My head just exploded...Brown shirts are in full force

[serryjw]

quote.......
Two uniformed men strolled into the main room of the Little Falls library in Bethesda one day last week and demanded the attention of all patrons using the computers. Then they made their announcement: The viewing of Internet pornography was forbidden.

The men looked stern and wore baseball caps emblazoned with the words "Homeland Security."

snip.......
After the two men made their announcement, one of them challenged an Internet user's choice of viewing material and asked him to step outside, according to a witness. A librarian intervened, and the two men went into the library's work area to discuss the matter. A police officer arrived. In the end, no one had to step outside except the uniformed men.

snip......
Montgomery County's chief administrative officer, Bruce Romer, issued a statement calling the incident "unfortunate" and "regrettable" -- two words that bureaucrats often deploy when things have gone awry. He said the officers had been reassigned to other duties.

snip......
Although many library systems in the United States use filtering software, the D.C. and Fairfax systems do not, and Montgomery uses such software only on computers available to children

end quote.........

Now My Libraries in Denver have filters on them which is fine with me. I do not see this as a 1st amendment issue, obviously DC does. It was the overreach of the local brown shirts that is outrageous. Did they REALLY think this was their job? Do they also go to every ADULT store in the area? Just a bunch of over zealous fundies

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/16/AR2006021602066.html?referrer=emailarticle (reg reguired)

[GCP]

1. Good for that librarian - a TRUE patriot eom

[skooooo]

6. Anyone noticing a pattern re: librarians?

I wish Americans more aggressively supported their libraries.

[anitar1]

61. I support mine. I have been going to the library every

other week for the last 55 years. I love the librarians at my Library in the next town. I have to buy membership as I am not a city resident. It is 60 dollars a year. On the other hand, if I bought a card at the Eugene, Or library , it would cost me 95 dollars a year. I live in an unincorporated area.So I drive over to Springfield, just a few miles.Librarians have had such a hard time, as many of the staff have been laid off and the library is only open 3 full days and the rest of the time , just 5 to 6 hours. It sucks. So many negative things happening in every town in the country.

[LostinVA]

65. WE are so cool

There are very few conservative librarians I know, and even they are against this. You don't get into this gig unless you believe in the free dissemination of information. WEll, 99.9% of us, that is.

And, we even get some of the lowest car insurance rates!

[fooj]

66. Know why? NOT ENOUGH $$$ for the Repubs...

Silly little librarian jobs...pfffttttttttt! I, personally, find it to be quite the noble profession. Good on you!

Peace.

[LostinVA]

67. It isn't enough money, especially for having a Master's!

It's like any type of education job -- you don't do it for the money.

[fooj]

71. Yep. I'm a teacher. I know EXACTLY what you're saying.

Peace.

[LostinVA]

76. Peace

[TruthTeller]

77. I am COOL too...

yeah for the librarians. We may be "quiet" or so they think!!!


TT

[fooj]

84. Welcome to DU!

Peace

[upi402]

22. agreed!

:toast: O8)

[midnight]

75. Thats what I was thinking.

This is what it means to exercise those Amendments, and the Constitution. Thank goodness these folks that are running the Library like to read.

[ugarte]

2. Probably the first time in their lives they ever set foot in a library

Can witch trials be far behind?

[Ferret Annica]

3. Screw these brown shirts

This is why Eugene. Oregon's public library refuses to comply in any way that compromises the privacy of it's patrons.

[Flying Dream Blues]

46. OMG that is a great, but scary poster!!

[yurbud]

80. do you sell that poster on cafepress?

[Ferret Annica]

82. I don't know

I got it off of Rense.com. The link in there for previous splash pictures fills three pages there and is fun to go through.

[shance]

They're testing the waters now to see how people react.

I'd send this to friends and family and let them see what the "Homeland Security" boys are up to.

[FreedomAngel82]

55. Exactly

I have read that in some areas in towns they have mock things like this to where they have people play parts and invade their home's. While it's all fake they're preparing. Has anybody else heard about this? I first found out about this from an Alex Jones film. :shrug:

[rodeodance]

4. there were some threads yesterday on this. I am glad to see in WaPost.

