Time to say "No More" with regard to the "Patriot Act"

Scott Tibbs
Bloomington Herald-Times,
May 20, 2003

Time to say "No More" with regard to the "Patriot Act"

To the editor:

I respect and admire President Bush, and I am thankful for his leadership in the War on Terror. I voted for President Bush in 2000 and will do so again in 2004.

But I am concerned about the erosion of civil liberties under the so-called "Patriot Act", as well as the proposed "Domestic Security Enhancement Act", or "Patriot II". These acts restrict civil liberties too much in the effort to protect us from those who hate freedom. For more information on the "Patriot Act" and its follow-up, please visit www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/ and www.gunowners.org

Benjamin Franklin once said, "Those who would give up a fundamental Liberty to purchase a little temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety". Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey and Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly have recently warned against the dangers of restricting civil liberties.

Disgraced ex-President Clinton had 900 FBI files in the White House under suspicious circumstances and used the Internal Revenue Service to harass conservative groups opposed to him. If someone like Clinton were elected again, the prospect of that person with the augmented powers of "Patriot Act" and the DSEA is frightening.

I urge the Bloomington City Council to pass a resolution opposing the Patriot Act. It is the duty of government at all levels to stand against infringements on the liberty of its citizens, and putting teeth in a resolution would directly relate to city business. The federal government is too big and too powerful already. It is time to say "no more".