illegally and
secretly broke into both his home and office to gather evidence and were being protected under
provisions of the US Patriot Act.
Looking at an article titled How the Patriot Act Violates Virtually the Entire Bill of Rights written by
Hamilton, S in 2011. Hamilton takes a hard look at the Bill of Rights from the U.S. Constitution as a
whole and begins to bring parts of the US Patriot Act the violate the given amendment. Most of the
first ten amendments have at least one article or portion of the Patriot Act that clearly violates the
unalienable rights that American citizens were afforded at the time the U.S. Constitution was
initially signed. S.N. Herman in his article The US PATRIOT ACT and the Submajoritarian Fourth
Amendment that was published in the Harvard Civil Rights–Civil Liberties Law Review in 2006
deals completely around violations of the US Patriot Act in regards to the Fourth Amendment of the
U.S. Constitution. It brings forth the facts that support that we as American citizens have allowed
the government to chip away at our rights to be free from unreasonable searches and

Persuasive Essay Patriot Act
Being in the privacy of one's home, gives you comfort, the means to say what you feel, or how
you feel. What if someone was listening? Wouldn't that be uncomfortable? Knowing everything
said in one's house is being heard, and the family inside of it has no clue. One's house doesn't seem
so comfortable anymore does it? The U.S. Patriot Act violates many privacy and freedom rights
given to you buy the bill of rights. The U.S. Patriot Act was written after 9/11 a tragic event in
American history that eventually lead to the Afghanistan war. Although the Afghanistan war is over,
the Act is still in place and has not been removed. The purpose of this essay is to inform the people
of America that the U.S. Patriot Act rapes the nation of its rights....show more content...
Patriot act goes against the constitution and Peter Justice says that "Many of the Patriot Act's
provisions violate the Constitution, particularly the First Amendment, which protects free speech,
and the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unwarranted search and seizure." Going against
the first and fourth amendment violates the main rights given to us. The divine rights of men is
clearly being taken away as a nation. This is unconstitutional because it no longer abides by these
rules America has been going by for hundreds of years. It slowly reduces all restrictions of the
government. America was created because people were oppressed by the British government and
although the nation is not oppressed yet what can we do to stop them when the government wants to
start oppressing the nation? ? The Act makes the law enforcement and immigration authorities in
detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism–related acts larger broadening the
jurisdictions. It also expands the definition of terrorism to include "domestic terrorism.""(PressTV)
Which can be lead them to investigate any probable cause they think would be harmful.
Representatives even say that ""It severs the very foundation of the Fourth Amendment to say that
government can invade a person's privacy and gather information against them without having a
sound basis for suspecting that they've done something wrong," said former Representative Bob
Barr (R, Georgia), one of the Patriot Act's

Patriot Act Essay
Patriot Act
One of the worst, yet momentous events in U.S history occurred on September 11th, 2001. This
event released a flow of patriotic fervor and a permanent fear among all Americans that they had
also now become suspect to acts of international terrorists. This led to a lot of changes in the attitudes
of the executive and legislative branches in the United States government. They came up almost
immediately with new measures, which were supposedly against terrorism or terrorist threats. One of
the principle acts passed by them was called "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing
Appropriate Tools Required to intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001," also called the USA
Patriot Act. This was signed and approved as law...show more content...
The United States of America has seen is share of traitors, from the most well known, Benedict
Arnold, to least known Aaron Burr [who conspired to commit treason], and one who is known but
is know as a murderer not a Treasonous, Lee Harvey Oswald. With the attacks in New York, and
our Nations Capital on 091101, many are left wondering if we have yet again another Treasonous
criminal. Even with Treason being a Capital Felony, charged with life in prison without parole, was
it tempting to someone who has a grudge against our nation to commit and help in these acts? With
the Patriot Act in place, we will be able to prevent any act of Treason from happening, from any
person speculated to possible committing the act.
See many Americans think that with this act, the Government may phone tap your house and
invade your privacy. They feel that the Government would be able to here every word you speak
over the phone. I mean if I wanted to I could turn on a CB radio and listen to the right frequency
and listen to what you have to say whenever you make a call now, so forget about the wire taps.
Regardless of how many Americans see it, it's not as harsh as they read it and interoperate. The
Patriot Act is set fourth to protect the

The Patriot Act : a Summary Essay
Case Study: The USA PATRIOT Act
One of the most controversial policies to pass legislation within the United States congress with the
approval of our president at the time, George W. Bush, was the USA PATRIOT Act. The USA
PATRIOT Act is actually a acronym for the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing
Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. This Act reduced the
restrictions, which now allowed the law the power to search various electronic communications
records as well as medical and financial records. It also enabled fewer restrictions on foreign
intelligence gathering, broadened the immigration enforcement laws to allow them to more easily
detain and deport immigrants suspected of involvement with...show more content...
The act also gained support within congress due to the tension caused by the anthrax scare on
October 15, 2001. The sense that the public was not only being attacked but also the Senators
themselves, through the anthrax contaminated letters, created and urgency in the want to pass the
act. The intense mood and political tensions pushed for Attorney General Ashcroft to quickly pass
the statuettes forward in only a matter of days. Due to such hast many senators did not take the
appropriate time to look carefully and read into the policies and their broad reach beyond what was
thought of as terrorism. Another context the public may look at is how for years the Justice Depart
had been trying to pass similar acts which would give up certain fundamental rights within the
constitution for the sake of "preventing" terrorist attacks. But members of Congress would typically
repeal such notions. They would refuse to pass any such act in the past because they saw it as a
threat to civil liberty. But with Sept. 11th and the Anthrax scare fresh in congresses minds, and the
general want for "something to be done" about terrorist threats the Justice department had the excuse
it needed to pass such laws. With swift action, certain senators would not have enough time to revise
the text and formulate legitimate outcry and criticism toward the act. Prior to anything being
formally drafted, Attorney General Ashcroft spoke to the press and public stating "Now,