[niyad]

5. "brown shirts" was exactly what I was thinking. first of all, are these

any kind of actual police officers, or just guys who get hard wearing uniforms. after all, ANYONE can dress up in a uniform (flight suit, anyone?) and pretend.

that sort of incident is proof that what the powers-that-be are really after is turning this into a police state, complete with thought control, NOT just fighting terrorists. they just happen to be a handy and convenient excuse.

1984 has finally arrived.

[Dr.Phool]

18. Did they have any credentials other than a baseball cap?

The last time I was in Washington, you could buy caps that said "Homeland Security", "FBI", "CIA", and a lot of others at souvenir huts on the sidewalk anywhere.

[electropop]

54. Right. I have an FBI shirt.

Also, I work for DHS, and as far as I know, there are no DHS uniforms that resemble what is described. There are ones that say "US Customs & Border Protection," "US Border Patrol," "Immigration and Customs Enforcement," "Transportation Security Administration," and so forth, but nothing that just says "DHS." These guys were probably just fundie imposters. Thing is, people in Bethesda (DC area) are generally savvy about the US Government, because it's the main industry here. They weren't about to fall for it. That's why somebody called the cops.

[Webster Green]

7. I wonder if this has been posted on the "Dark Site"....

This story, along with the turning of our ports over to the "Arabs", should get the Freeper's heads exploding.

[dogday]

8. Patriot Act says they can take records from Library

and tell anyone involved that they can be prosecuted for even talking about it.... :wtf:

[trixie]

45. That is why we librarians are changing the records

When you return an item it is wiped off your record completely. If you are late with an item and are charged a fine than we have to keep the record for 1 year to comply with consumer laws (the right to protest fines). Most libraries now have dummy computer user cards with no info on them that, when requested, can be given to you for your internet searches.

[FreedomAngel82]

56. Good

There's a great documentary out called "UnConstitutional" that talks about the "Patriot Act" and what's wrong with it. One part they talk about the library records and they show a woman at the end taking the books you get and sign and she shreds it.

[LiberalPartisan]

79. Outstanding!! Good on you.

I smell a little civil disobedience in the air. Thoreau would be proud of you.

[Marie26]

62. This isn't DHS, or the Patriot Act

It makes this even weirder. These are some County "Homeland Security" guards who suddenly went on a power trip. They weren't enforcing the Patriot Act, but supposedly enforcing the county's "sexual harrasment policy" (which is not a law, & not HS's job anyway). So really, some county security guards march into a library and start harrassing people for no reason at all. But they're ACTING like DHS agents. That's the odd part. They're sort of spontaneously re-enacting the Patriot Act's violation of library privacy, at the same time the Patriot Act was just re-enacted in Congress. I bet they saw this in the news & somehow thought this expanded their mandate to immediately start bullying people in a library. It's almost like there's a certain segment of the population that is just ready & eager for the chance to abuse their authority, given the opportunity. And that's disturbing.

[lpbk2713]

9. Fortunately I don't *have* to use a public computer ...... BUT ...

if some asshole told me what he approved of and didn't approve of and what sites I could or couldn't visit he had better be prepared for the consequences. It wouldn't be pretty.

[PA Democrat]

10. How does Homeland Security have jurisdiction over what library patrons

view on the internet? I don't know of any federal law which gives then the authority to restrict access to pornography on library computers.

Of course the law didn't stop Bush from illegally spying on American citizens without a warrant either.

[serryjw]

15. Sorry....You missed this one

quote......
Government access to library records
Perhaps the most controversial section of the Act stems from Section 215. Section 215 allows FBI agents to obtain a warrant in camera from the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for library or bookstore records of anyone connected to an investigation of international terrorism or spying.
end quote.......
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_PATRIOT_Act#Government_access_to_library_records

quote......
The agreement would also remove the conference report's language requiring recipients of NSLs to inform the FBI of the name of any attorney they consult about the demand for financial or internet records. The ACLU noted that this provision should not have been in the conference report in the first place. Finally, the agreement says that it would clarify whether libraries can receive NSLs in a provision titled "Privacy Protections for Library Patrons," but unfortunately the changes do not protect library patrons' internet or email transactions from disclosure and do not require that there be any connection between the records sought and a suspected foreign terrorist or person in contact with such a target.

end quote........
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/24131prs20060209.html

[PA Democrat]

20. I knew about the Patriot Act, but how does that give them

authority to tell library patrons what they may or may not view on the internet? Unless those people in that library were suspected terrorists, Homeland Security had no right to even look at what websites those folks were viewing, let alone issue a warning.

