During a recent NARAL luncheon, actress Ashley Judd practically had an orgasm in front of the mic as she thought about having Barack Obama in the White House. She remarked, “It’s so nice to live in America again.”I’m not sure if she’s back in her America or if she ever really even left, given a San Francisco Chronicle story that came across my desk this morning at work (the bold emphasis is mine):
President-elect Barack Obama’s nominee for attorney general has endorsed an extension of the law that allows federal agents to demand Americans’ library and bookstore records as part of terrorism probes, dismaying a national group of independent booksellers.Before the election even took place I remember reading several reports about Sarah Palin inquiring about how to get books pulled from library shelves in Alaska. I was worried about the possibility that someone like that could end up as second-in-command in the United States of America.
Eric Holder said at his confirmation hearing Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee that he supports renewing a section of the USA Patriot Act that allows FBI agents investigating international terrorism or espionage to seek records from businesses, libraries and bookstores. If not renewed by Congress, the provision will expire at the end of 2009.
The searches must be authorized by a court that meets secretly and has approved the government’s requests in nearly all cases, according to congressional reports. The target of the search does not have to be suspected of terrorism or any other crime. A permanent gag order that accompanies each search prohibits the business or library from telling anyone about it.
I also remember hearing about how Obama was going to bring much-needed change to the country. He was going to be the antithesis of George W. Bush. Now it appears that he might be embracing a few of Bush’s PATRIOT Act concepts.
What bothers me just as much is that apologists have already taken to the Internet to defend the decision. On Library Journal’s blog, which discusses the issue, one reader wrote:
Our economy is in the toilet thanks to the last rascal and we’re fighting two wars, also thanks to the last rascal and this is what you gripe about...You should be coming up with ways to embrace the new administration in hopes that they will make some kind of segway as fars funding for libraries and schools across this great country. Do yourself a favor and take your pessimism on vacation for the next four years, we surely don’t need it!I left the spelling and punctuation errors in the excerpt to highlight the reader’s intellectual prowess.
Isn’t this what we were griping about while Bush was in control? Many of us were outraged over the idea that people in the government could arbitrarily check to see what we’re reading, even without probable cause. People called for change and voted for a person who represented change. Now that person isn’t too quick to change and his supporters are quickly offering a defense.
I have to say that I’ve noticed when people dislike a politician they might call him/her “stubborn”; if they like him/her they will call him/her “steadfast.” If a person dislikes him/her, they might call him/her a “warmonger” if they invade a foreign country; if they like him/her, they say that he/she is fighting for a good cause, or even “spreading democracy.”
Think about someone whom you might know. If they’ve had many sexual partners and you like him/her, you might call them “sexually adventurous”; if you dislike them, they’re “slutty.” If he/she happens to be skinny, you might call them “thin” if you like them or “scrawny” if you dislike them.
Have we reached this point only a few days into the new administration in Washington? Have we decided that similar policies are okay as long as we give them a new face?
I hope not because I’m not ready to give fascism a more delicate name.
References
Annoyed Librarian. “Obama Wants Your Library Records.” Library Journal Blog. 21 Jan. 2009.Dufour, Jeff and Patrick Gavin. “Ashley Judd: Breathless.” DC Examiner. 27 Jan. 2009.
Egelko, Bob. “Under Obama, Feds May Still Snoop Library Files.” San Francisco Chronicle. 17 Jan. 2009.
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3 comments:
Well, I don't really support the Patriot act but at the same time, what's the big deal about people finding out what books you read? In this day and age, almost everyone has a facebook, myspace, or blogger that informs the public of what they are doing each day. I realize that it's the concept of breaking privacy that is in question but what privacy do we have if we, oursevles, willingly put personal information out on the internet? I think government snooping around private webpages without any restrictions is more dangerous than government snooping around my old library check out records. Seriously.
I’m concerned with the idea that the state could check without a reason. I’ll use the social networking sites as an example: if a person offers a ton of personal information on MySpace, Facebook, Blogger, or whatever else they might have online, they’ve offered that informational voluntarily. If they choose to list all the books they read, all the movies they enjoy, or even political beliefs that they have, they’ve done so freely.
If they’ve allowed the sites to be put online—especially if they’re not set to a “private” mode—the government wouldn’t have to even snoop. The information is essentially there for everyone to see.
If they go after library records without cause, they could easily form an argument against someone on the grounds of national security even if no threat exists. For instance, suppose I decide to do research on Islam, or more particularly terrorism and terrorist organizations with Islamic ties. A snooping government agent who might want to make a name for himself could easily say that because I signed-out several books on Islamic terrorism that I must be a supporter of it and should be on a watch list—if not put under surveillance and/or arrested.
Add that to the idea that Obama ran on the platform of “change”—which might mean whatever each person wants it to mean—and my concern is greater.
That's very true. However, my concern is why the government is insisting on such proposal? Obviously, national security is just a small part of their excuse so what's the big fish that the government is hiding from us?
As for Obama, he's the sexyman that can solve all our problems so jump on the wagon and bow to his prowess!
Honestly, I have some doubts but so far, Obama's doing pretty well. Then again, he's only been in office for less than a month...
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