Monday May 28, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

House rejects extensions of Patriot Act provisions in U.S.

World Feb. 09, 2011 - 02:51PM JST ( 20 )

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20 Comments

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SushiSake3Feb. 09, 2011 - 04:35PM JST

No, wait…this has to be a mistake!

Americans need to be under 25/7 surveillance and have people able to monitor their phones around the clock because….it makes America safer!
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manfromamericaFeb. 09, 2011 - 04:43PM JST

Americans need to be under 25/7 surveillance and have people able to monitor their phones around the clock because….it makes America safer!

Mine weren't being monitored. Were yours?
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The_TrueFeb. 09, 2011 - 04:44PM JST

The Land of the FREE!!! yeah right FREDOM!!!

hahahaha
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SushiSake3Feb. 09, 2011 - 04:50PM JST

manfromamerica - "Mine weren't being monitored."

How do you know? Do you think they would actually like tell you??
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SolidariTeaFeb. 09, 2011 - 05:28PM JST

Obama and Napolitano's decision to make the TSA grope your kids brought this about.

Funny tho to see ppl (foreigners no less) like suushisake3, who constantly argues for huge and intrusive gubmint, pretend that they are happy for Americans, when in fact ss3 loathes Americans.
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SushiSake3Feb. 09, 2011 - 05:53PM JST

SolidariTea - "who constantly argues for huge and intrusive gubmint"

I argue for more government regulation largely because the basketcase that is today's American economy is the result of not enough of it.

This is in line with the opinions of the vast majority of credible economists.

Do you have a probelem with that analysis?
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SolidariTeaFeb. 09, 2011 - 06:34PM JST

I argue for more government regulation largely because the basketcase that is today's American economy is the result of not enough of it.

No you don't.As sailwind pointed out you have one standard for America and one for the rest of the world.

This is in line with the opinions of the vast majority of credible economists

I see you cannot name them though.
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smithinjapanFeb. 09, 2011 - 07:33PM JST

SolidariTea: "Funny tho to see ppl (foreigners no less) like suushisake3, who constantly argues for huge and intrusive gubmint, pretend that they are happy for Americans, when in fact ss3 loathes Americans."

Whenever down our old friend can always fall back on his 'non-American opinions are irrelevant' argument, when in fact it takes non-Americans to point out to ultra-right nuts how utterly against common sense so much of their thinking and legislature is.

It cracks me up how many of the Republicans who led the vote for these extensions seriously miscalculated and had it all backfire. Chalk up a big win for civil liberties, and a loss to the Communist-like loss of freedom and for the invasion of personal lives the Republican government wants to press on Americans under the guise of 'freedum' and 'democracy'.
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BadseyFeb. 09, 2011 - 08:29PM JST

I am very happy that Legislators have rejected these Patriot Act provisions -keep up the good work and I would like to see the whole Patriot act expunged.

-The "Fusion Centers" or "Threat Fusion Centers" monitor data/voice/video communication 24hrs a day and you are put into a FEMA region/zone. Cell/Internet/xBox/videogame/computer cams/audio -already watching and recording the "terrorists"
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ThonTaddeoFeb. 09, 2011 - 09:41PM JST

Good going, House.

Now work on getting the rest of it to expire.
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SushiSake3Feb. 09, 2011 - 10:05PM JST

I find the funny thing about conservative Americans is that - using SolidariTea's words - conservative Americans don't want "huge and intrusive gubmint" until they do want "huge and intrusive gubmint."

smithinjapan - "it takes non-Americans to point out to ultra-right nuts how utterly against common sense so much of their thinking and legislature is."

I find this a bit sad, don't you?

You and I are not at the coalface of a constantly falling America, and yet you and I tend to see things a lot clearer than people who are.
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smithinjapanFeb. 09, 2011 - 10:13PM JST

SushiSake: "You and I are not at the coalface of a constantly falling America, and yet you and I tend to see things a lot clearer than people who are."

It is indeed sad, but to be fair it's not limited to the US -- the people there in many cases are just a whole lot more in denial than other nations, and hell-bent on seeing their nation go down in flames (they just call it 'patriotism', and if you question it you're 'socialist').

