Within 30 days of the 9/11 attacks, the Bush Administration presented Patriot Act 1 to the U.S. Congress and demanded it be passed as soon as possible.  In Orwellian fashion, this act would trade liberty for security, and begin the dystopian descent into 1984.

As you view this document, pay attention to the level of detail it encompasses (i.e., citing specific lines of existing law to modify), and realize that this document was ready to roll within 30 days…begging the question:  When was this document actually produced, and was it sitting on a shelf waiting for the right moment?

Key points from the Act to consider: (page references in [] relate to online document):

[page 8] SEC. 105. EXPANSION OF NATIONAL ELECTRONIC CRIME TASK FORCE
INITIATIVE.

The Director of the United States Secret Service shall take
appropriate actions to develop a national network of electronic
crime task forces, based on the New York Electronic Crimes Task
Force model, throughout the United States

[page 25] SEC. 224. SUNSET.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection (b), this
title and the amendments made by this title (other than sections
203(a), 203(c), 205, 208, 210, 211, 213, 216, 219, 221, and 222,
and the amendments made by those sections) shall cease to have
effect on December 31, 2005. (Comment:  This was of no consequence as it was renewed.)

[page 25-26] SEC. 225. IMMUNITY FOR COMPLIANCE WITH FISA WIRETAP.

Section 105 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of
1978 (50 U.S.C. 1805) is amended by inserting after subsection
(g) the following:

PUBLIC LAW 107–56—OCT. 26, 2001

‘‘(h) No cause of action shall lie in any court against any
provider of a wire or electronic communication service, landlord,
custodian, or other person (including any officer, employee, agent,
or other specified person thereof) that furnishes any information,
facilities, or technical assistance in accordance with a court order
or request for emergency assistance under this Act.’’.

[page 58/59] - In the case of reporting individual consumer's accounts, the institution is not allowed to notify the consumer that the government has order them to turn over the records:
‘‘(c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—No consumer reporting agency, or
officer, employee, or agent of such consumer reporting agency, shall
disclose to any person, or specify in any consumer report, that
a government agency has sought or obtained access to information
under subsection (a).

View the Patriot Act I [p81]