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Does the Patriot Act Abridge Essential Freedom?

  1. Hentoff and Mac Donald hold very differing views on the Patriot Act. What does Hentoff argue? What does Mac Donald assert?
  1. What is the Patriot Act and why is the debate around so polarized?
  1. Is it relevant that the Patriot Act was originally titled the Anti-Terrorist Act of 2001 and written two days after the Sept. 11, 2001 attack? Why or why not? Provide empirical evidence to justify your position.
  1. Mac Donald calls the procedural framework governing normal FBI and police actions as “merely tinker[ing] around the edges.” Hentoff calls it “an attack on the Bill of Rights.” In your opinion, which author is more convincing? Why? Explain.
  1. What is freedom? What did freedom represent to the founding fathers? Has our idea of freedom changed since 1789? What is your idea of freedom? What does it mean to be “free” in a democracy? Is there an inherent tension between freedom and national security? Discuss at length.
  1. Mac Donald reasons that “the rights of suspected car thieves and suspected robbers may need modification when the goal is preventing a suitcase bomb from taking out JFK [Airport].” What does he argue here? Do you concur with this line of reasoning? Why or why not? Explain.
  1. The Patriot Act allows
    a. the tracking of Web sites and emails

b. search of a business without a warrant

c. wiretaps against individuals

d. seizure of voice mail

e. detention of non-citizens without a hearing

f. denial of entry into the country of noncitizens based on their speech etc.

Address the advantage and disadvantage of each loss of freedom for the government and a member of U.S. society. For example, what would be the benefit and cost for the U.S. government to monitor web sites and email? What might be the potential benefit or cost to you? Discuss each loss of freedom in this fashion.

  1. Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) remarked “[t]here is no doubt that if we lived in a police state, it would be easier to catch terrorists.” Would that be a country where you would want to live? How important has safety become? Do you value safety ahead of freedom today? Why or why not? Would that rationale change if we experienced another terrorist attack? Explain.
  1. Heather Mac Donald cautions that the goal of terrorism is to create increasingly paralytic totalitarianism in the government it attacks. What does she suggest here? Do you agree with her? What evidence does she provide? Discuss.
  1. What was Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis opinion stated in Whitney v. California? Do you agree or disagree? Why?
  1. What is jihad? According to Mac Donald, what is the most powerful means of spreading jihad globally? Should we be afraid of a global jihad? And if so, would such a perceived threat justify a limitation on our civil liberties? Discuss.
  1. Why is it important for Mac Donald to recognize the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks as acts of war instead of crimes? How might Hentoff respond? What do you think? Why?
  1. Why do Hentoff and Mac Donald address the establishment of sneak-and-peek warrants in criminal cases differently? Which would you weigh more heavily, the need to eliminate delayed notice or the need to protect citizens’ privacy? Explain.
  2. Mac Donald writes, “Nothing the Bush administration has done comes close to causing the loss of freedom that Americans experienced after 9/11, when air travel shut down for days, and fear kept hundreds of thousands shut up in their homes.” What might Hentoff respond to such a claim? What do you think? Explain.