Remember that little dust-up a few days ago when it was revealed that our dear leader had exaggerated (by, oh, a factor of ten) the number of prosecutions of terrorism resulting from the Patriot Act?
Well, they've been caught at it again. Tomorrow's New York Times has an article about an American Library Association study on
how frequently federal, state and local agents are demanding records from libraries. . . . the data suggested that investigators were seeking information from libraries far more frequently than Bush administration officials had acknowledged.
How frequently and in what circumstances? Enough to make you queasy. Will it be enough to stop the renewal of one of the most noisome elements of the Patriot Act? That remains to be seen. But the evidence is irrefutable--even by the White House.
Please go read it yourself--but here are some of the article's highlights:
In some cases, agents used subpoenas or other formal demands to obtain information like lists of users checking out a book on Osama bin Laden. Other requests were informal - and were sometimes turned down by librarians who chafed at the notion of turning over such material. . . .
And those chafing librarians--God bless them--aren't just the ones down the street from your house; they're also the ones who run the ALA, which has taken a high-profile, consistent, and courageous stand on this issue.
Some of their findings:
One library reporting that it had received a records demand was the Whatcom County system in a rural area of northwest Washington.
Last June, a library user who took out a book there, "Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America," noticed a handwritten note in the margin remarking that "Hostility toward America is a religious duty and we hope to be rewarded by God," and went to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Agents, in turn, went to the library seeking names and information on anyone checking out the biography since 2001.
The library's lawyers turned down the request, and agents went back with a subpoena. Joan Airoldi, who runs the library, said in an interview that she was particularly alarmed after a Google search revealed that the handwritten line was an often-cited quotation from Mr. bin Laden that was included in the report issued by the Sept. 11 commission.
In other words, watch your use of intertextual marginalia: Big Brother is watching, too. Fortunately,
The library fought the subpoena, and the F.B.I. withdrew its demand.
Here's the real bottom line:
The Bush administration says that while it is important for law enforcement officials to get information from libraries if needed in terrorism investigations, officials have yet to actually use their power under the Patriot Act to demand records from libraries or bookstores.
True or false? Perhaps technically true, since it's not clear how much has been done under the Patriot Act (don't ask--they won't tell) and how much under other provisions. But would you trust this bunch to tell the truth about this subject? And more importantly: does it matter? If you are violating my constitutional liberties, I don't care how you are justifying it. It's unconstitutional, it's morally repellent, it's dangerous, and it has got to stop.