April 02, 2003

MATT WELCH IS ALL OVER THE "PATRIOT II" ACT. I think he's right to be.

As this item by Dan Gillmor indicates -- and as the absurd use of the Patriot Act against PayPal over online casinos underscores, the Justice Department hasn't demonstrated that it's ready to handle any additional powers.

I'd feel better, it's true, if Randy Barnett were Attorney General. But I'd still oppose this stuff. The best way to stop terrorism is to kill terrorists, and stop the states that support them. And we're doing that. This other stuff looks more like a bureaucratic power-grab than a national-security necessity.