There is a interesting poll on MSNBC. It has this question about the bill.
What's the most likely effect of the anti-terrorism bill?
* 15091 responses
It will help the federal government track down and jail foreign terrorists now within the United States.
31%
It will be used against U.S. citizens to ransack their homes, offices and e-mail.
34%
It will lead to some innocent people being detained for a time but will also help foil would-be terrorists.
35%
From the accompanying article:
WHILE THIS NEW anti-terrorism law was certainly not designed to take away civil liberties of Americans, its unintended consequences threaten fundamental constitutional rights of people who have nothing to do with terrorism. The well-meaning but careless exuberance of our lawmakers is alarming..." (well to certain Freepers on this thread it's not)
"No hearings were held in either the House or Senate on the USA PATRIOT Act, and few — if any — members of Congress were really aware of what was actually in this massive, complex, highly technical 30,000-word statute, which is divided into ten titles, with more than 270 sections and endless subsections that cross-reference and amend a dozen, or more, different laws."
There is a concept in the legislative process called “regular order.” It is the time- tested procedure to make certain that our laws are carefully considered. The USA PATRIOT Act was jammed through the House and Senate, with those calling for regular order being labeled unpatriotic. In fact, the 66 Republicans and Democrats in the House and the one member of the Senate who refused to be railroaded believed that law enforcement officials should have the tools needed to fight terrorists, but they should not be created at the expense of basic American freedoms."