I hope this self-righteous, sanctimonius freak show of a librarian feels better about herself when some towelhead blows up the space needle. Can there be any clearer evidence that liberals are anti-American?
No surprise that this story emanates from Washington State.
Outrage there is a varsity sport and protecting America is something other people do.
No surprise that this story emanates from Washington State.
Outrage there is a varsity sport and protecting America is something other people do.
"...For our trustees, this sense of responsibility to protect libraries as institutions where people are free to explore any idea ran up against their desire to help their government fight terrorism..."
Sounds like an O'Reilly rant in the making.
Perhaps the library cop, Mr. Bookman, needs to get involved.
"Librarian's brush with FBI shapes her view of the USA Patriot Act"
No good deed goes unpunished, I am sure that OB muslime terrorist fanatics will bear this in mind and spare your sorry arses.
Thanks for post. After reading the article, it seems to me that the law and legal system worked.
I'm am puzzled by the inability to cooperate with the FBI in this instance. I should think Homeland Security would have priority. Silly me.
And if by chance, the patron in question here killed a dozen people in a sudden terror attack, would the librarian feel so smug about protecting an Osama bin Laden sympathizer?
Probably would pat themselves on the back and say, "Way to go man!" It wouldn't surprise me.
Yes, I'm leery of the government having too much power, but a fishing expedition to see who had written the words in the margin is not a case of the FBI arbitrarily exercising its muscle. It is a legitimate use of the power to investigate a possible terror sympathizer in our borders. In the future, terrorists can avoid such investigations by refraining from writing in the books where other readers are apt to see it and send it on the FBI.
If it means preventing a terrorist from killing 3000 Americans, I think I can live with the anguish of knowing that the government may look at my library record.
(Just don't give the government access to my MP3 playlist. I don't want to have to explain away Judy Garland's greatest hits.)
While we do need to be on guard against government (and private party for that matter) invasions of privacy...
This whole business of library books seems a tempest in a teapot. Since when have library records ever been construed as "private"? It wasn't all that long ago that all you needed to do to find out who checked out a book from the library would have been to simply open the cover and look at the card on the inside. Right there, for anybody to see, were the names and dates of everybody that had checked it out.
So what?
Nonsense. They love this crap!
Does anyone believe this for one second? This librarian had NO OPINION about the Patriot Act until they were given this simple request?
The Soviets collected all kinds of "information" on much that went on in Nazi Germany and then in Western Europen. This information is still sitting in boxes, unread, in the former KGB stockrooms. Maybe this leftists would like to sift through some the these "recordings" from 1945!
There are not enough people in the employ of the FBI to cover the recordings of high-priority targets, like Zarqawi and his ilk, for them to start worrying about what some perve is reading in a Library in Schmuckville, USA! These people need to breathe some 02.
With a Patriot Act order in hand, I would have been forbidden to disclose even the fact that I had received it and would not have been able to tell this story.
Hmm... Given that the FBI withdrew the subpeona so quickly, I wonder if they then went through the Secret Court and that this disavowal is the librarian's way of signaling that.
Citizen's Brush With Illegal Aliens Shapes Her View Of Border Security
Perhaps everyone who thinks there's no problem with the request can write down everything they read till they die, and send the list to the Government every month.