With virtually zero debate - or media attention - President Barack Obama has signed a one-year extension for what many considered the most crucial and controversial aspects of the USA PATR
-1) "roving" wiretaps, permitting surveillance on multiple phones and e-mail addresses.
-2) court-approved seizures of records and property in anti-terrorism operations.
-3) surveillance on "lone-wolf" foreign nationals, who may not be part of a recognized terrorist group.
Originally set to expire in December, a two-month extension was passed by Congress late last year.
For many on the left, the Patriot Act is the defining pillar and symbol of the previous administration, emblematic of a totalitarian police state they allegedly suffered under George W. Bush. And what does not come as a surprise is the fact Obama's signature comes on a Saturday night - when all the world is surely clamoring for the latest political news.
Expect a buzzsaw of media scrutiny from the champions of the so-called candidate of "change" in mainstream media the next several news-cycles?
Me neither.
