Congress, Once Again, Looks To Extend Patriot Act With Little Or No Debate -- Tech DirtWhen the Patriot Act first passed, there were (quite reasonable) concerns from many folks in the civil liberties world, who were worried about aspects of the bill that seemed to go well beyond reason, in a hysterical knee-jerk reaction to the terrorist attacks of 2001. In order to mollify those concerned, Congress put in some "sunset" provisions, which would have certain aspects of the Patriot Act expire at a particular time. Last year, parts of the Patriot Act were set to expire, and many people hoped that it would open up some opportunities to better protect basic civil liberties. However, with it being an election year and no one wanting to look "soft" on terrorism, Congress had little discussion about the matter and simply decided to re-up the entire Patriot Act, saying they'd really (no, really) review the provisions this year. Amusingly, in a typical Congressional obfuscatory move, the extension of the Patriot Act was buried in the "Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act." Yeah.
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Update #1: Patriot Act up for renewal and no one notices -- Examiner
Update #2: The Sun Never Sets on the PATRIOT Act -- Cato@Liberty
My Comment: If there was a Republican administration in the White House .... I suspect that there would be more media attention to the extension of the Patriot Act.