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Opinion
The Battalion
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Uncivil liberties
Law enforcement agencies are abusing Patriot Act to investigate domestic crimes
O n Oct. 26, 2001, President George
W. Bush signed the USA PATRIOT
Act into effect, altering the measures
available to law enforcement agencies to
| investigate terrorist threats in regards to the
safety of the United States. At the time,
however, civil liberties groups had concerns
that some of the vague language and far-
reaching aspects of the law could put
American citizens’rights at risk by the gov
ernment abusing new powers given to it.
It seems those civil liberties groups were right.
Federal agencies have been using the Patriot Act to inves
tigate American citizens with no connection to terrorist
activity, according to Newsweek. While the agencies’
activities have been legal, they pervert the original purpose
of the law and the bipartisan spirit in which it was passed.
The Patriot Act’s full name is “Uniting and
Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools
Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.” The law
was passed six weeks after the worst day in many
Americans’ lives, a day in which 3,000 innocent lives
were ripped away by terrorists. The act was meant
to prevent 9-11 from happening again.
Congress did not intend for it to be used in the
ways government agencies are currently using it.
According to Newsweek, the sections of the Patriot Act per
taining to money-laundering essentially allow the govern
ment to investigate the financial records of anyone it has
suspicions about. All law enforcement agencies have to
do \s submit a suspect’s name to the U.S. Treasury
Department, which orders all American financial insti
tutes to search for the suspect’s name. If there
is a “hit,” that is, if that person has accounts
with a particular institution, the suspect’s financial records can
then be subpoenaed.
Newsweek found that this year, law enforcement agencies
used the money-laundering provisions to investi
gate 962 people, resulting in 6,397 hits. Of
these hits, however, more than two-thirds had
nothing to do with terrorist activity.
Treasury Department records examined by
Newsweek show that the Internal Revenue
Service, the U.S. Postal Service, the Secret
Service and the Agriculture
Department have used the act to
investigate tax fraud, postal
fraud, counterfeiting and the
not so dangerous or frightening
crime of food stamp fraud.
Abuse of public assistance .
programs in no way falls into the
category of activities meant to be
investigated under the Patriot Act.
Law enforcement officials already have proce
dures to investigate these types of crimes; they
don’t need an anti-terrorism law to do it.
One of the more humorous examples of an
abuse of the Patriot Act happened in Las
Vegas — “Operation G-String.” FBI
agents believed that Michael Galardi,
a strip club owner in the city, was
bribing city officials. To prove it,
the FBI needed the officials’
financial records.
Newsweek reports that the FBI
could probably have obtained the infor
mation without using the Patriot Act, but
only if it had more evidence that a person was conducting busi
ness at a particular bank. Instead of doing that extra work, the
FBI requested the Treasury Department to conduct its nation
wide search, allowing the evidence to come to it. The bribery
evidence was found, and the city officials were indicted.
The ends in these cases do not justify the means. The
United States has a long history of protecting the rights
of suspected criminals. The Constitution guarantees
these rights. The government cannot use a law relaxing
legal procedures to protect Americans from the
likes of Osama bin Laden and his
cronies to go after ordinary
American citizens.
Law enforcement agencies are
using a law passed out of grief and
pain, meant to prevent terrorists
from flying other planes into office
buildings or worse, to make their jobs a little
easier through bypassing legal procedures
that should be guaranteed to Americans.
It’s unacceptable, irresponsible and it’s
takes advantage of the shock and
anguish Americans felt after 9-11. The
Patriot Act was intended to protect
Americans from terrorist threats, and it
should be limited to that purpose. It
should not be used to protect Americans from food stamp
abusers, dirty politicians and greedy strip club operators.
Jenelle Wilson is a senior
political science major.
JENELLE
WILSON
Houl
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AIDS remains a health
problem for U.S. and world
«eki)'
CenK 1
T he world is threatened
by an evil forgotten by
many in the United
States. In regions such as
southern Africa and southeast
ern Asia, the fatalities from
this war number in the tens of
thousands every year, and the
numbers are still rising. The
war being lost is the fight migl
against the HIV virus and
AIDS.
As people around the globe observed World
AIDS Day on Dec. 1, health officials every
where said the disease is showing “no sign of
abating” and the world is “losing the battle
against HIV infection and AIDS.” But accord
ing to The Washington Post, the United States
has a “growing apathy” about the HIV epidem
ic even though it has killed more than 500,000
Americans. The United States must reclaim its
leadership role in this prolonged battle along
with the support of the entire international
community in an effort to eradicate the dis
ease. This support needs to not only come in
the form of money but in an increased aware
ness and a greater push to educate those most
affected in developing countries.
President George W. Bush has acknowledged
HAYDEN
how deadly the HIV/AIDS
virus is and has said the United
States is completely behind
efforts to eradicate the virus,
according to USA Today. Bush
promised community leaders
during a visit to various
African countries this past
summer that they “will not face
this enemy alone” and has
backed up his words with a $15
billion package to be distrib
uted over five years in the most
affected areas. Most of this
money would go to African
countries such as Zambia,
where about one in every five adults has the HIV
virus, or Botswana, where the average life
expectancy for most of the population is less
than 40.
But Bush has already reneged on the $3 bil
lion allotment that was supposed to be sent in
2004, and has instead only agreed to send $2
billion in aid, according to msnbc.com. If the
United States is supposed to take the lead in
the war on HIV/AIDS, the administration must
not go back on any of its promises and should
grant the original amount.
