Part of the Patriot Act ruled unconstitutional

The eyes begin to open...

A federal judge has declared unconstitutional a portion of the USA Patriot Act that bars giving expert advice or assistance to groups designated foreign terrorist organizations.

The ruling marks the first court decision to declare a part of the post-Sept. 11 anti-terrorism statute unconstitutional, said David Cole, a Georgetown University law professor who argued the case on behalf of the Humanitarian Law Project.

The Patriot Act has many questionable, unnerving, and over-broad facets. Let's hope this is the first of many sections of the hastily-assembled, freedom-eroding Act to be stricken down.

Even if much of the act is ruled out by the courts, I'm afraid the machinery to implement it will be with us forever. Slowly but surely nibbling away.

Wanna run for office to nibble away at that machinery? The 'Salami Game' works every bit as well for the freedom people as it does for the antifreedom people, antigun/progenocide types, and so forth.