Sebate votes no for cloture, Patriot Act hanging

The Senate has just voted no for cloture on the patriot act leaving 3 options.
Patriot Act will expire in twoseeks.
Patriot Act can be extended for 3 months.
Patriot Act can be extended for 1 year.
Bush says no to extensions.

We have more to fear from terrorism than we do from this Patriot Act," Frist warned.


If the Patriot Act provisions expire, Republicans say they will place the blame on Democrats in next year's midterm elections. "In the war on terror, we cannot afford to be without these vital tools for a single moment," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. "The time for Democrats to stop standing in the way has come."

Bush Authorized Domestic Spying
Post-9/11 Order Bypassed Special Court

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 16, 2005; Page A01

President Bush signed a secret order in 2002 authorizing the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens and foreign nationals in the United States, despite previous legal prohibitions against such domestic spying, sources with knowledge of the program said last night.

The super-secretive NSA, which has generally been barred from domestic spying except in narrow circumstances involving foreign nationals, has monitored the e-mail, telephone calls and other communications of hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of people under the program, the New York Times disclosed last night.

NBC News reported earlier this week that it had obtained a secret US Department of Defense document that shows the department is now monitoring "peaceful anti-war and counter-military recruitment groups." Today, The Washington Post reports that Pentagon officials say they will review the program, since NBC's document shows that information has been collected on "peace protesters and others whose activities posed no threat and should not have been kept on file." Pentagon officials say the information collection was aimed at countering terrorism.

Huh!

sorry stevepax, it appear we were on at the same time, I am just slower, I guess.