Feds beg Congress to expand PATRIOT Act

US Attorney General and former White House torture apologist Alberto Gonzales warned the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that certain temporary provisions of the so-called "Patriot" Act must not be allowed to expire as scheduled later this year.

"Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups still pose a grave threat to the security of the American people, and now is not the time to relinquish some of our most effective tools in this fight," Gonzales explained.

However, since terrorists will always pose a risk, Gonzales's argument is a slick way of admitting that the Feds have grown accustomed to the powers that Congress intended as temporary, and are determined to keep them. Which, of course, everyone has known from day one.

He has indicated that the Bush Administration might compromise slightly on some of the most objectionable permanent provisions, such as so-called "sneak and peek" warrants, or, as the Justice Department prefers to call them, "delayed notification" warrants, that allow the Feds to break into your house secretly, execute a search, and not tell you about it until they wish to.