Patriot Act allows searches of your medical records.

[kpete]

Did Rush See THIS:


Medical privacy act a must-read
The section of the Patriot Act allows the government to request private information without consent.
BY JOY BUCHANAN
247-4744
December 29, 2005
On your last doctor's visit you might have gotten a pamphlet about medical privacy that you didn't read.

You should have.

The pamphlet briefly explains how the doctor or hospital might give the federal government private information about you even if the government has no warrant or probable cause. The doctor does not need your consent to release the information and federal law forbids your doctor from telling you about it.

The controversial Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which recently was extended through January, allows the FBI to request copies of personal information "to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities." Some interpret personal information to include churches, temples or mosques you attended, library books you have borrowed, and your phone records and medical files. A "gag order" in the law prohibits the agency or individual that released the information from telling anyone.

http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-46114sy0dec29,0,4956095.story?coll=dp-widget-news

[Selteri]

1. Guess Rush is fighting against that somehow then NT

[Crazy Dave]

2. You beat me to it Selteri

[TheFarseer]

3. Tell me how that protects us from terrorists?

If you needed kidney dialysis you might be Osama in disguise?

[rkc3]

4. You'd think your proctologist would report finding an AAMRAM missile

during your last check up anyway.

Unless of course your doctor was a terrorist too.

[MountainLaurel]

5. Thank you

After reading that line, I sprayed half-chewed apple chunks all over my desk and monitor.

[rkc3]

7. I almost forgot the punch line - Forget the missile, read the card.

I'm here to help.

[area51]

14. proctologist

Actually, I was hoping the proctologist would find where republinazi heads are. :evilgrin:

[rkc3]

16. The technical term is cranio-rectal inversion.

[MountainLaurel]

6. A few random thoughts

I'm a librarian by trade and have been focused on the freedom of information aspects of Section 215 and hadn't thought about the other types of information that could be accessed. The first thing that comes to mind, however, is that the Soviets used to put dissidents in mental institutions, claiming that they were mad. I wonder if the U.S. might do this in reverse, using the fact that one has sought mental health treatment as a way to discredit people speaking out, saying something along the lines of "You can't trust Howard Dean, he's on 40 mg of Prozac a day."

Thoughts, or am I just paranoid?

[converted_democrat]

8. I think you're on the money....n/t

[countingbluecars]

9. I think this government would-

with or without the Patriot Act. I wonder if the insurance companies would be as compliant as the telephone companies?

[neweurope]

10. I don't think you are paranoid. I've been thinking along these

lines since I first read up about the Patriot act. I rather think, though, that they will order "dissidents" to take meds in order to shut them up. Isn't that "no child left behind"-thing (or whatever that Republican Paul is fighting against) all about forcing medication on children even if the parents don't want to?

And children are supposed to be just the beginning.

There must be this or a similar reasion for it. Your medical records certainly won't help find "terrorists".

---------------

Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

[wtmusic]

11. Nope -- requires a warrant from a judge

`(b) Each application under this section--

`(1) shall be made to--

`(A) a judge of the court established by section 103(a); or

`(B) a United States Magistrate Judge under chapter 43 of title 28, United States Code, who is publicly designated by the Chief Justice of the United States to have the power to hear applications and grant orders for the production of tangible things under this section on behalf of a judge of that court; and

`(2) shall specify that the records concerned are sought for an authorized investigation conducted in accordance with subsection (a)(2) to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities.

http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html

Designation of judges:

The Chief Justice of the United States shall publicly designate 11 district court judges from seven of the United States judicial circuits of whom no fewer than 3 shall reside within 20 miles of the District of Columbia who shall constitute a court which shall have jurisdiction to hear applications for and grant orders approving electronic surveillance anywhere within the United States under the procedures set forth in this chapter

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode50/usc_sec_50_00001803----000-.html

[area51]

13. warrant?

Bush has already shown that he doesn't need any warrants.

[wtmusic]

15. agree

just because USA PATRIOT is written to require it, doesn't mean anyone in this criminal cabal will abide by it

[Kansas Wyatt]

12. So the Federal (NSA) Government can assess how their "black projects"

Are containing and eliminating dissent from United States Citizens.

Slowly kill them off, or quickly kill them off?

Welcome to the U.S.S.R., that 'Boogieman' your government warned you about in school, during the Cold War.