A couple of articles in the Washington Post (here and here) describe what has been going on with the fight on terrorism and the over-reaching acts of those that are suppose to be protecting us (and our rights). Reminds me of a saying my step-father use to say, which always drove me crazy, "if you don't have anything to hide, what does it matter". Well, it matters, because the rights provided us all by our founding fathers and documents are being thrown out the window, re-written and re-worded to suit those that are in power. It's one of the main reasons that more people want to come to this country than any other country on the planet...or this solar system for that matter. It is our freedom. It is our Constitution, our Bill of Rights. The rights that are particularly affected by these shenanigans are; being innocent until proven guilty, the right to face your accusers, and most directly related to this entry, the Fourth Amendment - "The rights to be secured in their persons, their houses, their papers, and their other property, from all unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated by warrants issued without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, or not particularly describing the places to be searched, or the persons or things to be seized."

The so-called Patriot Act severely abridges (that means tramples, cuts short, reduces) several of our Constitutional rights. Wake up folks!