do you feel that since congress passed the patriot act we are safer or just robbed of  our freedoms?
930618
ROBBED.\n\nYou can no longer go anywhere on public transportation without the government knowing where you went. That is just one more way of tracking our movements. \nIF a government was intending to crack down on its citizens the first thing it must do is know who is communicating with whom. They can do that now with the travel information and they have finally admitted there were wire taps and email monitoring WITHOUT court permission. This is how it starts and once a government gets a taste of the power of controlling its people it will never go back to total freedom.\nSoon they will try to convince us not to use cash, but to do everything with electronic cards.  WHY? Because that way they can know where your money is. You can't mount a rebellion against a corrupt and oppressive government without money. AND you can be locked up and never see a judge or lawyer if the the government declares you are an enemy of the country.....
1181080
There is no doubt that a nuclear detonation over America would be terrible.  But it is just as unlikely as it is horrible.\n\nI fear what is not quite as devastating or brutal, but far more likely to happen.  I fear not what an external country or terrorist might do to the US, but what the US is doing to itself.\n\nWith every act of legislation, the government gains more power, and the individuals lose some freedom.  I fear the totalitarian state that will arise because of peoples' irrational fear of external threats.\n\nOur strength has always been our freedom, and as our freedom diminishes, so too does our strength.  When we allow Congress to pass the Patriot Act, for example, we make ourselves weaker by diminishing our Constitution, our rights, and our American way of life.
21688
Love your country, distrust your government.  "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety," Benjamin Franklin.  The US Patriot Act is very very unpatriotic.  It literally strips away your Constitutional Rights.  Hitler burned the Reichstag building when he became Chancelor.  Then blamed it on Poland.  The Bush Administration caused 911 to happen and then they blamed Afganistan and Iraq.  The media is completely saturated with propaganda.  Currently, the United States is run by a military industrial complex and most Americans are blind to that.  Many people say you shouldn't believe what you read on the internet, but it's the internet that has complete and total freedom to communicate the truth and what's really going on.  All other media is controlled and propagated.  Do the research.  Find the truth.  We must take our county back from these treasonous "leaders."
665398
Republicans feel awhole lot SAFER cuz \ngosh darn it...that bad man Saddam could\nbe trying to kill Mista Boosh's daddy (again)\n\nLets only Tap the registered Repukes phones and open \ntheir mail...the corrupt Repukes in Washington, DC\nhave nothing to hide...right?
226920
Yes. I'm very upset at how the Bush administration has perverted the English language. "Patriot Act" takes away civil liberties. "Clean Water Act" allows companies to dump as much crud as they please in the water, and so on. \n\nThe Patriot Act allows the government to know which books you take out of the library. It denies the library the power to tell YOU that they they've been forced to tell the government which books you've checked out. \n\nStand up for your rights, kids. Once they're gone, they're gone.\n\n(And in response to another answer on this page: you don't have to wait until someone files a suit against a stupid law to know that it's wrong).
733356
If I lost any rights from the Patriot Act, I haven't noticed.  I have nothing to hide.  I'm not plotting againts our government.  Nor am I sympathizing with terrorists.  So, what's the big deal?  If it's not affecting you, why worry about it?\n\nDon't forget, the Patriot Act was the first act in recent history to pass unanimously in both houses of congress.
342672
I think this ZOD guy is the only one, to include the Congressmen and Senators who voted for it in the first place, who has actually read the Patriot Act. Maybe we should put him in charge, I know I'd feel better.
616298
I don't see how it is giving us freedom either. But I do respectfully disagree with your statement that we are just as free today as we were before. Our freedoms have been greatly hampered since 9-11, and the powers that be are steadily trying to chip away further at our freedoms. IMHO...
89612
Yes, Both contributed to unecisary bloodshed, and it is easy to see similarities between "Homeland Insecurity", and HUAC (House Unamerican ACtivities). I just hope that the patriot act is destroyed, and the rights it, and various other unconstitutional "laws" took are restored to "we the people". I would rather cary a gun through the street to deffend myself than have a single one of my rights taken to "defend" me. Many great americans have died to protect my rights, and may I be damned strait to Hell if I remain silent while Bush, or any other Macarthyite politician takes them with the stroke of a pen.\n\n"He who surrenders rights for security deserves niether."\nsadly, history does repeat. This Cycle MUST be broken.\nAnd yes I would say the same no matter what political party the president was/is/will be from.
260878
Absolutely not, no one can really.  Think about it, you can have either freedom or security but not both.  any amount of restriction to provide security must infringe on freedom.  \n\nBesides, freedom is an illusion anyway.  its a buzzword thrown around by people who dont know what it means.  if we really had freedom here we would pay taxes if we wanted to, not because we have to.  we dont have the freedom of not supporting our governments policies financialy therefore we arent free.  abortion, personal use of illegal substances, open border migration, there are a host of examples were we have no freedom.  personnaly, i feel like we have given up many freedoms since 9/11 with the patriot act and illegal wire tapping and we have no more security to go with it.  we  lose on both counts and the government wins by adding more power and control to their arsenal.
751896
always. It is getting that as  individuals we have no freedom or privacy. Rules for everything that the majority of the wealthy get away with. The world is changing and we are no safer..That is just my opinion.
716014
Yes. But this has become a gray area, because it used to be that the Federal law was limited by the Constitution to certain areas, and denied the rest. However, this has changed, and the Federal government is now, and has been for decades, legislating on things they have absolutely no constitutional authority to be meddling with.\n\nAnd the majority of Americans think this is a good thing, which it isn't, and they fail to connect this usurpation of powers with the  fact that they feel their freedoms and rights are being taken away. Un-believable.
8907
no! it makes me feel less safe in my own daily environment, and i know a lot of people that feel the same way. not only are the nsa's domestic spying operations illegal, but they are irrelevant, if not counterproductive, to achieving a real sense of security for the average american.
271917
The so-called "Patriot Act" is anything BUT patriotic. It is in direct voilation to our civil rights. This is a travesty since so many people who have come before, fought and died to ensure our civil liberties. We as Americans need to stress to our Congressmen and our Senetors that we will NOT stand for a government that tries to over-ride our civil rights and our very freedom!
280228
The Patriot Act is a pile of crap and there is nothing patriotic about it. It is a way to remove rights guaranteed by the Constitution and is a violation of the Constitution as well.\n\nAlthough some consider it a great and necessary tool to fight terrorism, that's strictly hype by bush and his handlers. Americans are being manipulated by that ignorant, AWOL, son of a bush who has delusions of empororship.\n\nThe founders of our country never intended for such a thing to happen and warned us against it. They also warned us about men like bush, but folks seemed to have had their eyes closed when they put him in office. \n\nThat clown can't even communicate past simple, confused and mixed up sentences, unless some script writer puts words in his mouth.\n\nHaving said that, I think that act ought to be flushed down the toilet.\n\nADDITION: P.S. King georgie dosn't need the act anyway. He just ignores the law and does exactly what he wants, because he's president and that makes him the boss. He said so himself.
95927
Brother, Our freedoms have ended long back. Its a country where people with doubts and critical thoughts are labeled nut jobs and discounted. you know what I mean. It can only get worse unfortunately unless we actively do something about it.
574647
im afraid of that.  they called it the patriot act so we wouldall feel bad for hating it?? huh?? well i dont feel bad.  thats just creepy.  just think about it.  you could be being watched right now, and not know it, and thats not even against the law because its the law thats doing it...its not fair. were gonna all feel like prisoners soon.