Patriot Act II [1]
Submitted by Laura Miller [2] on
One sequel that's not receiving much media attention is the "Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003," a follow up to the "USA Patriot Act of 2001." The Center for Public Integrity obtained a copy of the draft legislation that had been secretly prepared by the Justice Department. "This proposed law would give the government breathtaking new powers to further increase domestic intelligence-gathering, surveillance and law enforcement prerogatives, and simultaneously decrease judicial review and public access to information," writes the Center, who has posted the document on their website [3]. "Despite the draft legislation's authoritarian provisions -- including one that would empower the government to strip Americans of their citizenship if they participate in the lawful activities of any group that the attorney general labels 'terrorist' -- mainstream U.S. media have responded with only a handful of news stories," Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting [4] writes.