Patriot Act Essay
Act, the USA PATRIOT Act On October 26, Bush signed the act into law. State legislatures soon
enacted similar antiterrorist legislation, through which, the war on terrorism expanded, most
significantly at the state and local levels.
This new legislation severely curtailed civil rights and liberties. The detainees at
Guantanamo Bay is only the most prominent example of the administration's regulatory
Practices and new policies during its "war on terrorism." The detainees are not officially
On U.S. territory and the government argues that they therefore have neither constitutional rights nor
the rights guaranteed under the Geneva Convention, the international treaty governing detention
during wartime. Basic principles like due process,...show more content...
For months the administration blocked access to the detainees and efforts to ascertain the conditions
of their treatment. Only at the end of January 2002 did the Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS) finally announce that Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International (AI) would be allowed
access to some detention facilities (Cusac2002). Others remained off–limits to monitoring groups.
Since January a few reports about the actual conditions of the detainees have been published in the
left–wing press. Drawing on interviews with detainees and their lawyers, AI sent Attorney General
John
Ashcroft a document concerning the detentions in the post–September 11 investigations.
AI stated "that many of those detained during the В‘11 September sweeps' are held in harsh
conditions, some of which may violate international standards for humane treatment." (Cited in
Cusec 2002: 25). Moreover, the document points toward "allegations of physical and verbal abuse
of detainees by guards, and failure to protect detainees from abuses by other inmates" (cited in Cusac
2002: 25). A number of the detainees' lawyers reported that the detainees suffered some grave human
rights violations. Some were held for months in solitary confinement. Others suffered physical and
psychological torture, such as having been beaten by INS guards, kept in

Argumentative Essay On The Patriot Act
The Patriot Act, an act passed by Congress in 2001 that addressed the topic of privacy in terrorist or
radical situations, is controversial in today's society. Although it helps with protection against
terroristic events, The Patriot Act is not fair, nor is it constitutional, because it allows the
government to intrude on citizens' privacy, it gives governmental individuals too much power, and
because the act is invasive to the 4th amendment right. To further describe key points in the act, it
states that it allows investigators to use the tools that were already available to investigate organized
crime and drug trafficking, and it allows law enforcement officials to obtain a search warrant
anywhere a terrorist–related activity occurred.
Opening, The Patriot Act provides an easy excuse for governmental individuals to intrude on
citizens' privacy. As "TheUSA PATRIOT Act
: Preserving Life and Liberty," expresses, "Examining
business records often provides the key that investigators are looking for to solve a wide range of
crimes. Investigators might seek select records from hardware stores or chemical plants, for
example, to find out who bought materials to make a bomb, or bank records to see who's sending
money to terrorists. Law enforcement authorities have always been able to obtain business records
in criminal cases through grand jury subpoenas, and continue to do so in national security cases
where appropriate." The previous excerpt justifies the claim that the act is a

The Patriot Act
After the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 our country underwent a change that has
drastically affected the fundamental values that our founding fathers instilled in this country. Since
that tragic day in September the aftermath of the attacks has started to implicate our Civil Liberties
that in this country we hold so dear. Just 45 days after the September 11 attacks, with virtually no
debate, Congress passed the USA Patriot Act on October 5th, 2001. This act expanded the
surveillance powers of domestic law enforcement and international intelligence agencies. The
controversy that must be discussed is whether or not this legislation fully or in part has violated the
Constitution and/or endangered our civil...show more content...
Malkin?s support of the Act is based on the fact that it revised outdated rules that fatally hampered
surveillance of suspected terrorists in America, helped craft plans to monitor the entry and exit of
foreign students and implemented a federal program to register and track non–immigrant visitors
from high–risk Middle Eastern countries. With its new granted power the federal government has
busted more than 20 suspected al Qaeda, convicted 100 other individuals for terror–related crimes
and since the September 11 attacks, has prevented a further mass terrorist attack on our homeland.
Malkin praises Viet D. Dinh, saying ?to civil liberties alarmists, Viet Dinh is a traitor. To me, he is an
American Hero.? Her argument that the Act is no threat to civil liberties is supported by Viet Dinh
and his supportive thesis. Malkin states ?opponents of the Bush Administration?s homeland defense
and immigration enforcement efforts complain that the war on terror has eviscerated civil liberties
and constitutional rights, and they have likened John Ashcroft, Dinh and the Justice Department to
the Taliban and the Nazis.? Malkin uses Viet Dinh?s response to the alarmists to defend her
position. Dinh states ?The threat to liberty comes from Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda terrorist
network, not from the men and women in blue who work to uphold the law.? He justifies his
position through Edmund Burke?s theory of ?Ordered Liberty.? The theory of Ordered

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