Vote on Patriot Act Today!

Late yesterday, Campaign for Liberty learned that House leadership attached a provision to the Continuing Resolution (CR) extending the USA Freedom Act (the phony “reform” that replaced Section 215 of the so-called PATRIOT Act) until March 15, 2020.

The CR must pass Congress this week to avoid a government shutdown.

And leadership is rushing this bill to the floor — in violation of House rules — to vote on it today.

Why is Congress in such a hurry to extend the misnamed USA Freedom Act?

Well, the “official” explanation is to give Congress more time to work on a “compromise” reform bill.

But it’s more likely the surveillance state’s congressional lackeys are delaying the final vote until closer to the election — so representatives will be too scared of being smeared as “soft on terror” to vote against renewing this unconstitutional program.

So please call your U.S. Representative immediately at 202-224-3121 and tell them to vote NO on the Continuing Resolution.

And please spread the word about this vote on social media and make sure your pro-liberty friends and family know they should contact their representatives.

Congress should not need five months to determine whether or not to renew the USA Freedom Act.

Eighteen years after a panicked Congress rushed the PATRIOT Act into law and five years after a majority of Congress bought the lie that the USA Freedom Act limited mass surveillance, one thing is clear:

The PATRIOT Act and its successor the USA Freedom Act trade real liberty for illusionary security. . .

In fact, these programs have never stopped a single terrorist attack!

What these programs are effective at is letting federal snoops collect data on all of your phone calls, tweets, Facebook posts, and even selfies.

The surveillance state’s crown jewel is Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act. This is the section that permits the National Security Agency (NSA) to collect every American’s call records.

Last year alone, the NSA used Section 215 to collect phone records on approximately 10 million Americans — giving government agents access to intimate details of the lives of Americans who have never been accused or suspected of any crime, much less of involvement in terrorism.

With Attorney General Bill Barr launching a new “precrime” initiative to identify potential domestic terrorists, federal agents will have new justification to use Section 215 against those who support the Constitution, limited government, a constitutional foreign policy, and sound money.

It’s more important than ever that we repeal Section 215 and the rest of the misnamed “USA Freedom Act” NOW!

So please call your U.S. Representative immediately at 202-224-3121 and tell them to vote NO on the Continuing Resolution.

No government in the history of mankind — not even the Communist East German Stasi of yesteryear — has ever held the massive spying power our federal government holds over law-abiding U.S. citizens today. . .

And no government in world history that’s ever sought this power has even been able to avoid the temptation for abuse.

Just since the lid was blown off our federal government’s domestic surveillance programs in the summer of 2013, we’ve seen story after story hit the press regarding NSA abuses, including:

***  NSA employees spying on ex-lovers and spouses — a practice so common, the intelligence community has come up with their own jargon, “LOVEINT,” to describe it;

***  REFUSING to say whether or not they spied on members of Congress, which would effectively destroy any ability of our government’s Legislative Branch to police this rogue agency;

***  Effectively GUTTING attorney-client privilege by holding confidential records.

There are literally thousands of examples of abuse.  The FBI has become so emboldened, they’re using DMV photos to launch a massive facial recognition database!

This should be no surprise.  Men aren’t angels. Neither are politicians and government bureaucrats.

What’s made our country the greatest and freest nation in human history is that our Founders created a Constitution that’s limited the power — and therefore the damage — evil men can inflict.

But today, our Constitution’s Fourth Amendment — which protects American citizens’ right to privacy from government — is hanging by nothing but a thread.

And mass surveillance, bulk data collection, warrantless searches, and all the rest of the infringements on liberty inflicted on you and me since 9-11 have not increased safety one iota.

Benjamin Franklin famously said, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”

So, what would Franklin would say about those who trade real liberty for the Deep State’s lies that they are keeping us safe?

You and I must take action.

So please call your U.S. Representative immediately at 202-224-3121 and tell them to vote NO on the Continuing Resolution.

Then share this post with all your pro-liberty friends and family and share it as widely as you can on social media.

Remember, the vote is only a few hours away so there isn’t a moment to lose.