Here we go again
“Ashcroft’s Justice Department has quietly crafted a whopping 120-page proposal that represents the boldest attack yet on our electronic privacy in the name of thwarting future terrorist attacks. The nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity posted the draft legislation, which reads like J. Edgar Hoover’s wish list, on its Web site Friday.
Called the Domestic Security Enhancement Act (DSEA), the legislation has not been formally introduced in Congress, and a representative for Ashcroft indicated on Friday that it’s a work in progress. But the fact that the legislation is under consideration already, before we know the effects of its USA Patriot Act predecessor, should make us realize that the Bush administration thinks ‘homeland security’ is the root password to the Constitution.”
As was the case with the Patriot Act, the Bush administration is poised to continue it’s attack on the Constitution, granting even more sweeping powers to the Justice Department and its allies. Will the Congress stand up this time and say enough is enough? Not likely, especially since Bush will likely try to push this through Congress after the war on Iraq has started.
Read more of Declan McCullagh’s excellent column about the DSEA here, and more on the topic here. There are also PDFs of the whole document mirrored here and here, in case you want to read the entire thing for yourself. I especially like the part about extra jail time for using encryption while committing a felony, similar to the laws already in place for guns.
