Simple questions, simply answered.
That’s all it would take to lay to rest this foofooraw of how the federal government is or maybe isn’t spying on our public libraries, or might could start spying if we all don’t sit down and shut up about it. —Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act allows the government broad powers to request the reading lists of individuals from the libraries they frequent, over and above powers already in place, and makes it illegal to inform anyone that such a request has been made; US Attorney General John Ashcroft, under fire, pitched a hissy fit and then insisted via a memo to FBI Director Robert Mueller that no libraries, bookstores, or other businesses had yet been requested to turn over any such lists; libraries have asserted that they have been requested to turn over such lists, though what with the gag order and the other laws on the books it’s terribly unclear whether this was under the ægis of the USA PATRIOT Act (thereby rendering Ashcroft a bald-faced liar) or not.
So: here’s the questions to ask your elected representatives to ask the Bush administration:
If these new powers are needed to fight terrorism, why aren’t they being used?
If these new powers aren’t needed to fight terrorism, why do you have them? And why did you misrepresent your reasons for seeking them?
If these powers have been used, why are you lying to us now?
That’s all we need to know, really. —Further reading: links via the invaluable librarian.net (home of the ever-popular signs that have contributed to Ashcroft’s froth); Lis Riba is on the case, like, hardcore, with another possible misstatement from our beloved attorney general; and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is among the many people lining up to kick Jonah Goldberg’s sorry, ignorant ass.
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