I was terrified enough when privacy seemed to be headed out the window under Bush
i found this amusing when the left was screaming about the patriot act. pretty much all of that act was already available to law enforcement, particularly the DEA. much of those earlier enactments had happened under clinton. no outcry from the public. the primary thing the patriot act did, was to update existing law and make the provisions more widely available to all law enforcement. in addition, all that was in the patriot act was subject to challenge in court, and some has been challenged and changed.
there is a legitimate argument to be made about the provisions being over reaching, but the hysteria over them is hard to take seriously since no one was upset when the original provision were enacted. it is typical of the libs to scream that the right wants to take your freedom and starve your granny, but if you look at the times when liberties are most often lost, you'll find liberals in charge. when there is talk of restricting rights, you'll most often find that talk coming from the left.
while obama has done a lot of things that disturb me, the worst and maybe least talked about is the assassination of American citizens without due process. this kill list crosses a line into behavior that i never though i'd see in this country. this is 3rd world dictator stuff.
yes, some republicans do it to. republican and conservative are not synonymous.