Are you now, or have you ever been . . .

. . . a patriot?

As you know if you follow the news, politicians are already stumping to renew the lease on our burgeoning fascism. Which is to say that 15 provisions of the Patriot Act are due for renewal in December. FBI director Robert Mueller is, methinks, more than a bit ominous in his explanation:

"Experience has taught the FBI that there are no neat dividing lines that distinguish criminal, terrorist and foreign intelligence activity," Mueller said in his prepared testimony.

He also asked Congress to expand the FBI's administrative subpoena powers, which allow the bureau to obtain records without approval or a judge or grand jury.

What do you suppose that means--the dividing line between terrorism and foreign intelligence is not clear? I can think of no good action that statement could support in this administration.

In the meantime, sneak and peek searches have doubled in the past two years or so. Those are the searches which take place without notifying the person whose underwear drawer has been rifled through for some delayed period of time after the intrusion. And those searches (of course) are taking place for suspected crimes that far exceed the fears of terrorism that purportedly justified the Patriot Act's rollback of our constitutional liberties:

The Justice Department said yesterday that the power was a valuable law enforcement tool for a "wide spectrum of criminal investigations, including those involving terrorism and drugs." But the American Civil Liberties Union said the release "confirms our worst fears" that the use of the law is expanding beyond terrorism investigations, and called for greater oversight.

The Senate Judiciary Committee today intends to question Gonzales and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III about how the Justice Department has been using its Patriot Act powers, setting the stage for a year of political debate over whether to make the Patriot Act permanent or to scale it back.

Me? I'm keeping my passport updated.