Senate approves USA Freedom Act 67-32. Rand's amendments failed.

The Senate has approved the USA Freedom Act, which will alter the way U.S. agencies conduct surveillance and gather data. A final vote on the bill came late Tuesday afternoon, after amendments to the bill failed.

President Obama can now sign the bill into law as soon as it reaches him, after an expedited enrollment process.

Update at 4:30 p.m. ET: The Bill Has Passed

In the final tally of the vote, 67 senators were in favor of the measure and 32 against. The legislation needed a simple majority to pass.

Last November, the Freedom Act failed in the Senate after not receiving enough support to avoid a filibuster. Its critics say the act doesn't go far enough to curtail surveillance programs that can access huge databases of information about Americans.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted against the measure today, as he did last fall. Also voting against the bill Tuesday was independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.

The lead sponsor of the bill in the House, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., promises it will "rein in the dragnet collection of data" by the NSA and others, and "increase transparency of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court."

Calling today's passage "a milestone," ACLU Deputy Legal Director Jameel Jaffer says, "This is the most important surveillance reform bill since 1978, and its passage is an indication that Americans are no longer willing to give the intelligence agencies a blank check."

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/06/02/411534447/senateis-poised-to-vote-on-house-approved-usa-freedom-act?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20150602

Rand Paul’s Stands Begin Attracting Ron Paul’s Supporters

[A]s he wages his lonely fight against the National Security Agency’s surveillance dragnet, temporarily forcing a lapse in the law that gives the government wide discretion in collecting Americans’ phone-call data, Mr. Paul is publicly embracing the libertarian-hued philosophy that is synonymous with his family name.

The libertarian leanings in Mr. Paul’s beliefs on foreign affairs and national defense have been his biggest liability as he pursues the nomination of a party that has often been outwardly hostile to those who question whether the military and the intelligence community are acting aboveboard.

But his positions on these issues — including support for a smaller, more restrained American military presence overseas and for subjecting intelligence agencies to more careful oversight — have also been one of his biggest sources of energy and financial support from the people who formed the backbone of Ron Paul’s grass-roots coalition.

More...http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/03/us/politics/rand-pauls-stands-begin-attracting-ron-pauls-supporters.html?_r=1

New WaPo poll: Rand 1st nationally tied with Scott Walker

Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky top the list at 11 percent each among Republicans and Republican-leaning independent registered voters. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida are at 10 percent each. All others among the 16 candidates tested are in single digits.

More...http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-2016-republicans-tightly-bunched-clintons-image-erodes/2015/06/01/9e9c26c6-0893-11e5-9e39-0db921c47b93_story.html

They also mention how far Hillary's favorables have eroded over the last 6 months. Like 52% of Americans don't think she can be trusted.

Thank Rand (#StandWithRand) w/ donation thread observation

Rand has been doing a pretty good job at standing up against the Patriot Act and unconstitutional government spying. This is what we want in a Senator.

Many people have posted that they have donated to Rand in the past couple of weeks due to Rand's strong stand. We need a thread to track donations.

If you have donated in the past two weeks, let us know in this thread.

If you want to show support for what Rand is doing, feel free to register your support with any size donation and post it in this thread.


Donate to Rand and your civil liberties here...https://secure.randpaul.com/?patriotact&sr=rpf_mb2

EFF statement on Section 215 expiry: zero mention of Rand.

Section 215 Expires—For Now
Senate to Vote on USA FREEDOM Act Later in the Week

Section 215 has expired. At least for now.

The law that the NSA used to authorize its collection of vast amounts of information about the telephone calls of ordinary Americans is no more. Even though it’s likely temporary, it’s a good thing and we should pause to celebrate a little. The calls and emails Congress received from people across the country and across the political spectrum changed the debate.

The Senate let three provisions of the Patriot Act expire: Section 215, the section the government uses to collect phone and other business records in bulk, the "Lone Wolf provision," and the "roving wiretap" provision. Section 215 now—at least temporarily—reverts to its pre-Patriot Act form, which doesn’t permit any collection of financial or communications records, and requires the Government to provide “specific and articulable facts” supporting a reason to believe that the target is an agent of a foreign power.

This is a good thing. And of course, the government still has plenty of tools to investigate national security cases.

All indications are that this lapse will be temporary and that the Senate will soon pass the USA FREEDOM Act, which has small but important improvements over the now-lapsed section 215 and important additional transparency to the secret FISA court. USA Freedom passed the House with overwhelming support. EFF is neutral on USA Freedom—we think that Congress can do much better and should, but we’re still now in a much better place than we’ve been since the 1970s with regard to Congressional action reining in the NSA.

Senate rules allow a final vote, which only needs a simple majority of 51, to occur later this week. It’s not clear whether any amendments will be offered and we’ll keep watching on EFFLive and keep you posted as this saga continues.

But tonight, this is a historic baby step. We should all pause and for us at EFF who’ve been fighting mass surveillance since 2006, take a moment to smile.

https://www.eff.org/fr/deeplinks/2015/05/section-215-expires-now

Interesting that Rand isn't mentioned and this speaks loud about EFF and their position here on this issue.

