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It's pretty obvious that most of you have not read the USA PATRIOT act. The portion that was deemed unconstitutional basically said this- If you give money to a charity, and that charity with OR WITHOUT your knowledge in any way supports what could be loosely defined as "terrorist activities", YOU can be prosecuted for aiding the terrorists.
Now, an example that shows how this could affect everyone in America, and why more precise language is necessary to protect our civil rights. Before you go crazy, remeber that the likelyhood that this would happen is negligible, but possible, which justifies the courts action.
You give a donation through work to a charity that your company has had a long term relationship with. The charity is a soup kitchen, and you and some of your co-workers volunteer there occssionaly. The soup kitchen buys some of its supplies form a paper goods company. The owner of the company is actally hidden behind a shell, and turns out to be someone that gives money from the company to a religious organization (church, let's say) that sponsored three parishoners for a pilgrimage that was really a training session for terrorists. The connection is revealed. You and anyone else that dinated time or money to the soup kitchen COULD be prosecuted under the PATRIOT act.
Again, would this happen? Probably not, but the key word is probably. Under the Act, the way it was written, there is nothing to prevent it from happening. That is why the court took the action it did.
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The difference between theory and reality is that in theory there is no difference.
"God made man, but he used the monkey to do it." DEVO
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