Sources: Ashcroft to declassify some Patriot Act records

[stevedeshazer]

<snip>
WASHINGTON (CNN) --
Attorney General John
Ashcroft is moving to
declassify information about
how many requests law
enforcement officials have
made for library, business and
other records under the
Patriot Act, Justice
Department sources said
Wednesday.

<snip>
The American Civil Liberties Union said
Ashcroft did not go far enough.

"This is a small step. Many more are necessary," said Laura Murphy, director of the
ACLU's Washington national office. "Let's be clear. Whether they've snooped around in
16 libraries or 1,600, having that power without meaningful judiciary oversight is still
wrong in America."

<snip>
"According to these breathless reports and baseless hysteria, some have convinced the
American Library Association that under the bipartisan Patriot Act, the FBI is not fighting
terrorism. Instead agents are checking how far you have gotten on the latest Tom Clancy
novel," Ashcroft said mocking the critics.

source: http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/09/17/ashcroft.patriot/

[indepat]

1. A bi-partisan Patriot Act, unread by most and crammed down their throats,

as the lilly-livered and threatened Democrats, shaking in their collective boots and fearful of being labeled as not tough on terrorism, voted for this seemingly unconstitutional act. Incidentally, counterintelligence (anti-terrorism) had not been among this AG's top ten budget priorities on 9/10/01, and his lads had been busily rounding up whores in New Orleans, raiding marijuana-for-medical-purposes facilities in California, and thwarting the right-to-die movement in Oregon, all the while many relevant leads regarding suspected terrorists/terrorist activities reportedly were not allowed to be followed upon in the days prior to 9-11. So just how baseless is the concern?