] Unlike its hastily passed predecessor, the Justice
] Department's wide-ranging follow-up to the Patriot Act of
] 2001 is already facing intense scrutiny, just days after
] a civil rights group posted a leaked version of the
] legislation on its website.
] The legislation, nicknamed Patriot II, would broadly
] expand the government's surveillance and detention
] powers. Among other measures, it calls for the creation
] of a terrorist DNA database and allows the attorney
] general to revoke citizenship of those who provide
] "material support" to terrorist groups.

Very scary read at where the DoJ wants to go!

] "This is something you have on the shelf," said
] Hoofnagle. "You wait for an opportune moment, like going
] to war, to introduce it. They call this a draft, but this
] bill is definitely close to final and gives a good road
] map of what the Justice Department wants."

I wonder how long the patriot act was on the shelf before September 11th. This is fairly reasonable evidence that these acts are a general effort at widening powers rather then a specific effort to enable the investigation of specific crimes.