[serryjw]

28. I think most of this is being challenged

quote.......
The USA Patriot Act: What Are You Reading?
by Bernie Sanders

A HALF a century ago, George Orwell used the famous phrase "Big Brother is watching you" in his novel 1984. Today, under the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, Big Brother will indeed be watching us every time we use a public library. Or buy a book.


end quote.......
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0119-03.htm
ACLU is challenging it
http://www.cfac.org/Attachments/FBI_library.htm

I found an other article

quote.......
Libraries
Libraries have recently seen litigation over the use of filters to control access to the Internet. Courts have ruled that libraries filtering the Internet are breaking the First Amendment rights of its patrons and must stop. The libraries are being torn in two directions one by people who want no censoring and the other by those who want to put filters on library computers to protect children from accessing harmful Internet sites. In Livermore, California a parent sued the library to force them to put blocking software on the library computers. This case was a result of her child accessing pornography on the library computers. The judge in the case dismissed the lawsuit. In another lawsuit, the Loudoun library case, the court declares public library filters "unconstitutional". The judge from the Loudoun Library Case recommends separate filtered computers for kids. One note is that the American Library Association has come out against the governmental control of the Internet. They believe that filtering the Internet should be something that is decided by each local library.
end quote.......
http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/wp/censorship/filtering/individual.htm

[rman]

73. porn = 'liberal', liberals = enemy

Anything in the name of security.

That's my theory on their thinking.

[Catrina]

11. Guys in baseball caps with Homeland Security written on them? They

are officers? When did we get a force under the mantle of Homeland Security? This is truly scary and we BETTER react with outrage over it or they will get the idea that we have no problem with Brownshirts.

Are these part of the Total Information Act that was defeated because decent Americans, (Librarians and Truckers eg) refused to be 'designated' to spy on their neighbors?

How about starting a program education people that this may happen but only if THEY are willing turn their own loved ones in, as in Germany. No one with ANY morals would participate in this!! It's absolutely frightening ~ I will pass it around also ~

[dogday]

48. Homeland Security County Officers

Apparently there are a lot more out there You can even get a homeland security degree!

http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=ush1-mail&p=Homeland+Security+County+Officers

[FlaGranny]

12. First impression-

two fundies working for Homeland Security, decided to use their positions to intimidate. After they got off for the day, they went home and fired up their computers looking for porn sites - research, ya know?

[ComerPerro]

13. The extreme right wing went from hating the government and trying to kill

innocent US citezens with their little militias and terrorist groups to trying to threaten and bully Americans who don't rally 100% behind the government.

Why the flip-flop?

Remember when these people hated America, the government, and all it stood for?

But, now, it has finally become the fascist state they have always dreamed of,

[dogday]

14. Vote this up

this is what we can expect everywhere soon people..

[suffragette]

16. Some important questions

Are these guys really Homeland Security agents?

If not, have they been arrested for impersonating agents?

If they aren't agents and haven't been arrested, why not?

If they are agents, then how many Homeland Security agents are being tasked to do things like this and like the harassment of the activist in Idaho for expressing his views? See http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x444286

Very troubling.

[pimpbot]

25. The article says they are COUNTY homeland security

Montgomery county apparently has a homeland security division. These retards were employed by the county, to walk around county building and make sure things are "safe".

[dogday]

26. How many more County Homeland Security Officers

are in the US?

[suffragette]

43. Actually, that's not the case

In some ways, it's even odder.
Look downthread.
I found more info from the ALA's website and posted it.

[neweurope]

17. K & R

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

Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

[unblock]

19. anyone ask the brownshirts for ID?

i'm just wondering if some fundy nutjobs might not play dress up, be it to get their rocks off or just test the waters or whatever.

[dogday]

27. The Title said the were reassigned after Library incident..........eom

[upi402]

21. this is how it is to start here?

[Paradise]

23. do we know what uniform they were wearing? n/t

[PaganPreacher]

47. Yes.

They were county security guards.



The Pagan Preacher
I don't turn the other cheek.