Take Japan, for example, as another nation in which it's completely clear to pretty much any foreigner what should be done, but when certain parties can't argue back sound reasons why they do/don't do something, they ultimately just say, "You are not Japanese..." and when you point out the flaw in that 'reasoning' they say, "If you don't like it, leave".

Anyway, the Patriot Act was a joke to begin with, and passed without most people even bothering to look at it because of the fear mongering used to get it passed. If you raised a fuss you were 'supporting terrorism' and not a patriot.... really quite childish.
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Taka313Feb. 09, 2011 - 10:22PM JST

So...26 members of the republican party learned to read. Good for them.

Taka
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sailwindFeb. 09, 2011 - 10:53PM JST

Whenever down our old friend can always fall back on his 'non-American opinions are irrelevant' argument, when in fact it takes non-Americans to point out to ultra-right nuts how utterly against common sense so much of their thinking and legislature is.

You folks do realize it was those ultra-right wing nuts that killed it from being passed.

Nine freshmen and three inaugural members of the House Tea Party Caucus cast votes against a proposed extension of three Patriot Act provisions Tuesday night, helping block the measure from passage under fast-track rules…

Those [Republicans] who voted no Tuesday night included Roscoe G. Bartlett (Md.), Paul Broun (Ga.) and Walter B. Jones (N.C.), all of whom were original members of the House Tea Party Caucus when it was founded last summer.

Guess they do mean it when they want less Government in our lives after all.
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RomeoRamenIIFeb. 09, 2011 - 10:59PM JST

So...26 members of the republican party learned to read. Good for them.

Heh, a democrat-controlled Congress passed the extension unchanged in 2009 and Obama signed it.

RR
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SushiSake3Feb. 09, 2011 - 11:30PM JST

GOP lost healthcare, unemployment extension, START II missile pact, DADT, financial industry regulation overhaul, and now this.

What a thumping in only 12 months.
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smithinjapanFeb. 09, 2011 - 11:30PM JST

RomeoRamen: "Heh, a democrat-controlled Congress passed the extension unchanged in 2009 and Obama signed it."

And how about now... you know... the thread at hand? :) So much for trying to come off smug.

sailwind: "You folks do realize it was those ultra-right wing nuts that killed it from being passed."

Point of order: they HELPED to kill it. As Taka13 said, "So...26 members of the republican party learned to read. Good for them." Obviously those 26 are not against common sense, and so do not fit into the category I rightly put the others in -- like the ones who tried to pass the extensions. Boy that egg must be hard to wipe off.
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donkusaiFeb. 10, 2011 - 12:36AM JST

The Democrats and the Tea Party members joining forces to defeat the mainstream Republicans... sounds like a working democracy to me.
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TheQuestionFeb. 10, 2011 - 07:35AM JST

Good. It should have never been passed in the first place and should never have been extended. Both parties have been passing this monstrosity for years and a wonderful twist of shortsightedness finally killed it. I can only hope the rest of the provisions will fall through in time.

This is in line with the opinions of the vast majority of credible economists.

I take issue with that. Buffett, Shleifer, Armey, Stein, and other notable economist seem to think that the U.S governments mismanagement and overregulation of U.S industry has created an environment in which the large corporate entities you seem to hate so much are virtually unassailable. This is thanks in large part to regulations passed by both democrats and republicans in roughly equal measure over the last 20 years or so. Current and proposed regulations only serve to protect the interests of the large corporations by making it increasingly difficult to take away their market share.

The only economists that I can think of that support the kind of fire, ready, aim regulation coming out of the white house the past few years are all on the government's payroll.

Obviously those 26 are not against common sense, and so do not fit into the category I rightly put the others in

So you're judgments solely based on party politics are always right up until someone acts like a person and screws it up? Pretty lousy way to judge people.
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SolidariTeaFeb. 10, 2011 - 05:46PM JST

I 'd have to call this another victory for the Tea Party.Mainstream repubs hate the Libertarian edge.But they - and the democrat party - had better get used to it.