Bro, I started this thread w/ one thing in mind to share w/ folks (about Rand's polling numbers that quickly turned into something else as I found that this thread was fruitful for those checking out Rand as the leader of liberty in the USA) around here but I blended it to much more. However, thx to your urging, I just changed the heading to make this thing more encompassing like you and others have hoped/suggested. Thanks for your comments and over a year later, we've moved forward a little bit.  

Rand Paul on NewsmaxTV (big right wing site) 6/1/15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-JDxMq2dSE
Rand tells it like it is on his fight against the NSA spying ordeal and he summons one of the Founding Fathers.

Very Interesting "The Five" Episode (on Fox at 5pm est which is a 5 person panel discussion that leads into the next show which is pure neocon at 6pm) - Panel Split on Rand

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgiQJSOddOo

This show is usually 95% fluffy nonsense, but the discussion on Rand was long, serious, and pretty heated.

Eric Bolling is really going to bat for Rand, like I've never seen before, and it's obvious that's he sincere.

I think some supportive emails to Bolling may be in order, he's been coming around for a while, and this really impressed me.

The Greek girl Andrea Tantaros and the Democrat woman (don't know her name) were also pro-Rand.

The bimbo Kimberly Guilfoyle (I can imagine a hook in that mouth) and the Irish guy were anti-Rand, esp. the former - she took some nasty personal shot at Bolling, which is not normal on this show.

New Rand Paul ad to air on tv

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a 2016 GOP presidential candidate who just single-handedly took down the National Security Agency (NSA) bulk data collection program by blocking re-authorization of the Patriot Act, is out with a new campaign ad on Monday evening detailing what he did and how.

The new campaign ad, Paul’s team told Breitbart News, will air on select cable television networks for at least several days starting tomorrow. His campaign wouldn’t say how big the buy is at this point, however.

More...http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/06/01/exclusive-rand-paul-releases-campaign-ad-bashing-nsa-after-his-big-win/

Check it out, it's pretty good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a509uEaedkU

Mark Levin (~3rd largest talk show in the country) talks about Rand's NSA fight right out of the gate last night.
He says he doesn't agree w/ everything Rand says and thinks we need a more robust foreign/military policy but, "so what! we need to have this discussion about the NSA" to some effect. Mark used to rip Ron Paul to shreds but has been way more civil about Rand and mostly supportive as you'll hear. Chime on in w/ your opinions of the clip if ya like. You'll find the audio clip here -
http://therightscoop.com/mark-levin-why-are-we-trashing-rand-paul-for-raising-honest-questions-the-federal-government/

Rand is interviewed on Fox's America's Newsroom earlier today about his NSA Victory
Watch how the reporter/interviewer acts when he poses his questions especially the gotcha right out of the gate. Rand did quite well despite the attempted hatchet job.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvTK6M6I5FA

Erick Erickson (owner of popular right wing blog - Red State): Good for Rand Paul

When the government shut down because Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) refused to back down over Obamacare defunding, government agencies made all sorts of hysterical claims about what would happen if they did not have money. Conservatives were quick to point out that the calamitous claims were overblown hysteria by the government.

For some reason, when the government makes calamitous claims about what Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is doing to the NSA, conservatives are falling all over themselves to believe the government. This, I would remind you, is the same government that tells us to “trust it” at the IRS, HHS, and VA.

In fact, it is well documented that the intelligence community has lied to Congress, distorted its operations, and presented half-truths in public. It is further well established that this particular administration has repeatedly abused the limits of proper restraint on government for political ends.

I think Senator Paul forcing the issue into the open is a good thing. Whether he sees it through to the bitter end or not, is to be seen, but merely having this fight and forcing the debate is worth it.

...

http://www.redstate.com/2015/06/01/good-for-rand-paul/

Exactly, Rand mentioned this numerous times during his speechifying over the last few weeks in the Senate and in nearly every interview he's been given. The usual talking point from the fear mongering neocons and the media security state propaganda pundits is that the bulk metadata collection is a "tool" for the NSA to stop terrorists when, in fact, the govt has point blank said the PA hasn't done jack shit to stop nothing. If there was real journalism out there, the reporter would stop the liars right in their spot and not allow them to push this line of bullcrap trying to swindle and mislead the viewing public. "Truth is treason in the empire of lies."

Rand Paul Gets an NSA Win — For Now

Rand Paul's Sunday night rally

The Senate officially convened on Sunday evening for votes on the Patriot Act, but the session essentially served as a campaign rally for Rand Paul. The Kentucky senator gets to notch a win this morning after his blockade in the Senate halted the renewal of the National Security Agency's authority to collect telephone metadata, starting at midnight last night. As a presidential candidate in need of grabbing attention, shoring up support from libertarian-leaning voters and expanding his fundraising base, it was a very successful night for him - and he's sure to declare victory over an establishment that miscalculated the country's mood on surveillance issues. Paul's problem: His ultimate position isn't going to win. The Senate is poised to pass the USA Freedom Act within a few days, which would maintain the metadata collection but move responsibility for the storage of the information to phone companies. That's hardly a slam dunk for Team Paul.