One of the most useful remedies is also one
of the simplest. Many inhabi
tants of developing countries
hit the hardest by the
HIV/AIDS epidemic have no
knowledge of the deadliness
of the disease. Their ignorance
results in a number of children
being infected by sick moth
ers, an impending explosion in
the number of orphans and the
loss of an entire generation of
adults. AIDS’ potential to
wreak havoc in large-populat
ed countries such as China
and India is finally being rec
ognized by their leaders, but
they may be too late.
The discrimination and persecution experi
enced by those infected in southern Africa
should be shameful to the rest of the world, yet
it usually only prompts indifference. In those
countries, infected women are thrown out of
their houses and any children born to infected
women are almost sure to have the HIV virus as
well because only about two percent of Africans
who need drugs receive them. Instead of show
ing a little compassion to people who have basi
cally been given a death sentence, society shows
an increasing apathy. This has got to change.
a
The United States
may not place HIV/AIDS
at the top of its list of
threats, but it is still a
problem in the nation
and a very real threat to
American interests
abroad.
The United States may not place HIV/AIDS
at the top of its list of threats, but it is still a
problem in the nation and a threat to American
interests abroad. The number of people infected
with HIV reached a record 5 million people dur
ing 2003, and the number of deaths caused by
complications from AIDS reached 3 million.
Although Americans may be aware of how HIV
is transmitted, their awareness of the internation
al community’s problems is limited.
Americans have shown a resolve to over
throw tyranny in countries led by ruthless dic
tators and authoritarian regimes which abuse
their people, but it is now time to focus on the
deadliest killer on the planet today. Bush has
taken the right steps in promising an aid pack
age, but he needs to follow through. He also
needs to encourage more rigorous medical
research to combat the virus and change the
perceptions of people who believe AIDS is
now only a problem in Africa. The world, and
especially those infected, cannot tolerate any
more hesitation, inaction or indifference when
it comes to this deadly virus.
Hayden Migl is a freshman
political science major.
MAIL CALL
ch
Aggie hopes dashed by
lack of celebration
Let me start off by saying I’m not
ungrateful, I’m just sorely disappoint
ed. Along with 600 other Aggies, Dec.
11 is a huge day: the day that we join
the legions of Aggies with the coveted
Aggie Ring. I remember stories of my
friends going to campus at 5 a.m. to be
the first in line to get their ring pickup
ticket at 7 a.m., and then going back
later in the day to get their ring, have
their picture taken and enjoy the festiv
ities around them.
However, that was not the case. I
know that Dec. 11 is a dead day,
meaning no Battalion, but why did we
not get the same treatment as past
Aggies: The page-long congratulatory
message that I could cut out and put in
my scrapbook, the balloons lining the
walk to the Association and the food
and fun stands outside? I was sad
dened by the fact that I walked up to
see only a few balloons inside with
some Association people smiling.
When I asked someone why we did
n’t get the normal ring day festivities, I
was told it was because only 600 peo
ple were getting rings. So because I
have a late pickup date, I’m not con
sidered to be as special as those who
ordered before and after me?
Lainey Hoekstra
Class of 2004
Blacks not only victims
of slavery in history
In response to Collins Ezeanyim’s
Dec. 8 column:
Mr. Ezeanyim is correct. Los
Angeles County is doing for the
cause of diversity what the YCT is
going for the conservative viewpoint
here at Texas A&M: making a mock
ery of it. While I am in agreement
with being sensitive towards others, I
don’t see why the Los Angeles
County officials are implying that
African Americans have been histo
ry’s only victims of slavery. The Jews
were slaves in Egypt, Native
Americans were slaves to victorious
tribes, vanquished Europeans were
slaves to the Romans and most
recently, Americans of all races were
enslaved by the Japanese Empire.
Joseph Ferguson
Class of 2004
Deaths do not have
to be public to matter
In response to Jonathan Steed’s
Dec. 8 column:
Yes, war involves casualties. No
matter what has been said by any
organization that will always remain
true. You believe that we who sup
port the war are denying the truth of
the number. One of my good friends
who happens to be in the military
mentioned that there are more peo
ple who die in California every year
than we (from all methods including
accident to hostilities) have lost in
Iraq. Does this mean that those
deaths mean any less? No.
I come from a community that has
experienced firsthand national
tragedies. NASA and the families of
the astronauts have dealt with losses
that should and are mourned by the
nation. They die for what they believe
is something worth dying for, just like
the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The families of both Challenger
and Columbia requested that, if any
thing, a very small memorial be in
place. Are these losses diminished
or forgotten from lack of ostenta
tious displays? The losses of the
soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan will
be mourned and honored in a fash
ion suitable to their sacrifice.
Sarah Biggerstaff
Class of 2003
Pictures kept society
from forgetting
Pictures speak a thousand words.
If Americans never see a flag-
draped casket returning home from
Iraq, it is easy to forget what is hap
pening right now. These images can
serve as a constant reminder that
we need to pray for and support the
courageous men and women who
are sacrificing their lives for a hero
ic cause and for their families.
However, I found it interesting that
Mr. Steed’s article so readily
attacked the Bush administration’s
decision to not show the return of
the fallen soldiers. His opinion is
rather inconsistent. Steed, along
with other staunch pro-abortion
advocates, is always among the first
to cry foul when someone attempts
to show the reality of another
American tragedy: abortion.
Steed claimed that, “Americans who
supported the war must buck up and
see firsthand what is really happening
in Iraq.” He has a good point, but I chal
lenge him to practice what he preach
es. Most people who advocate the dis
membering of an unborn child refuse
to view the reality of the procedure and
the horrendous images of what it truly
is. Why? Simple. It’s much easier to
sheepishly stand behind slogans than
to, as Steed’s article proclaimed,
‘accept the consequences’ of the truth.
Amber Matchen
Class of 2000