Patriot Act Left As-Is... Bookstore/Library Thought Crime Provision Kept

[GiovanniC]

So I heard this morning about how an effort to revise the Patriot Act was shot down after Republicans managed to sway some of their brethren back to the side of the Constitutionally Deficient.

In particular, they seemed to be arguing about the provision that allows the federal government to gain access to records kept in bookstores and libraries detailing what YOU'VE been reading. If that smacks of Orwell to you, then you win the prize for paying attention.

The attempt to revise the Patriot Act was in a spending bill, apparently, and Bush said that he was prepared to strike down the entire bill to prevent any changes to his precious Patriot Act.

Proponents for the Patriot Act said (see if you can find the irony):

#1 The bookstore/library provision of the Patriot Act has NEVER BEEN USED

and

#2 The bookstore/library provision of the Patriot Act is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY for National Security.

[skooooo]

1. I believe..

....the Patriot act has been used for these purposes. I don't have a link to the facts, so I apologize, but I believe there was a bookstore in Chicago that was audited. I'll try to dig up the information sometime soon.

#2 is simply a belief by some, not a fact, and it's certainly not provable. You can't make judgements about someone simply by what they read.

[DBoon]

2. What is so important

about knowing what people read? So much so that it is necessary to threaten a major budget item veto?

This really scares me.

[thecrow]

9. *ahem*

take a look at what you're reading here!
The purpose of the unPATRIOT Act goes a bit beyond what they purport as being measures to catch terrorists.

It effectively can be used as a method to quash dissent.
I would assume what a person reads in bookstores, libraries, the internet and yes, email would pop up the necessary flags to identify to them a person who could be classified a dissenter.

Very handy indeed if you are suspecting an uprising in the population .... possibly of people who are apeshit mad over the Constitution being gutted?

[2Design]

3. libraries are doing business different because of this

they purge records sooner.
when you go to use a computer they either only take your first name or no name

the libraries do not believe in keeping information.

And as one poster suggested there was something in Chicago area I believe where they actually went and did this...

so the only answer is to read the book at the store or library and not take it out.

Stores if you only use cash do not have your reading habits....

it is a deterrent and will not work against the criminal mind.

Just another way to control the masses in the future... after the november 2 election...it could get worse....

[GiovanniC]

4. I Used To Work at the Library

It's a place where lots of well-read, intelligent people hang out. In other words, lots 'o Democrats.

I know for myself and some of the others that worked in the library that they would get library records after they pried them from "my cold dead hands". I would go Susan McDougal on their asses... go ahead and send me to Gitmo, assholes.

[2Design]

7. yes I am aware that librarians will go to great extents to protect the

right to read what we want. The public library was set up for that. And you are right the educated use the library most. Bush type people do not read, only take orders from fundamentalist.

Libraries are publicly funded and since bush wants to get rid of anything publicly funded, schools, libraries, social security, medicare, medicaid......they want all our tax dollars for themselves.

Government is not getting smaller. Just few people are receiving all the money.

[noonwitch]

5. The library/bookstore provision is so wrong

However, if they want to know what I'm reading, I'll be happy to tell them on any given day. Why go bother the good people at Borders?

I figure that I've been on any of the lists of potential subversives since the 80s, when I signed the Nuclear Freeze petition and a few petitions protesting US intervention in Central America and US support of apartheid. Also, there's that thing where my family helped hide a fugitive from the Phillipines/Marcos in our basement, taking turns with other members of our church. It wasn't really a secret-the point was that no way in hell was the Reagan administration going to send in the federales to raid homes of church-going people in Grand Rapids, MI to arrest a minister who was hiding from Marcos because he knew he'd be killed if returned to the Phillipines. If they (INS) had gotten a hold of him, they would have deported him to his death. Reagan was big on helping his dictator friends, especially when they had connections to huge, multi-national corporations like Dole. I was away at college at the time, but I'm sure we all got placed on somebody's list for that.

[democraticinsurgent]

6. Au contraire: Indiana library reports info request (Patriot Act)

so much for argument number 1. This headline was staring me in the face as I browsed the Indianapolis Star's website this morning. And folks, if it's happened in good ole' Indiana, it's happening everywhere.

---------------------------------------

One Indiana library reported in a survey that federal officials had sought to review patron Web browsing and reading habits since the Patriot Act went into effect, an Indiana Library Federation representative said Thursday.

Stephen Cochran, chairman of the federation's intellectual freedom committee, said that of the 218 other Indiana public libraries responding to an anonymous survey, six said they were not sure, and two asked, "Wouldn't disclosing this information to you be in violation of the Patriot Act?"

With this information, he said, libraries around the state should "want to sit up and think about how to protect their patrons' confidentiality."

He said the federation supports rolling back Patriot Act provisions that lower the bar for federal officials to request patron data.

http://www.indystar.com/articles/2/161099-5102-009.html

[GiovanniC]

8. An Excellent Point

This provision allows the government to see what you're reading, AND it prohibits the bookstore/library from talking about it. It's impossible to know how badly our rights have been abused.

[thecrow]

10. A bit off topic but

a friend of mine recently called me about her new job at a bank.
It is with the "compliance" division, brought about because of the unPATRIOT Act.
She was saying she felt guilty every time she had to submit a form to the government reporting a cash transaction at the bank.... i.e. cash deposits, cash withdrawals, etc. This is not the thing that used to be in effect about the "over $10,000" transaction.
This is everyday people!
She would quit the job, but she feels lucky to have any job right now.

[Blue-Jay]

11. From now on, I'm just stealing books.

I'll mail some cash to the author later.

[prolesunited]

12. Want to learn more or help out?

Librarians are TRUE subversives.

ALA to launch USA PATRIOT study

(ORLANDO) The American Library Association (ALA) announced during its 2004 Annual Conference in Orlando (June 24 to 30) that it is seeking funding to conduct this fall an in-depth, longitudinal study of Law Enforcement Access to Library Records and Technology.  The study seeks to make clear the extent to which a variety of law enforcement tools are used to gather data on individuals through their interaction with public and academic libraries in the wake of the USA PATRIOT Act.


“This information will be crucial for the U.S. Congress when they begin debate on amending and/or expanding the PATRIOT Act,” said Emily Sheketoff, ALA Washington Office executive director. “The study should indicate any potential problems caused by law enforcement accessing previously protected reading records and Web sites.  We also hope to segue into a more long-term, broad understanding of the impact of weakened privacy protections on the attitudes and actions of people who use libraries and the services that libraries provide.”
http://ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=69370

To donate
To make a donation to fund the implementation of the USA PATRIOT study, please mail your check, payable to ALA, to ALA Development Office, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611, and earmark your tax-deductible contribution for "E-SPY."   Or, you can make an online credit card contribution by visiting:  https://cs.ala.org/onlinegift/.  If you have questions, please contact Lainie Castle in the ALA Development Office (312.280.5050) or email at [e-mail].


Bernie Sanders has been a champion of repealing this portion of the act. You can read more about it here:
http://bernie.house.gov/

[Killarney]

13. did they have a vote on it?

do we know who voted for against amongst the Dems this time?

[Solly Mack]

14. I call the bookstore/library provisions the "Ken Starr" Plan

He went after Monica in the same manner...