If you ask the Obama Admin, the answer is: "None of the Above". Even though key provisions of the PA are about to expire, provisions that give Constitutional lawyers nightmares, Obama's assistant attorney general for legislative affairs, one Ronald Weich, sent a letter to Congress suggesting that the PA ought to be left alone but if changes are made, they would be opposed if they "undermine the effectiveness of these important authorities".
Exactly what that means is anybody's guess but given the Obama Admin's affection for Bushian powers to put surveillance on anybody at all by presidential whim, one would be justified in assuming that they mean they won't accept any diminution of presidential power.
One of the witnesses Democrats have invited to testify at both hearings is Suzanne E. Spaulding, who has worked for lawmakers of both parties as a former top staffer on the House and Senate Intelligence committees. Mrs. Spaulding said she would urge Congress to tighten restrictions on when the F.B.I. could use the Patriot Act powers.
The rapid build-up of domestic intelligence authorities after the Sept. 11 attacks, she said, had overlooked “important safeguards,” which has resulted “in a greater likelihood at a minimum of the government mistakenly intruding into the privacy of innocent Americans, and at worst having a greater capability of abusing these authorities.”
But then she added this jaw-dropping "admission":
Still, she acknowledged, the public record contains scant evidence that the F.B.I. has abused its powers under the three expiring Patriot Act sections.
Apparently such Feebie PA usage as thousands of NSL's aimed at dissenters, massive on-going surveillance of Bush critics, and twisting anti-terrorist powers to chase drug dealers and extortionists doesn't count as "abuse". Silly me.
The Pubs, of course, dragged in one of Bush's old DoJ hacks to warn that changes might make the law ineffective, an argument the Dems picked up on almost immediately since it gives them the cover to do what they do so well.
Nothing.
In short, don't expect anything to change whatever. The abominable PA is here to stay and the best we're going to get out of the Obama/Reid/Pelosi Democrats are some minor adjustments that will still make it a crime to dissent from establishment policy and continue to allow police agencies to spy on, well, anybody they feel like spying on for any reason they feel like using as an excuse. The PA is one big cop fishing expedition and the Feebies are rodded-and-reeled to the max. Yay America Argentina.
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