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2 Senators Accuse Justice Dept. of Twisting Patriot Act

33 points by luigi 15y ago

davidw 15y ago
Please, no politics. > Off-Topic: Most stories about politics http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html You can go to reddit to talk about that stuff if you want.
- wnight 15y ago
  Politics is reps vs dems, liberals vs conservatives, and so on. Partisan nonsense. This is a warning and discussion about the misuse of government power. Yes, it is totally off-topic, like patents are, in that they're arbitrary legal nonsense. But, they're enforced nonsense and thus relevant.
  - davidw 15y ago
    > Yes, it is totally off-topic, like patents are, in that they're arbitrary legal nonsense. But, they're enforced nonsense and thus relevant. So... by that definition, pretty much anything is fair game. You're playing "7 degrees of hacker news". How do "nonsense" laws being enforced make them "hacker news". Does it just apply to nonsense laws? I think a drinking age of 21 in the US is nonsense, and it's enforced - does that expand the purview of this site to articles about that, too?
    - wnight 15y ago
      It's hacker news because it's about high-tech spying. And it's discussion-worthy because it's a secret, a huge tech project, and fundamentally flawed in multiple ways. I thought that went without saying. What I'm talking about is how an otherwise relevant story is still relevant even if it is also a political or otherwise off-topic. A story about a cool new location tracking tech is hacker news even if the specific example is tracking hockey pucks or real-time overlaying of ads in stadiums or whatever. Almost anything is relevant if it has a complex or interesting impact on our lives. Some political wind-bagging, no. A new law, especially a far-reaching one contrary to existing law or policy, very much so. That you think the drinking age is nonsense does seem like a worthy topic, whether you support party X, does not. Tie that to tech or traditionally hacker-related topics such as privacy or freedom to tinker and it seems relevant to this site, even if tainted with a dash of politics.
trotsky 15y ago
“I want to deliver a warning this afternoon: When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they will be stunned and they will be angry,” Mr. Wyden said. Another member of the Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Udall, Democrat of Colorado, backed Mr. Wyden’s account, saying, “Americans would be alarmed if they knew how this law is being carried out.” That's two senators who are on the select committee, so they really know the nuts and bolts of whats going on, basically shouting from the roof tops. And they're even the same party as the executive branch that's using it. And they aren't even allowed to tell us what the problem is. Something seriously bad is going on.
- Roboprog 15y ago
  New & Improved! USA PATRIOT Act, now with 30% more Bill of Rights violations! This damn thing just needs to die (expire), already.

33 points by luigi 15y ago

Please, no politics. > Off-Topic: Most stories about politics http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html You can go to reddit to talk about that stuff if you want.

wnight 15y ago
Politics is reps vs dems, liberals vs conservatives, and so on. Partisan nonsense. This is a warning and discussion about the misuse of government power. Yes, it is totally off-topic, like patents are, in that they're arbitrary legal nonsense. But, they're enforced nonsense and thus relevant.
- davidw 15y ago
  > Yes, it is totally off-topic, like patents are, in that they're arbitrary legal nonsense. But, they're enforced nonsense and thus relevant. So... by that definition, pretty much anything is fair game. You're playing "7 degrees of hacker news". How do "nonsense" laws being enforced make them "hacker news". Does it just apply to nonsense laws? I think a drinking age of 21 in the US is nonsense, and it's enforced - does that expand the purview of this site to articles about that, too?
  - wnight 15y ago
    It's hacker news because it's about high-tech spying. And it's discussion-worthy because it's a secret, a huge tech project, and fundamentally flawed in multiple ways. I thought that went without saying. What I'm talking about is how an otherwise relevant story is still relevant even if it is also a political or otherwise off-topic. A story about a cool new location tracking tech is hacker news even if the specific example is tracking hockey pucks or real-time overlaying of ads in stadiums or whatever. Almost anything is relevant if it has a complex or interesting impact on our lives. Some political wind-bagging, no. A new law, especially a far-reaching one contrary to existing law or policy, very much so. That you think the drinking age is nonsense does seem like a worthy topic, whether you support party X, does not. Tie that to tech or traditionally hacker-related topics such as privacy or freedom to tinker and it seems relevant to this site, even if tainted with a dash of politics.

trotsky 15y ago

“I want to deliver a warning this afternoon: When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they will be stunned and they will be angry,” Mr. Wyden said. Another member of the Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Udall, Democrat of Colorado, backed Mr. Wyden’s account, saying, “Americans would be alarmed if they knew how this law is being carried out.” That's two senators who are on the select committee, so they really know the nuts and bolts of whats going on, basically shouting from the roof tops. And they're even the same party as the executive branch that's using it. And they aren't even allowed to tell us what the problem is. Something seriously bad is going on.

Roboprog 15y ago
New & Improved! USA PATRIOT Act, now with 30% more Bill of Rights violations! This damn thing just needs to die (expire), already.