Obama seeks longer PATRIOT Act extension than Republicans By Stephen C. Webster, Raw Story Wednesday, February 9th, 2011 While many in his own party opposed the PATRIOT Act outright, as president Obama has said repeatedly that the emergency measures remain a valuable tool for law enforcement engaged in national security prerogatives. The move was likely aimed at avoiding the potential conflation of national security legislation and an election year's hyper-partisan atmosphere. The House voted last night 277 to 148 in favor of the single-year PATRIOT Act extension, falling 23 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass it. Some two dozen tea party-backed Republican freshmen ended up joining with a majority of Democrats in voting against it. The power-shift caught Republican leadership off guard. Even after keeping the 15-minute vote open far longer than the rules permitted, they did not have a two-thirds majority. Some suggested that the House's most liberal member, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), might have played a role in the sudden spurt of rebellion. He issued a challenge on Tuesday aimed at Tea Party Caucus members in the House, urging them to join him in standing up for civil liberties by resisting the PATRIOT Act's extension. "I am hopeful that members of the Tea Party who came to Congress to defend the Constitution will join me in challenging the reauthorization," he wrote. While the brief alliance might not be enough to stave off the extension, as the PATRIOT Act was expected to return after its unexpected defeat, it could be the first inklings of a political common ground between libertarian-leaning tea party Republicans and progressive Democrats, especially since both groups are largely seen as disillusioned with the two-party system and partisan gridlock. The only significant proposal to reform the PATRIOT Act came from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who proposed last month that Congress add greater judicial oversight to the bill. Leahy's bill would have also extended the PATRIOT Act's powers until 2013, shifting the extension away from 2012's election season. When the act was first signed into law, "sunset" provisions were employed to quiet the concerns of civil libertarians, who were largely ignored once Congress set about on their successive extensions of the emergency powers. Unfortunately, the concerns of civil libertarians proved to be well founded, and a 2008 Justice Department report confirmed that the FBI regularly abused their ability to obtain personal records of Americans without a warrant. The only real sign of strong opposition to the act was in 2005, when a Democratic threat to filibuster its first renewal was overcome by Senate Republicans. With prior reporting by Daniel Tencer and David Edwards. >From Citizens for Legitimate Government 09 Feb 2011 _http://www.legitgov.org_ (http://www.legitgov.org/)
False flag alert: _DHS chief: Nation's terror threat may be highest since 9/11_ (http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/02/09/terror.threat/) --DHS: State and local law enforcement officers are needed to combat terror; focus must be on aiding law enforcement to help them 'secure communities' 09 Feb 2011 The terrorist threat to the U.S. homeland has continued to "evolve" and may now "be at its most heightened state" since the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told members of Congress on Wednesday. There is an increased reliance on recruiting Westerners into terrorist organizations, she told the House Homeland Security Committee. _Patriot Act extension to be brought up again on Thursday_ (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2011/02/patriot-act-extension-to-be-br.html) 09 Feb 2011 The House on Thursday will again take up a [controversial] bill that would extend until December key provisions of the Patriot Act counterterrorism surveillance law, two days after the _measure fell seven votes short_ (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/08/AR201102080634 5.html) of the super-majority required for passage under fast-track rules. The bill will be brought up again under a "closed rule," meaning that no amendments can be offered. It will need only a simple majority to pass instead of the two-thirds that was required on Tuesday. ['The House on Thursday will again take up a bill that would extend until December key provisions of the Patriot Act counterterrorism surveillance law...' --That's *controversial* Patriot Act counterterrorism surveillance law. I notice the lamestream media typically adds the adjective 'controversial' to any bill/efforts that impinge -- even for the breadth of six molecules -- on any US efforts to wage war or effect corpora-terrorist rule. However, in the case of the 'PATRIOT' Act, reporters and bloggers did not add it. --LRP] _Patriot Act extension fails in the House by seven votes_ (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/08/AR2011020806345.html) --GOP-controlled House plans to bring measure back 08 Feb 2011 House Republicans suffered an embarrassing setback Tuesday when they fell seven votes short of extending provisions of the Patriot Act, a vote that served as the first small uprising of the party's tea-party bloc. With most Democrats opposing the extension, the _final tally_ (http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/112/house/1/votes/26/) was 277 members in favor of extension, and 148 opposed. The Republicans who control the House made plans to bring the measure back for a quick vote later this month under normal rules, requiring only a simple majority for passage. _Homegrown terror plots focus of hearings_ (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/sc-dc-0209-terror-hearings-20110208,0,5225542.story) --The House Homeland Security Committee will open hearings Wednesday into the domestic terror threat in the U.S. 08 Feb 2011 From May 2009 to last November, authorities broke up 22 homegrown terror plots, compared with 21 during the previous eight years. The House Homeland Security Committee opens hearings Wednesday into the terrorist threat in the United States. 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