Gone East

Shock and Awe

Sacramento Bee:

Originally sold to Congress as a means of fighting terrorism in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Patriot Act has been used in numerous criminal cases unrelated to terrorism probes, officials say.

In addition, some financial institutions have been citing it to explain why they're now asking for sensitive personal information from their customers.

Citizens looking to join college savings plans, for example, have been told they must provide extra information under the act.

[Via Dan Gillmor]