Thanks DanO for the information. I got your point about Nazi Germany and taking our guns away being in line with the Patriot Act.

The Fourth Amendment provided that if the state wished to search you, it needed to show probable cause that a crime had been committed and to obtain a warrant from a neutral judge. Now the FBI needs only to certify to a judge—(no need for evidence or probable cause) that the search protects against terrorism. The judge has no authority to reject this application. DOJ calls this "seeking a court order," but it's much closer to a rubber stamp. Also, now the target of a search needn't be a terror suspect herself, so long as the government's purpose is "an authorized investigation ... to protect against international terrorism."

I would think they would have to show some probable cause for doing these things. Have you seen any instances of abuse of power that have been reported? If what you are saying is absolutely true then we have no check and balance in place similar to the debacle we call the Supreme Court?

Thanks DanO