I am having a 1984 moment

Passing the ominously and ironically named USA Patriot Act was one of the scarier things the government did after 9/11. This Orwellian legislation granted the Executive branch enormous power to do all manner of constitutionally shady things, including the infamous warrentless wiretap, the ability to subpoena library and customer information, and the right to appoint US Attorneys without Senate confirmation. Much of this power has been abused, with the US Attorney scandal being the latest in the news (for more see Josh Marshall at TPM – he has been killing it on that story). That was until I read this today…

WASHINGTON - The FBI underreported its use of the USA Patriot Act to force businesses to turn over customer information in suspected terrorism cases, according to a Justice Department audit.

One government official familiar with the report said shoddy bookkeeping and records management led to the problems. The FBI agents appeared to be overwhelmed by the volume of demands for information over a two-year period, the official said.

"They lost track," said the official who like others interviewed late Thursday spoke on condition of anonymity because the report was not being released until Friday.

They lost track!?!??!?! Well, OK then.

Look, if we are to convey to our government such sweeping power to snoop, the least the FBI can do is tell us how often it exercised those powers. I don’t trust the Administration to be responsible about anything really. They fuck up nearly everything they do. That said, the Patriot Act was wrong to begin with and made worse by the idiots in whom we vested such power. The bottom line, to quote Benjamin Franklin:

Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

I think it goes without saying that Franklin was a helluva lot wiser and more responsible than Dick Cheney. I am also willing to bet that Franklin was the better shot.

UPDATE: It is now being reported that not only was the Patriot Act used improperly but also illegally. Given the Administration's track record, this should be a surprise to no one. I guess then next question is who is going to be the fall guy?