Brian W. Carver -- Share Alike

Patriot II Provision Passes Congress --Surprise!

So, you don't like the vast expansions of power that Patriot II would have granted Ashcroft & Co without any judicial oversight? Fine, we won't pass Patriot II, we'll just sneak its provisions into Intelligence Spending Bills when you're not looking!

The lack of accountability for the bills our Congress passes is astonishing. I would not be surprised if it never comes out who covertly added this provision to this bill. This is the same scenario as when a provision excusing pharmaceutical companies from liability (despite litigation already in progress!) for autism potentially caused by vaccines was slipped into a Homeland Security Bill on the sly. Republican Dick Armey eventually fessed up and there was such an outcry the provision was later removed.

It's time for a similar outcry regarding this drastic change in the scope of the unsupervised, unchecked, and unconstitutional surveillance powers that the Ashcroft regime seems committed to enact despite public opposition.

Write your congresscritters and let them know that you'd at least like them to debate taking away your privacy and civil liberties before they do it.

Update: If you'd like to read exactly how the definition of "financial institution" was updated. See, the text of the bill. Which merely refers you to 31 USC Section 5312(a)(2) which says,

(2) "financial institution" means--
(A) an insured bank (as defined in section 3(h) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(h)));
(B) a commercial bank or trust company;
(C) a private banker;
(D) an agency or branch of a foreign bank in the United States;
(E) any credit union;
(F) a thrift institution;
(G) a broker or dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.);
(H) a broker or dealer in securities or commodities;
(I) an investment banker or investment company;
(J) a currency exchange;
(K) an issuer, redeemer, or cashier of travelers' checks, checks, money orders, or similar instruments;
(L) an operator of a credit card system;
(M) an insurance company;
(N) a dealer in precious metals, stones, or jewels;
(O) a pawnbroker;
(P) a loan or finance company;
(Q) a travel agency;
(R) a licensed sender of money or any other person who engages as a business in the transmission of funds, including any person who engages as a business in an informal money transfer system or any network of people who engage as a business in facilitating the transfer of money domestically or internationally outside of the conventional financial institutions system;
(S) a telegraph company;
(T) a business engaged in vehicle sales, including automobile, airplane, and boat sales;
(U) persons involved in real estate closings and settlements;
(V) the United States Postal Service;
(W) an agency of the United States Government or of a State or local government carrying out a duty or power of a business described in this paragraph;
(X) a casino, gambling casino, or gaming establishment with an annual gaming revenue of more than $1,000,000 which--
(i) is licensed as a casino, gambling casino, or gaming establishment under the laws of any State or any political subdivision of any State; or
(ii) is an Indian gaming operation conducted under or pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act other than an operation which is limited to class I gaming (as defined in section 4(6) of such Act);
(Y) any business or agency which engages in any activity which the Secretary of the Treasury determines, by regulation, to be an activity which is similar to, related to, or a substitute for any activity in which any business described in this paragraph is authorized to engage; or
(Z) any other business designated by the Secretary whose cash transactions have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory matters.