The provisions of the Patriot Act which increased communication and efficiency between law enforcement agencies are fine and I have no argument with them. What I take issue with is the stripping of privacy between the citizen and the state. Much of what the Patriot Act does is side-step the Fourth Amendment. I believe the citizen should be opaque and the state should be transparent, not the other way around.
The Patriot Act was passed immediately after the attacks of 9/11 with the assumption that the attacks were the result of a lack of police power. This act increased police authority, including secret searches of library and video rental records. The 9/11 commission determined that information that might have prevented the attacks was available within the FBI and other agencies and was mishandled and/or ignored. The USA Patriot Act was an attempt to solve the wrong problem.