Straddling the fence

Ok, everyone should sit down because I imagine I'm going to shock my friends on all sides of politics when I say this, but I'm not a supporter of the Patriot Act and I'm really glad that it didn't get reapproved. I really hope that it dies now. I'm also not a fan of the secret wiretapping.

Now, once you pick your jaws up off the floor, I'll tell you why.

While I trust President Bush *stop snickering my leftie friends* I do not trust ANY government to overstep their boundaries. For one, Bush will not always be in office. What will we do if we get someone who wants to abuse this law even more than it is being abused right now? For my conservative friends who support it, I ask you, would you want this law to be used by Janet Reno or another attorney general who may have ulterior motives?

I do not like the idea that if some confidential informant tells a CIA person that I may be a terrorist, then my lines can be tapped without a judicially issued warrant. Hell no. While I do want to see every terrorist rot in a cell somewhere in a naked pyramid. However, I do not feel like violating the civil rights of American citizens is worth catching a terrorist. It is not that hard to get a warrant. Trust me. I used to cover cops and the courts and judges are VERY lenient in what they require for a warrant. It is just as easy to indict someone by a grand jury. I could get Bob the Tomato indicted if I were a district attorney.

There are several reasons behind my thinking and I credit Army of Dad with helping me realize some of these things. I used to be a proponent for gun registration. I mean, what is the harm? If it helps the government keep up with who is a legal gun owner, then what is the big deal? Well, the big deal is that if we get good intentioned lawmakers who want to confiscate guns followed by corrupt leaders who want a powerless people, we could be screwed by a dictator. Do you think the Jews had guns under Hitler? I know that is an awful comparison, but think about it. What if some foreign country wanted to invade our lands? We would be unable to defend ourselves till the Army arrived, if they were able to come to BFE, Texas. God knows the legislators took away our nearest military installation in budget cuts years ago. But ,that is another story. I didn't think it was that big of a deal for everyday people to be armed until 9/11. But, I was changed by that event. I do want to catch these assholes, I really do, but not if it costs me more of my freedoms. Ok, so I'll go through a massive screening at the airport, but I'll be damned if the government is going to be allowed to listen to my phone calls simply because they're in a hurry and don't want to be troubled with a warrant.