During an event promoting her new book "A Time to Run" Sunday at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium's Little Theater, California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer said she was happy to have made a stand against the PATRIOT Act and that she had a hard time believing anything the Bush administration says anymore.

After being introduced by Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard, Boxer spoke to a crowd of nearly 100 people, covering topics including the recently disclosed Defense Department eavesdropping program and the war in Iraq.

"I'm proud to be among the senators who defeated the PATRIOT Act," Boxer said to the enthusiastic applause a day after all but two Democrats joined a handful of Republicans to filibuster the debate, effectively enabling two key provisions of the act to expire on New Year's Day. "We can protect our homeland against terrorism without eroding our basic civil liberties. It can be done."

Although Boxer once believed claims that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling weapons, "Literally everything they said proved to be wrong, every single thing. Now I'm at the point where I have a very hard time believing anything they say. They think the end justifies the means. That's dangerous," she said.