# Extension of Patriot Act signed into law.... by machine **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 27, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390 "2011-05-27T02:57:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lubricious\_Integument](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lubricious\_Integument](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lubricious_Integument)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/1 "2011-05-27T02:57:47Z")
From [here](http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/55803.html). > [@](#): > > Capping a week of political bickering and parliamentary delays, the House joined the Senate on Thursday to approve a four-year extension of key provisions of the Patriot Act that are set to expire at midnight. > > Because President Barack Obama is traveling in Europe, a White House official said the bill will quickly be signed into law using an autopen, a machine that replicates the president’s signature. FFS, what’s wrong with a rubber stamp? Or an electronic signature? And why does “sign a bill into law” mean literally signing a document? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/2 "2011-05-27T03:45:20Z")
And why is it they can get their shit together about the goddamned Patriot Act and not get their shit together about the budget/deficit? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/3 "2011-05-27T03:56:03Z")
Autopen looks a lot nicer than a rubber stamp. That’s why famous people use them to sign their letters and autographs. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/4 "2011-05-27T12:13:45Z")
Skycorp? ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/5 "2011-05-27T16:03:31Z")
Good lord - he may have used the autopen to create the long form birth certificate! New conspiracy theory!!! ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/6 "2011-05-27T16:14:21Z")
Why not just a checkbox and button signifying that he’s read all 300+ pages of the Act and agrees to it? If it’s good enough for iTunes… ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/7 "2011-05-27T16:22:47Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > And why is it they can get their shit together about the goddamned Patriot Act and not get their shit together about the budget/deficit? Because they actually have to read the budget. Nobody bothered to read the Patriot Act, because “now is [DEL]not[/DEL] never the time to question your government.” Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mike\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_H)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/8 "2011-05-27T16:25:35Z")
Why couldn’t they just have faxed it to him, have Obama sign it and fax it back? The actual bill is only 1 page. I’ve signed documents this way and they are considered legally signed. Or for for that matter, PDF it , email it to the President, have Obama print and sign it, scan it and email it back (I’ve also signed things this way). Since a signed original exists, what difference does it make how it was “presented” to the President? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/9 "2011-05-27T17:22:11Z")
> [@Mike\_H](#): > > Why couldn’t they just have faxed it to him, have Obama sign it and fax it back? The actual bill is only 1 page. I’ve signed documents this way and they are considered legally signed. Or for for that matter, PDF it , email it to the President, have Obama print and sign it, scan it and email it back (I’ve also signed things this way). Since a signed original exists, what difference does it make how it was “presented” to the President? Some sort of security issue, I’m guessing. Even with a low-level clearance like mine, people here are hesitant to deliver any signed inter-office document unless they do so in person. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/10 "2011-05-27T17:32:56Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Some sort of security issue, I’m guessing. Even with a low-level clearance like mine, people here are hesitant to deliver any signed inter-office document unless they do so in person. well, yeah, if you’re delivering a inter-office document that is top secret, I suppose. But this document is a law voted on by Congress and binding on all American citizens. You don’t have to show a security clearance to read it. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/11 "2011-05-27T18:02:48Z")
If Obama was e-signing the DADT repeal, wouldn’t Republicans have cried foul and complained he didn’t really sign it? ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/12 "2011-05-27T18:13:48Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > If Obama was e-signing the DADT repeal, wouldn’t Republicans have cried foul and complained he didn’t really sign it? No. What a bizarre, partisan swipe. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/13 "2011-05-27T19:35:18Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > If Obama was e-signing the DADT repeal, wouldn’t Republicans have cried foul and complained he didn’t really sign it? Why can’t people use words? What in hell is DADT? ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/14 "2011-05-27T19:42:50Z")
[Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DADT) ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/15 "2011-05-27T20:34:04Z")
Or, the [passive-aggressive answer](http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=dadt&l=1). ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/16 "2011-05-30T11:14:54Z")
Just as a curiosity, would anyone raise a fuss that your President signed an American law in another country? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/17 "2011-05-30T12:54:41Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Some sort of security issue, I’m guessing. Even with a low-level clearance like mine, people here are hesitant to deliver any signed inter-office document unless they do so in person. Could anything be more _insecure_ than this Autopen system? I sounds as though anyone with access to the machine could put the president’s signature on anything they wanted. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/18 "2011-05-30T13:03:54Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Could anything be more _insecure_ than this Autopen system? I sounds as though anyone with access to the machine could put the president’s signature on anything they wanted. Ebay, here I come! ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/19 "2011-05-30T14:54:48Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Could anything be more _insecure_ than this Autopen system? I sounds as though anyone with access to the machine could put the president’s signature on anything they wanted. Yeah, I’m reminded of those identi-cards or whatever they were called from _Hitchhiker’s Guide_, where there were all sorts of security measures – tissue sampling, DNA analysis, fingerprinting, retina scanning and whatever else – which became too much of a hassle, so they just put all that data onto a card for the security systems to read. In other words, if you have a machine to put a signature under a document, there is no point in putting a signature under a document. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390/20 "2011-05-30T15:00:23Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > No. What a bizarre, partisan swipe. OFFS. Of course some would. The leadership would not because they know it would be ridiculous, but low level teabaggers desperate to latch on to any conspiracy theory would embrace it wholeheartedly. In fact, I’m surprised that some (not necessarily partisan) whackadoodle hasn’t already gone on about how Obama knows the legislation he signed is illegal, so he got around that by _not actually signing it_! Therefore if we just _let everyone know this fact_, the legislation will be rendered **magically void**! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extension-of-patriot-act-signed-into-law-by-machine/583390.md?page=2)