USA Patriot Act: Last Refuge of a Senator

What America does Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) think he’s protecting by his proposal to delete the sunset provisions of the USA Patriot Act and extend forever the hollowing of our nation’s constitutional protections of individual civil liberties (“A Sly Move by Sen. Hatch,” editorial, April 14)? Perhaps he’s protecting the late Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s vision of America -- but certainly not that of our founding fathers Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, or the millions who came to America to escape tyranny and seek freedom. The senator is not only sly but fundamentally un-American.

Kris Ockershauser

Pasadena

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Hatch needs to be sly and secretive for now. At this moment in history there is looting in the streets of Baghdad, the Republican Guard is evaporating and the Baath Party is running for the borders. Without secrecy, we may take our eyes away from the war news and see the old-guard Republicans giving the Constitution a bath and looting the tax system for the rich.

David Eastman

Costa Mesa

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Thanks for your editorial on Hatch’s amendment. Coupled with Howard Rosenberg’s article about the dismissal of producer Ed Gernon for his comparison of the current U.S. public climate to that of Hitler’s Germany (Calendar, April 14), we have reason to worry about our democracy even as the administration markets it.

Damiana Chavez

Los Angeles