As of yet, the original Patriot Act has not seemed to stifle dissent in this country, and I hadn't expected it to. What's funny is I remember when Reagan was president. All the same characters were running around yelling that any minute his administration was going to clamp down on dissension, wreck our civil liberties, and generally take over the United States. Still waiting.

The Left seems unconcerned by the potential for abuse in laws they favor. Certain bodies of law are so arbitrary, that almost any interpretation is possible, depending on the mood of the lawgivers. Securities and Exchange is one area. Anti-trust is another. The Left is, as we speak, trying to rework FCC rules to stifle opposition. And the entire environmental body of laws seems to work on the concept of guilty until proven innocent.