Patriot Act Quotes

• We are expected to believe that anyone who objects to the Department of Homeland Security or the USA Patriot Act is a terrorist, and that the only way to preserve our freedom is to hand it over to the government for safekeeping.

  L. Neil Smith

  Believe, Government, Hands

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• When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they will be stunned and they will be angry.

  Ron Wyden

  Government, People, Patriot

  "Q&A: Senator Ron Wyden on NSA Surveillance and Government Transparency". www.rollingstone.com. August 15, 2013.

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• Today it is becoming harder to speak out, with the inception of the Patriot Act, the president has legislated free speech to be a crime.

  Frank Serpico

  Speaks Out, President, Speech

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• Every American, regardless of their background, has the right to live free of unwarranted government intrusion. Repealing the worst provisions of the Patriot Act will reign in this gross abuse of power and restore to everyone our basic Constitutional rights.

  Pete Stark

  Rights, Government, Abuse

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• Decisive action has been taken on the home front with passage of the USA Patriot Act, which has strengthened the hand of law enforcement agencies to stop terrorists before they can act.

  Roger Wicker

  Taken, Home, America

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• The PATRIOT Act brought down the wall separating intelligence agencies from law enforcement and other entities charged with protecting the Nation from terrorism.

  Chris Chocola

  Wall, Agency, Law

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• The Patriot Act allows and provides a basis for an exchange of information.

  John Ashcroft

  Information, Usa Patriot Act, Bases

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• Prior to the passage of the Patriot Act, it was very difficult - often impossible - for us to share information with the Central Intelligence Agency, with NSA, with the other intelligence agencies, and likewise, for them to share information with us.

  Robert Mueller

  Agency, Nsa, Information

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• I think it's dawning on some Democrats that obstructing the Patriot Act, like they've been obstructing everything else, is bad for them politically.

  Karl Rove

  Thinking, Usa Patriot Act, Democrat

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• One of the first items of Congressional business in 2006 will be an effort to renew the USA Patriot Act.

  Roger Wicker

  Business, Usa, America

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• The Patriot Act closed dangerous gaps in America's law enforcement and intelligence capabilities, gaps that terrorists exploited when they attacked us.

  George W. Bush

  Law, America, Enforcement

  "Supreme Court Nominee Visits President and Lawmakers; President Bush Speaks in Baltimore About Renewal of Patriot Act, Supreme Court Nomination". "CNN Live Today", edition.cnn.com. July 20, 2005.

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• Civil libertarians have raised concerns that some of the Patriot Act's provisions infringe on Constitutional rights. Those concerns are not supported by the facts.

  Roger Wicker

  Rights, Libertarian, Facts

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• I will not let the patriot act, the most un-patriotic of acts, go unchallenged. 

  Rand Paul

  Patriotic, Patriot, Filibuster

  Rand Paul's Speech on the PATRIOT Act and Government Surveillance, www.c-span.org. May 20, 2015.

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• We've got to have all those tools. The Patriot Act tearing down those walls between intel and law enforcement are a necessary part of protecting the country. But, in the long term, the only way to defeat this terrorist bunch is through the spread of liberty and freedom. And that's a big challenge. I understand it's a challenge. It requires commitment and patience and persistence.

  George W. Bush

  Country, Wall, Commitment

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

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• There comes a time, there comes a time in the history of nations when fear and complacency allow power to accumulate and liberty and privacy to suffer. That time is now and I will not let the Patriot Act, the most unpatriotic of acts go unchallenged.

  Rand Paul

  Suffering, Liberty, Complacency

  FaceBook post by Senator Rand Paul from May 23, 2015

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• Since 2001, the Patriot Act has provided the means to detect and disrupt terrorist threats against the U.S. Prior to enactment of the law, major legal barriers prevented intelligence, national defense, and law enforcement agencies from working together and sharing information.

  Roger Wicker

  Mean, Agency, Law

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• We will use all lawful tools at our disposal, and that includes authorities under the renewed PATRIOT Act. We firmly believe that our intelligence gathering tools must enable us to collect the information we need to protect the American people.

  John O. Brennan

  Believe, Intelligence Gathering, People

  "Strengthening our Security by Adhering to our Values and Laws". John O. Brennan's Speech at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov. September 16, 2011.

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• The Patriot Act was used against me in total contradiction to its stated purpose. Or perhaps it was the most logical use of the law, since it establishes a legal framework to crush free thinking and interrupt individual questioning of the government. It is the beginning of all dictatorship in America.

  Susan Lindauer

  Crush, Thinking, Government

  "Susan Lindauer: Secret Charges and The Patriot Act". Interview with Michael Collins, www.scoop.co.nz. March 10, 2009.

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• Thanks in part to the Patriot Act, the federal government has been able to demand some details of your online activities from service providers - and not to tell you about it.

  Jonathan Zittrain

  Government, Details, Demand

  "Lost in the Cloud". www.nytimes.com. July 19, 2009.

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• If middle-class Americans do not feel threatened by the slow encroachment of the police state or the Patriot Act, it is because they live comfortably enough and exercise their liberties very lightly, never testing the boundaries. You never know you are in a prison unless you try the door.

  Joe Bageant

  Exercise, Doors, Class

  Joe Bageant (2008). “Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War”, p.173, Broadway Books

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• In the last four years under the Patriot Act, we have seen a great increase in the ability of law enforcement officials to investigate and track terrorists.

  Mike Pence

  Years, Law, Track

  Biography/Personal Quotes, www.imdb.com.

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• The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. I think more important than me preaching is that we as a nation have to have the debate. I don't know what the answers are. I just know that if the idea is to say talking about it makes you unpatriotic, I've got to call your bluff on that.

  George Clooney

  Thinking, Talking, Ideas

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• The original PATRIOT Act greatly increased our nation's ability to share intelligence information, made better use of technology, and provided terrorism investigators tools that have long been available in cases involving illegal drugs and organized crime.

  Michael K. Simpson

  Technology, Long, Drug

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• Ron Paul warned everyone that the Patriot Act could be used against innocent American citizens. His critics said he was siding with terrorists. Now, either A. Ron Paul was right. Or B. All Verizon users are terrorists.

  Jack Hunter

  Citizens, Patriot, Innocent

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• I spent seven years of my life in the immediate aftermath of September 11th doing this work, working with the Patriot Act, working with our law enforcement, working with the surveillance community to make sure that we keep America safe.

  Chris Christie

  Seven Years, America, Law

  "5th Republican debate transcript, annotated: Who said what and what it meant". 2016 presidential debate in Las Vegas, Nevada, www.washingtonpost.com. December 15, 2015.

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