We Promise We Will Be Good

I mentioned the initial reports of this audit yesterday, and have spoken out continuously against the Patriot Act. Now we know - some of the terrible truth.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's top two law enforcement officials acknowledged Friday the FBI broke the law to secretly pry out personal information about Americans. They apologized and vowed to prevent further illegal intrusions.

Of course they "vowed" to stop this, meaning they vow not to get caught in the future. Do you really believe that law enforcement folks in the US would actually give up such a powerful tool?

I recall Joshua commenting on how unique an experience it is to live in Korea and experience their style of policing. It is not the in your face sort you find in the state. In fact, you can be confident that the friendly police you see about will not accidentally shoot you during a traffic stop- they generally do not make traffic stops at all. The roads here are free-market in action and rely heavily on good human nature to function. Our entire theory of police operation in the US is very much "in your face", from traffic stops to high-tech covert spying.

Based upon the obvious and not so obvious mode of operations exercised by police in the US it is hard to imagine that the FBI is really ready to give up all the power of the Patriot Act. In fact, it is reasonable to assume, that this is exactly the sort of legal power they have sought since the days of Hoover.