If This 'Doesn't Give You Chills I Don't Know What Will': McConnell Patriot Act Expansion Would Hand

[Judi Lynn]

Published on
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
by Common Dreams

If This 'Doesn't Give You Chills I Don't Know What Will': McConnell Patriot Act Expansion Would Hand AG Barr Unprecedented Spy Powers

"These amendments would pretty much guarantee the ability of an incumbent administration to spy on its political opponents without consequence."

by Julia Conley, staff writer

Sen. Ron Wyden was joined by privacy advocates Wednesday in forcefully condemning a new proposed amendment to the PATRIOT Act put forward by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that would greatly expand the U.S. attorney general's surveillance powers under FISA.

McConnell's amendment, which the Senate began debating Wednesday as lawmakers took up the reauthorization of the 2001 PATRIOT Act, would explicitly permit the FBI to collect records of Americans' internet search and browsing histories without a warrant. It would also mandate that Attorney General William Barr, and his successors, conduct an annual review of the FBI's submissions into the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court.

Barr would be permitted to review for "accuracy and completeness" evidence presented to the FISA Court by the FBI regarding potential surveillance targets.

"Under the McConnell amendment, Barr gets to look through the web browsing history of any American—including journalists, politicians, and political rivals—without a warrant, just by saying it is relevant to an investigation," Wyden told the Daily Beast this week, before speaking out against the amendment on the Senate floor.

More:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/13/if-doesnt-give-you-chills-i-dont-know-what-will-mcconnell-patriot-act-expansion

[alwaysinasnit]

1. K&R Thanks for posting.

[cayugafalls]

2. Get yourself a VPN...nt

[niyad]

12. What is a Vpn?

[padfun]

13. Virtual Private Network

You've been in isolation WAY too long.

[niyad]

23. I am not exactly a techie. Had never even heard of zoom before shutdown.

[cayugafalls]

22. Virtual Private Network. A way to hide your actual IP address.

Your IP address is how you are tracked on the internet. The best VPN's will not log any details and provide a secure and encrypted connection to the internet. Encryption masks all your data by scrambling (encrypting) the raw data, they are fairly hard to break.

Since every connection (router, cable box, etc...) has an exposed IP, your personal data can been traced back to you if you do not use a VPN.

[niyad]

25. How does one acquire such?

[cayugafalls]

31. They are easy to acquire. Here is an article rating some VPN's.

It is a good article and their top pick is a really good VPN. Their second pick is really good too! Actually anything in the top 10 is a good choice. You do have to pay for the service. Free services are available, but not highly recommended.

https://www.techradar.com/vpn/best-vpn

[HuskyOffset]

32. and encrypted DNS (NT)

[Iliyah]

3. That would pertain to whomever that next DOJ is . ..

Nevertheless hopefully it will not pass.

[woodsprite]

6. They're not planning on there being a "next AG" that isn't appointed by the GOP or Putin. nt

[Iliyah]

8. I know, they are trying to steal it outright. . .

[Runningdawg]

4. Go ahead - hand BIDEN'S AG enough power to send the rest of you to jail. But I have to ask -

does anyone believe they don't already spy on whoever they want, in whatever manner they want? My expectation of privacy died when I traded my first DNA sample for a job 30 years ago.

[Thekaspervote]

14. +1000

[CaptYossarian]

21. Trump and Barr don't plan on leaving.

Even if he loses 127 million to 5, he'll claim "fraud" and have Barr conduct a 4-year investigation.

Either that or the always reliable Supreme Court will elect another piss-poor president against the peoples' wishes.

Expect people to be rioting in their living rooms this November.

[Runningdawg]

35. I expect it to spill into the streets long before then.

[Captain Zero]

29. Right. This would just let them

Introduce it into evidence. Or. As any good oligarch would do, invite the target in for some Blackmail Tea.

[SheltieLover]

5. K&R!

[2naSalit]

7. K&R

[Ilsa]

9. But meanwhile, they are naming intel officers

who unmasked Flynn, and want to charge Obama, Biden, and Obama's AGs with TREASON. Yeah, I heard Malcolm Nance say that a short-timer in the White House recently said that the trump admin was looking at charging them with treason.

[Thekaspervote]

15. Sure.. good luck with that

[Ilsa]

24. It's certainly a ploy to frame the election,

but twitler's love of revenge knows no bounds.

[LiberalArkie]

10. In other words, trying to put the FBI and others back to the J. Edgar Hoover style of justice

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. Warrantless internet searches is more tyranny than any stay-at-home order. . . . nt

[erronis]

18. But the low-IQ trump-like cretins can't parse this w/o fux telling them what it does(n't) mean.

Their (plutos, putins) MO is to hold onto the rabid 30+% and threaten the rest of the country with violence if they go to the polls.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

19. Yes. Just tell them that their porn searches can be used as deep-state blackmail against them. . .nt

[erronis]

26. For most of them (including el duce) searching for pr0n is a badge of honor. I'm guessing

that they don't have a very 'satisfying' life at home. Unless they raise livestock....

[flying_wahini]

16. And when Barr is thrown In jail and we are in charge they will all be screaming about how the

Democratic Party is spying on them.

[flying_wahini]

17. Barr is probably already doing this, my guess.

[HuskyOffset]

33. There's no way they'll scream about the "Democratic Party" doing anything

It'd be "Democrat Party", because Republicans can't grammar (among many other shortcomings)

[tom_kelly]

20. I assume Barr has been doing this for a while now. nt

[erronis]

28. If not Barr in his guise as AG, then Barr and the Opus Dei / plutocrats / 5-Eyes / Israelis / ...

Ain't no secret that's too unimportant to not be "hoovered" up. (J Edgar?)

Google/Apple/ISPs/networks/VZW/ATT/AMZ/IoT - we have you COVERED.

We all have a GUID attached to us around this world.

[niyad]

27. KNR. The pro-putin death cult must be pretty damned confident they are not going anywhere

to put their bs out in the open like this.

I have this revolting image of chinless turtle gleefully rubbing his hands, and sneering.

[Jim__]

30. The House would have to agree?

I doubt the House Dems will give Barr any more power.

[BComplex]

34. CALL. YOUR. LAWMAKERS: SENATORS. REPRESENTATIVES.

Not only do we no longer need the fucking patriot act, we sure as hell don't need the McConnell amendment.

[Evolve Dammit]

36. Drumpf has been saying he's "learned a lot from Nixon lately."

[wnylib]

37. The House will never allow this.

[Rebl2]

39. Would this

also have to pass the house?

[Mr. Evil]

40. McConnell and the rest of the republican traitors must truly believe

that President Nazivomit, Barr and himself will live and rule forever. I hope after the Biden landslide that he appoints Adam Schiff as AG and lets him loose to indict each and every one of these lowlifes. They are the enemies of the US!

[Martin Eden]

41. Vlad gave Moscow Mitch some marching orders

Putin will now have more tools & intel for his assault on American democracy.

[dalton99a]

42. Kick