The USA Patriot Act is a ten letter acronym for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. This act was passed in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the world trade center. It was an act of congress that passed six weeks after on October 26, 2001. This was signed into law by George W. Bush. The Patriot Act was passed almost unanimously by the senate with a vote of 98 to 1 and it passed in the house 357 to 66.…
Edward Joseph Snowden is an “American Computer professional, former CIA employee, and former contractor for the United States government who copied and leaked classified information from the NSA in 2013 without prior authorization.” After taking actions to reveal thousands of National Security Agency documents, he is referred to by many as a whistleblower. Snowden, due to his actions, has been charged for violation of theft of government property and violation of the Espionage Act of 1917. Did he put himself up for government prosecution to save us? Is he our knight in shining armor?…
On September 11, 2001 terrorist attacked the United States, which changed the lives of everyone. The United States wanted to ensure this never occurred again, to ensure this the Patriot Act was passed. The USA PATRIOT Act, commonly known as the Patriot Act, is an Act of Congress which President George W. Bush signed into law on October 26, 2001. The Act was passed a merely 45 after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Only one United States senator, Russell Feingold, of Wisconsin voted against the USA Patriot Act (EPIC).…
October 26,2001, just a little bit over a year after the most infamous terrorist attacks on the US, the USA PATRIOT Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush. The expanded full title is “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Require to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001. ” This act quickly caused controversy and sparked many debates about national security and civil liberties because it created legislative changes which significantly increased the surveillance and investigative powers of law enforcement agencies in the United States without providing a system of checks and balances to safeguard civil liberties. The only Senator to oppose the Act, was Russ Feingold.…
The USA Patriot Act was passed just a short six weeks after the 9/11 attacks which revealed great haste and secrecy among the federal laws. The act has riddled with flaws and has greatly compromised out fundamental freedoms. According to the Virginia Bill of Rights Coalition, they feel that “the Act may constitute a greater danger for America;” but what does that mean for our future? The USA Patriot Act was passed in 2001 after the 9/11 bombing attacks of the Twin Towers and was mainly focused for the “foreign nationals” in the U.S.…
NSA warrantless surveillance controversy Introduction The NSA warrantless surveillance controversy concerns with the surveillance of people within the United States. It all started while the collection of allegedly foreign intelligence by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) was going on as part of the war on terror. The National Security Agency is one of America's largest intelligence organizations. It is similar to the FBI and CIA.…
The Patriot Act can sound scary. This idea that this big monitering, force, knows everything about you, and can access all of your information at the click of a button. Thats a power that can be easily abused. But has it been? Has it hurt anyone?…
In 2001 with the passing of the “not so” Patriot Act, new powers were granted to the executive branch that allowed them to suspend due process of any suspect and enact wartime methods of extracting data due to national security or simply deny these civilians their legal rights.(Hunt, 2014) The Patriot Act, was established as an anti-terrorist tool, but quickly added to the nationalist tool box in militant response to civil opposition. The utilization of this militant tool to impede civilians committing peaceful protests, civil disobedience or even speaking against their nation would result in an oppression of their civil liberties to freedom speech and freedom of assembly.(Williams, 2003) Secondly, with the passing of the Patriot Act, the use of secret military tribunals is a serious danger to the public’s civil liberties. These trails do not abide by many of the same regulations and rights that our civilian courts maintain.…
After the biggest terrorist attack in US history, a bill was passed which was a result of what happens when a government panicked. After 9/11, the US government was afraid an attack would happen again. So in a panic, the USA PATRIOT Act was passed in the Senate on October 25 2001, just 45 days after the attack with a vote of 98:1. The USA PATRIOT Act stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. The purpose behind its name was that it deemed anyone who violated the PATRIOT Act unpatriotic or a traitor to the United States.…
The USA Patriot Act is short for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (Patriot Act 2011). After September eleventh 's attack, The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill to President George W. Bush, which he signed into law on October 26, 2001 in hopes of preventing another attack on American soil. The act was based on a Department of Justice proposal that was modified by the Congress before it was enacted into law (96). The act was made to give more power to federal enforcement officials to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the attacks on the twin towers, and the pentagon (96). This act modifies a variety of statutes like: intelligence, investigation, controlled substance, crime, privacy, and financial transactions.…
Covert action is one of many foreign policy tools used by policymakers to advance national interests. Used in select international efforts, covert action encompasses a broad range of activities outside the operations of traditional intelligence collection. Sanctioned by the White House and overseen by Congress, covert action can provide results and otherwise unavailable information. "The term covert action was defined for the first time in statute to mean an activity or activities of the united government to influence political, economic, or military conditions abroad, where it is intended that the role of the united state states will not be apparent or acknowledged publicly".…
For many years now, America has witnessed the countless occurrences of racially profiling individuals as well as demonstrating excessive use of force, often called police brutality. Racial profiling is defined as an act of discrimination implemented by a stereotype. It is an action that many police officers practice in order to justify their actions towards a person. Police brutality is the use of extensive force when it does not need to be used in a manner that either threatens or physically harms a civilian. Despite the tragic outcomes of the most notorious protests in America, such as the one held in Ferguson, Missouri and Los Angeles, California it has created an idea that police officers will always be superior to civilians.…
Whether surveillance systems should be put in public areas, like schools, stores, libraries, airports, bars, fitting rooms, and restrooms. Some individuals feel more secure with the cameras, while other citizens and privacy advocates feel nervous about the idea of someone watching them every time they are out in public. However, in the articles, “The Pros and Cons of a Surveillance Society” by Nick Belton, “The New Eyes of Surveillance: Artificial Intelligence and Humanizing Technology” by Dr…, and “How Stores Spy on You” by Unknown, the authors discuss about pros and con of surveillance systems, including surveillance cameras and video analytics. In my side, a high technology surveillance system can be very useful and come with great benefits…
Most critics of surveillance argue about how it is an abuse of power, a violation of people 's privacy, and most importantly, unconstitutional, while proponents of surveillance claim the benefit of surveillance is a reduction in the probability of high-cost events such as terrorism. Government surveillance programs, when conducted in controlled situations and closely audited by independent organizations, do not directly harm innocent civilians, especially when they benefit the safety of the general public. Surveillance, by definition, is the act of carefully watching someone or something especially in order to prevent or detect a crime. If that definition was used when discussing the issue of government surveillance, most public safety activities,…
Surprisingly, other countries have spied for security, but also to gain an advantage in business or against domestic political challenges. Britain is defending itself against charges that it spied on Belgian firms. There is no question that the United STates faces very real security threats, and some spying is necessary and justified. There were reports alleging that U.S. spying reached into the activities of America's allies, including German Chancellor Angela Merke. Merkel called Obama, who denied the accusations, saying the United States "is not monitoring and will not monitor" her communications.…