More opposition to Patriot Act II, this time coming from the Minneapolis Star Tribune editorial.

"Patriot Act II" offers everything an aspiring autocrat might wish for: It would expand government's spying power and curb judicial checks -- permitting 15-day wiretaps without court approval in a "time of emergency." It would expand aw-enforcers' power to secretly arrest and indefinitely detain anyone thought to be linked to a suspected terror group. It would tighten the Freedom of Information Act to keep the public from discovering whom the government has arrested and why.

Most troubling, perhaps, is a provision that would strip American citizenship from anyone who supports political groups of which the executive branch disapproves. That could mean expatriation for any citizen who makes a contribution to a charity that the Justice Department decides is subversive -- even if the gift was otherwise legal and made in good faith.

We need to keep spreading the word about this rights-abusive bill so that when the Bush Administration tries to sneak it past Congress, they'll be ready to spot it, understand the issues and resoundingly reject it.