Maybe it would help if people would read the
Wikipedia entry on the USA PATRIOT Act. It tells both sides of the story and explains why Jose Padilla is in custody.
It seems to me that the criticisms of the Act are mostly fears about what might potentially happen, rather than actual problems. As the second article said, if there are actual problems, we should go ahead and fix them. But if there are no problems, then let's look at the Act as a good thing which takes the handcuffs off of law enforcement and allows them to do their jobs more efficiently. And when we are trying to protect our citizens against terrorist acts, law enforcement needs all the help it can get.
