by Janet Phelan, Activist Post:

Twenty-one years ago, on October 26, 2001, the US Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act. In the wake of terror following the attacks of September 11 and the anthrax attacks, it was repeatedly alleged that many congressmen did not even read the Act, which is over 130 pages in length.
In the intervening years, considerable concern has been voiced about the surveillance authorized by the Act, which allows such a wide net as to capture communications of most, if not all, Americans. The ACLU declared that “The result is unchecked government power to rifle through individuals’ financial records, medical histories, Internet usage, bookstore purchases, library usage, travel patterns, or any other activity that leaves a record.”