In a duh moment, a judge in Oregon has declared that provisions in the Patriot Act violate the Fourth Admendment to the Constitution. Slowly the most foolish provisions of the USA Patriot Act are being chipped away and eventually it will be a hollow shell, devoid of all purpose. But it will still stand as a reminder to us all that it should never have been passed in the first place.
Of course, I'm not seeing anything about this anywhere else. Plenty of news about Kiefer Sutherland or Lindsey Lohan in rehab and what nought, but something important scarcely gets a mention.
Updated: litigatormom has posted up a diary with much better info here.
For more information on the story, here is the first link I found on this in the MSM.
The first mistake here was that they used the Patriot Act on a lawyer. Which just goes to show how stupid they are and how badly they need some oversight. And then because this lawyer lived in Oregon, he got a ruling that makes sense and doesn't involve theoretical discussions of the show 24.
So, whats next, how do we elevate the discussion of our rights so that things like this get the notice they deserve and the politician and judges are made away of the importance of this?