PATRIOT Act Goes to Court

Hey! A US district court struck down part of the PATRIOT Act! Alright!

Reuters says:
"Part of the PATRIOT Act, a central plank in the Bush Adinistration's war on terror, was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge on Wednesday.
"U.S. District Judge Victor Marreo ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged the power the FBI has to demand confidential financial records from companies as part of terrorism investigations.
"The ruling was the latest blow to the Bush administration's anti-terrorism policies."

Like the article says, a blow to the Bush administration, and a welcome one. I don’t see how anyone could deny at this point that George W. Bush is anything but a liberty-hating creep. God, I hope he loses by a landslide. Say, I wonder who wrote that particular section of the PATRIOT Act anyway...?

“Meanwhile, [Democratic candidate for President, Sen. John] Kerry continues to support intrusive efforts to stamp out money laundering. His campaign statement points out that Kerry ‘authored most of the money laundering provisions’ in PATRIOT. Those provisions were largely based on an old money laundering bill that Kerry had introduced and which was opposed by economic conservatives and the ACLU. Kerry and other Democrats insisted that the money laundering provisions be attached to the PATRIOT Act. An October 2001 Associated Press article quoted Kerry as accusing Republicans of trying to remove the provisions ‘by fiat.’ The article noted that Kerry ‘underlined the political influence of Texas bankers.’
“The money laundering provisions, which became Title III of the PATRIOT Act, are some of the most privacy-threatening aspects of the bill. (See ‘Show Us Your Money,’ November 2003) They go beyond the ‘Know Your Customer’ rules of the late 1990s, bringing real estate brokers, travel agents, auto dealers, and various other businesses under the rubric of ‘financial institutions’ that must monitor their customers and file ‘suspicious activity reports’ on deviations from customers’ normal patterns.
“It was the Title III money laundering provisions that the FBI used in the much-criticized Operation G-String, an investigation of a strip club owner in Las Vegas accused of bribing local officials. The case had nothing to do with terrorism. Kerry - whose provisions allowed it to happen - has not cited this operation as one of Ashcroft’s abuses, even though other Democrats have.” (Reason, Oct. 2004, p31, all links mine)

Don’t forget to go out and vote on Nov. 2nd!