Letter to the Editor
It’s time to roll back the Patriot Act
A group of Senate Democrats led by Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., have proposed the Justice Act, a bill that would introduce stronger safeguards and higher standards of judicial oversight for surveillance activity. It aims to reform the most abusive characteristics of the Patriot Act, and it would also roll back a controversial provision of the FISA Amendment Act that granted telecom companies retroactive immunity for their participation in the Bush administration’s extralegal warrantless surveillance program.
Sen. Feingold says that the goal of the act is to ensure that surveillance and intelligence-gathering activities are properly empowered while guaranteeing that rights are respected and investigative privileges are not misused. The proposal is broadly endorsed by privacy advocates and civil-liberties groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Pass the Justice Act.
Michael Mitchell
Swisher resident
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