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Old 01-17-2008, 02:41 PM   #9 (permalink)
robot_parade
Junkie
 
Location: San Antonio, TX
Well, the site you linked to isn't loading for me right now, so I can't comment on it specifically. However, I think 'something like it' is probably a good idea, with lots of potential problems.

Here's the text of the patriot act:

http://epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html

Any one part of it may be hard to understand, but it's *long*. And not really all that long compared to a lot of other laws. What does it mean? A good, scholarly non-partisan (as if there were such a thing) interpretation of the highlights of the law, how it is likely to apply and affect most people, and explanations of some of the more technical terms would be great. Also a discussion of where it fits in the context of existing laws would be a great benefit.

I agree with you that the language in laws is not usually overly complicated. It is just very specific, and very technical. Especially in the sense that the words used have very specific legal meanings that aren't necessarily what you expect. For instance, the word 'agent' in the part you quote - that term has a very specific meaning (and I don't know what exactly it is offhand).

However, as someone who wants to know 'What does the patriot act say', even if I spent an hour or more very carefully reading it, I probably wouldn't really understand it because I don't have the legal training or the context to interpret the ramifications.

A great case in point is the telecommunications act that's going through congress. The administration/right wing people say "This bill let's us spy on terrorists. Anyone who votes against this bill is voting to prevent our intelligence agencies from being able to listen to terrorists." The left-wing people say "Our agencies already have all the tools they need to spy on terrorists. This bill lowers the protections on our civil liberties, and at the same time, gives telephone companies immunity for breaking the law in the past."

Who do I trust? Do I have to read and interpret every single law that has and will be passed?

Personally, on this issue, I trust the people from the left. First, because this administration is clearly dangerous and harmful to everything I hold dear in the US, and I don't trust them at all, and second, because I haven't found a single voice on the right that doesn't strike me as completely insane. Really. I've looked. Not to threadjack, but if anyone knows of a reasonable voice on the right, please let me know.

To get back to the actual point, the problem I see with this site is only highly qualified people can interpret these laws properly, and it's impossible to say what the qualifications of the posters might be. Add to that the highly partisan nature of political discourse...I really don't see how they can end up with anything useful.
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