Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act was allowed to expire thanks to Rand Paul's objection to the vote on the U.S.A. Freedom Act compromise passed by the House. Some in the Republican party have predicted doom if this happened. We're now on day two of no Sec 215 and are still alive.
PATRIOT Act
Deadline Looms for Patriot Act
In a few days, we commemorate the 71st anniversary of Normandy landings known as "D-day". On that day, thousands of Americans risked all so our rights here at home would not be lost to an evil adversary who would have done away with them. Today marks another "D-Day" of sorts, a day not nearly as dramatic or dangerous, but one that will require some of our fellow Americans to show courage and a willingness to sacrifice themselves for our rights.
Mass Data Collection Discussed
When I saw the Privacy & Civil Liberty Oversight Board was going to hold a public discussion at the National Constitution Center I was very interested. Our First and Fourth Amendment rights are very much in the news with mass data collection being declared illegal by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month, and the PATRIOT is set to expire at the end of the month.