But the fight's not over yet

Yes, the USA Freedom Act strikes a middle ground that's amenable to most Republicans and the Obama administration, and yes, it's expected to pass later this week. But this fight ain't over yet. It's not yet clear that phone companies will be happy to comply with a law that's going to require subpoenas and lots of legal debate; after all, their customers are the same public that's dramatically shifted in its view of the balance between civil liberties and national security in the past decade or so. It's good PR for the phone companies to fight for more clarification, citing the privacy rights of their consumers. Just because the headlines this week will show that the bill has passed won't mean that everything's hunky-dory here. There are a lot more details to work out on how this will work in the real world. Why wouldn't a telecom company be incentivized, at least as a marketing stunt, to publicly fight the government mandate on holding on to their customers' metadata?

Enter Lindsey Graham

And speaking of Rand Paul, Sen. Lindsey Graham officially jumps into the presidential race this morning. Graham's candidacy is hardly a subtle counterpoint to Paul's libertarian push - it's clear that this run is born primarily out of stopping Rand Paul and others from pushing the party even further away from the hawkishness that defines folks like Graham and John McCain. The South Carolina senator believes that no one is defending his foreign policy positions, and he's certainly got the credentials and rhetorical skill to potentially kick Paul down a few notches. But a candidate whose greatest tool is the zinger one-liner could miss his best chance to use it if he doesn't qualify for the GOP debates where he'd share a stage with his foil. Rand Paul and Lindsey Graham each need each other in their own way as a sparring partner, but will they both make it to a level playing field for the fight?

http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/first-read-rand-paul-gets-nsa-win-now-n367631

The Patriot Act Is Not Fit for Purpose. Nor Is Its Replacement.

Perhaps nowhere on earth is the will to ignore facts stronger than in America’s Capitol. The ongoing debate over whether to reauthorize three expired provisions of the 2001 Patriot Act is a perfect case in point. And the proposed reforms in the USA Freedom Act hardly fare better.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr and presidential hopeful Senator Marco Rubio have repeated more times than I can count that these Patriot Act provisions are “vital” to preventing another 9/11.

But they are objectively wrong. Last month the Department of Justice Inspector General (DoJ IG) released a partially declassified version of a long overdue Patriot Act compliance report.

Nearly 14 years of using this provision—which has swept up tens of millions of records of innocent Americans in the process—has resulted in zero terrorist plots against America being uncovered, much less disrupted.

And this applies not simply to the telephone metadata program exposed by Edward Snowden two years ago, but to every Sec. 215-related program since the Patriot Act was enacted in October 2001. The DoJ IG report’s findings mirror those of President Obama’s own Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies, which issued its own report over 18 months ago.

http://www.newsweek.com/patriot-act-not-fit-purpose-nor-its-replacement-337970

This Newsweek Piece Echos Paul's Concerns w/o Mentioning him - Rubio linked to McConnell/Burr.

Today - How would Rand Paul fix the Patriot Act? | "Glenn Beck Radio Program" - One of largest programs/republican audiences in the country.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsVKSAHkcLk

Just How Badly Are Authorities Screwing Up The Arrest Of 170 Bikers In Texas?

On Sunday afternoon, an enormous biker gang brawl broke out at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas. Authorities claim that when members of several motorcycle gangs, including the Bandidos and Cossacks, gathered to hash out an ongoing turf war, the meeting turned bloody. When the scene quieted, a reported nine people were dead, at least 18 seriously wounded, and 170 or so in police custody.

Bikers can be some bad mothers f*ckers. The state of Texas identifies gangs such as the Bandidos as serious organized crime syndicates, deeply entangled with Mexican drug cartels and other ne’er-do-wells, every bit as nasty as notorious groups like the Bloods and Crips.

So, why should civil libertarians care what happens to 170 or so bikers in Waco? A closer look reveals how authorities arrested too many, set bail too high, and charged with too much. The results not only infringe on the civil liberties of many of those arrested, but will create a disaster for the criminal justice system in and around Waco.

Here’s why.

...

[url][http://abovethelaw.com/2015/05/just-how-badly-are-authorities-screwing-up-the-arrest-of-170-bikers-in-texas//url]

US foreign policy and intelligence largely seems to be used for the benefit of the Israelies. The latest regimes here haven't seemed to care for what americans want nor what is in their best interest. And yep, just like aiding and abetting Bin Laden back in the 80s, we're doing it all over again by letting ISIS get their hands on these weapons and helping the build their team by doing these ruses of air attacks that do little besides kill innocents and then all the males in each one of the dead's extended family are eager to join.

I certainly won't be losing any sleep over this corrupt sob getting his ass nailed to the wall. Lying to the feds is a federal crime so at most he'll spend some time in a minimum security spiritual retreat.

Here in America, men are often portrayed as a goof or other type of imbecile and women are the smart ones, having jobs and leading the family. While the alpha man still exists in sports, they seem to be dwindling in regular life especially in liberal cities.