http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=28067
Bob Barr and Friends Strike Back At Patriot Act
Interview by William Fisher
NEW YORK, Mar 29 (IPS) -
In a political environment more fractious than Washington has seen in
over a decade, there are still signs that left and right can find
common ground.
A current example is a coalition of conservative interest groups that
has joined forces with the American Civil Liberties Union and similar
organisations to press for changes in the USA Patriot Act, which gave
law enforcement and security agencies sweeping new powers in the wake
of the Sep. 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York and Washington.
Under the leadership of former Congressman Bob Barr, a conservative
Republican from Georgia, the new group, Patriots to Restore Checks and
Balances (PCRB), will work to revise the most extreme provisions of
the law -- like those allowing federal agents to secretly collect
medical and library records and to search peoples' homes without any
notification, a practice known as "sneak and peek".
The coalition includes Americans for Tax Reform, the American
Conservative Union (ACLU), the American Association of Physicians and
Surgeons, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Policy
Center, the Citizens' Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms,
the Eagle Forum, and the Second Amendment Foundation.
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Strange bedfellows indeed. But I guess this is what it takes to
forestall the rise of Bush's brand of American fascism.
Harry
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