[Paradise]

74. thank you. n/t

[malaise]

24. It's all frightening

but what is even more disturbing is that HS is being put in the hands of corporations and Buscho's fundie-church goons. Dis is fascism gone mad.

[suffragette]

29. Found more info on the American Library Association site

From http://www.ala.org/al_onlineTemplate.cfm?Section=alonline&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=116848


Security Officers Overstep in Maryland Library Incident

Two county security officers, who wore hats identifying them as Homeland Security guards, have been reassigned after they intervened in a patron’s internet session at the Little Falls branch of the Montgomery County Public Library in Bethesda, Maryland. While on routine patrol at the library February 9, a veteran security guard and an officer trainee noticed a man viewing what they believed to be pornography on a library computer and asked him to step outside to discuss the matter, the Washington Post reported February 17. They then announced to patrons using the computers that looking at porn violated the county’s sexual harassment policy.

At that point, library staffers intervened and called the county police department. “An officer did respond, and after discussion, it was determined that the actions of the security guards were not appropriate,” police spokeswoman Lucille Bauer told reporters. The library patron was allowed to return to his internet session.


Montgomery County Chief Administrative Officer Bruce F. Romer issued a statement February 17 that called the incident “unfortunate” and “regrettable.” He said the county has taken the two officers off patrol and will retrain them “so that they fully understand library policy and its consistency with residents’ First Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution.”


MCPL Collection Management Chief Kay Ecelbarger told American Libraries that the incident was “atypical,” and that the library would be participating in retraining the security guards in “library intellectual freedom issues.” She added that while the media had identified the guards as Homeland Security officers, they really are the same county employees who have always been charged with public building security, although “they’ve had a broader mandate in recent years.”



First, bravo to all the courageous librarians who are now at the frontline of our battle to retain our rights. They faced these thugs head-on and won this round. However, there are still many troubling signs here. First, that it happened at all. Next, while retraining is good and important, shouldn't there be more sanctions for this? And last, what all is meant by "broader mandate" and how many security guards or people in other positions are receiving this and what are they doing with it?

[serryjw]

36. Librarians should not have to

be put in this position to defend our rights. These guys should be fired, they are frightening that they would do this on an unimportant issue.

Think about how mnay hundreds of times a week DUers access 'sensitive' websites ( I'm on DHS and Justice all the time!)

[suffragette]

38. Absolutely agree

[Warren Stupidity]

50. We all are now in the position of having to defend our rights

nobody else is going to do it for us. Our pathetic opposition party certainly appears to have no stomach for this fight. It is up to each of us to stand up every time and say no. The librarians just happen to be on the point position.

[lpbk2713]

42. I'm glad the responding officer agreed with the library staff.

Who knows where this could have gone if the officer saw things a different way.


One scenario: The staff could have stuck to their guns and could have eventually been fired.

Another: The user could have vehemently demanded his rights and could have been arrested for "disorderly conduct".

[ooglymoogly]

30. k&nom

[Griffy]

31. OMG. this is the library at my old Jr. high!!!

I know this library, and grew up in the area! ... wow, I just dont read local news much anymore, let alone MSM.

[Pachamama]

70. Me too Griffy! Used to live out near Bullis!

Whoa....I got chills reading this story....My family is still in that area...I'm going to email them and ask them about it....

[Neurotica]

32. Filters are a First Amendment issue

Filters aren't perfect -- they block out a lot of constitutionally protected information. They also frequently contain religious and/or political biases, and it's impossible to know what's blocked because the companies that make filtering software generally consider their blocking mechanisms proprietary information.

Mandatory filters are especially troublesome since they treat adults like children.

The actions of the security officers -- while a worst-case scenario -- exemplify the problems associated with trying to limit people's access to information.

[suffragette]

34. Great 1st post

Welcome to DU, Neurotica :hi:

[Hissyspit]

59. Welcome to DU! And of course filters are a 1st Amendment issue.

They turn your info access into "Google China."

:patriot: :hi: :party:

[newyawker99]

78. Hi Neurotica!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Terran1212]

33. My sister works for DHS

They usually don't operate like that...

[PaganPreacher]

39. Fact check: They were NOT DHS.

The two men were security guards, employed by Montgomery County.

The original post was misleading- deliberately?


