Greetings, patriots.
Regrettably, I was unable to write or post anything last week due to a hectic schedule. However, it is good to be back this week, as there is plenty to be covered.
Most notable, I think, is the recent passage of HR 3361, also known as the "USA Freedom Act" (or "Freedom Act" for short). It passed in the U.S. House of Representatives two days ago and will now be headed to the Senate for a vote and, if adopted, will then head to President Obama's desk for signature. Here is a copy of the bill's text.
http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/3361
Many are already applauding this measure as a step in the right direction for NSA reform, reining in of the 2005 Patriot Act, and a return to constitutional fidelity pertaining to the Fourth Amendment. And in some ways, this is accurate. However, in no way should this be looked at as a final step toward righting the wrongs perpetrated on the American people and their liberties since 9/11.
For one, the bill does not go far enough. Governments can still gain access to phone records as long as they do not do it in bulk and only, for example, limit data collection to a specific geographical area. This is a classic example of an "end run" strategy around the law. "We may not be able to get ALL the data from across the country," a government official may reason, "but we can certainly get all of it from a particular area code in the Pacific Northwest." Additionally, the bill extends the life of the Patriot Act through 2017, as opposed to 2015, as the original bill stipulated.
I suppose it would be easy, at this point, to adopt a "gloom and doom" mentality in the wake of these developments. And indeed anytime a curtailment of liberty takes place, it is a cause for some consternation. However, in my estimation, there is reason to be optimistic here; most notably because of the principled leadership and conviction being demonstrated by Representative Justin Amash (R-MI), who co-sponsored the original bill. Amash has made no bones about his opposition to the version that the House just passed, calling it "shameful" and drawing a clear distinction between it and the original text. His remarks can be seen in their entirety here, as well as on Amash's personal Facebook page:
http://personalliberty.com/co-sponsor-justin-amash-slams-house-approval-watered-nsa-reform-bill/
In short, while lovers of individual liberty should be unhappy about passage of the USA Freedom Act, we should also simultaneously draw our attention to the words and actions of leaders like Justin Amash. At 34 years of age, Amash is certainly one of the younger members of Congress and, thus, someone who, in years to come, is likely to be a prominent figure within the Republican Party, if not Congress as a whole. His devotion to policies that favor limited government and individual liberty is matched only by a level of transparency only rarely seen from any political figure. Amash regularly posts his votes to his Facebook page and, at this point, seems thoroughly committed to actually REPRESENTING and serving the people who sent him to Washington, D.C.
To be clear, this is not a wholesale endorsement of Justin Amash. Granted, he has only been in Congress a short time and, let's face it, Washington, D.C. has a way of corrupting people. Thus, one can only hope that Amash stays on the path that he's been on so far and will go the way of Ron Paul, rather than that of John Boehner. However, his personal stand taken against NSA, the Freedom Act, and government curtailment of individual liberty should be applauded and watched closely. If he continues to do what he has been doing, he could very well be the face of the liberty movement going forward; which could be a tremendous shot in the arm for those of us who value freedom.
These are dark days for liberty, but the future may be brighter than we think, thanks to men like Justin Amash.
Praesant Libero.
-Warren Brisbane.
No comments:
Post a Comment