Patriot Act Here to Stay

We can look forward to further wire-tapping, thanks to the spineless cowards in Washington.

Capping months of partisan wrangling, the U.S. Senate gave final congressional approval on Thursday to renewing the USA Patriot Act, a centerpiece of President George W. Bush's war on terrorism.

A day after passing a related bill to better protect civil liberties in this war, the Senate approved the renewal measure on a 89-10 vote. It next goes to Bush to sign into law. The House of Representatives passed it in December.

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With 16 provisions of the act set to expire next week, the bill would make 14 of them permanent and extend two others by four years.

The Patriot Act was rushed through in the chaos that emerged after 9/11. A single senator opposed the legislation--Russ Feingold D-WI. This time, nine people joined him.

Hey Democrats? What's the excuse this time? Partisan wrangling my eye! There isn't a party committed to civil liberties in Washington. Boy, I'm really feeling awful that I didn't vote for George W. Bush.

As the situation in Iraq gets worse, it seems highly unlikely that the U.S. will remain engaged in the not too distant future. The excuses from neo-con pundits have been slowly rolling in, leading me to believe that a full withdrawal could be forthcoming. I do wonder if we'll get our rights back at that point, but I'm not counting on it.