The Pagan Preacher
I don't turn the other cheek.

[Mutley]

83. According to the article, they were wearing "Homeland Security" hats.

[cascadiance]

35. It's becoming like Babylon 5

Except in this reality, having President Clark (as in Wesley) would be a HELLUVA lot better than the bum we have there now!

[Gregorian]

37. Heaven forbid a child see a naked body.

We have no problem with cluster bombs and depleted uranium. No amount of pornography could ever be as destructive as war. And war is what this country is all about.

Sad.

[Name removed]

40. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Warren Stupidity]

52. "obviously trademark infringement"

"does have significant economic implications"

We are so screwed. They are pushing the boundaries. Put this together with the fire drill they just ran simulating 'cyber terror' that consisted of people blogging stuff found to be 'disinformation'.

Give them an inch...

[PaganPreacher]

41. Deliberately misleading?

Reading the whole story told a very different tale than your extract.

You snipped out the fourth paragraph from the original story:
They were officers of the security division of Montgomery County's Homeland Security Department, an unarmed force that patrols about 300 county buildings -- but is not responsible for enforcing obscenity laws.

You also snipped out paragraph 7, which says:
Romer said the officers believed they were enforcing the county's sexual harassment policy but "overstepped their authority" and had to be reminded that Montgomery "supports the rights of patrons to view the materials of their choice."

False impressions..... but was it deliberate?

You tell us.


The Pagan Preacher
I don't turn the other cheek.

[Marie26]

63. Misleading for sure

I get suspicious when an article is randomly snipped like that. It did seem to leave a false impression, deliberately or not, that this involved the DHS. Most people just post the first 4 paragraphs, but here that would've included the fact that these weren't DHS officers. Hmmmm.

[derby378]

44. Try that around me, and my foot will escort you to the door

It's not a very Quaker thing to say, true, but it's a freedom thing.

[Justice Is Comin]

49. Homeland Security my ass

it's an attempt to put an end to Right To Choose--Security.

[Mr_Spock]

51. Republican regressiveness at it's finest

Bunch of ingrate morons.

[PaganPreacher]

72. Can't blame the Republicans for this one.

The two men were county security guards, and Montgomery County is big-time Blue territory.

This was reported on DU in a misleading way. Someone is trying to push our buttons!
:eyes:

The Pagan Preacher
I don't turn the other cheek.

[Hardrada]

53. We have a county homeland security guy here

but he is kind of a doofus ex-veterinarian we have known for years. Is kind of an odd duck since he is sort of a fundie but goes to my wife's UCC church. I think he just took the job since he likes to do little community things that make him feel significant. He inherited some $$ so he has a lot of spare time.

[roguevalley]

57. my mom would go to jail before she'd allow someone to mess with a patron

[Martin Eden]

58. I can't tell you how happy I am ...

... that internet pornography is the greatest threat to our national security. The war on "terror" certainly must be over! Otherwise, scarce Homeland Security resources wouldn't be tasked with raiding the Little Falls Library ... right?

[1620rock]

60. Yeah, I work for DHS/USCBP and these guys are...

...phoneys. They should have been questioned and arrested for impersonating a federal officer by the local police that showed up...something is fishy here.

[Az_lefty]

64. Homeland Security my ass!

I can't stand cowards that hide behind slogans and such. Take these assholes one on one and I guarantee you they would wet their pants.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

68. This brings up an interesting question. Where did Homeland Security

employees come from, anyway? Since it was a new agency, did they bring in existing law enforcement/military/NSA types, or did they just hire a bunch of yokels?

As Butch Cassidy and Sundance said, "Who ARE these guys?"

[BattyDem]

69. Could this eventually work to our advantage?

Think about it ...

Most of the sheeple are too lazy or ignorant to get outraged over wiretapping, free-speech zones, suppression of dissent, the Patriot Act, etc. But adult entertainment is a $10 billion a year business in the US and I have a feeling that the sheeple will RAISE HELL if someone tries to take away their porn! :evilgrin:

Sure I'd like to see people marching in the streets over the loss of civil rights, the phony war, the endless lies, the looting of the treasury, etc., but at this point, I'll go with whatever works! ;-)

[WinkyDink]

81. Were their names Lenny and Squiggy?

Just wondering.