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Drop That Book and Step Away Slowly.

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nomodifier

A First Amendment-destroying bill that did pass is the comically titled USA Patriot Act, a gargantuan assault on the entire Constitution and the notion of justice in general. Much has been made of this law – which was passed in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks – especially its destruction of judicial process and attorney-client privilege, its expansion of surveillance and secret searches, and its green light for the CIA to conduct domestic operations. But one new power under the law has been almost completely overlooked.

Under the Patriot Act, the feds can demand a list of the books you've purchased from booksellers or have borrowed from the library if you're suspected of involvement in “terrorism,” which – as we've seen recently – can mean whatever the authorities want it to mean. But surely the FBI still has to get a warrant in order to execute such a search, right? Strictly speaking, yes. The problem is that the warrant comes from the infamous Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), a secret Star Chamber located in the Justice Department that is completely anonymous and unaccountable. Its rulings are sealed forever. No one even knows the identities of the judges who sit on it.


 


(Russ Kick, 2002)

 


 


 


Only YOU can wake up your fellow Americans. Having an opinion is NOT enough. Do something TODAY to make a fellow American THINK.

This Weekend’s assignment: Go to your public library and check out a book that has banned at one time or another and read some passages from it.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_commonly_challenged_books_in_the_U.S. Think about why it was banned. Strike up a conversion with a stranger by asking them if they have ever read it. Ask them if they knew it banned at a point in our history. Ask them if they knew library records can be accessed by domestic intelligence agencies.


 


 

Comments (15)

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Automan21k·
it think it's odd, I am a major supporter of first ammendment rights, but I have no problem with the patriot act...if someone with a job that's just as boring as mine really wants to check up on how many times I call my parents (or 1-800-4my-xbox), how many books I buy, or what porn sites I go to...they are welcome to it.
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millfire517·
noshit automan, i aint doing nothing illegal so what should i be worried about? personally i think everyone who's scared to death of the patriot act is probably hiding something. just my two cents
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nomodifier·
@ Automan- Where does it end? My state is passing legislation that says cops can pull you over to check if you are wearing a seatbelt. What happened to due process rights? We get rid of red-light cameras then they pull this crap.\r \r @ millfire- All it takes is any given law to make any given citizen a criminal. Talk on cell phone while driving? Recycle your yard waste? Have a beer with dinner and drive home? This goes beyond the Patriot Act.
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Nuke·
I took a look at that list of books and it is amazing how many really good books are on it. Harry Potter.....Come on! \"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security' Benjamin Franklin\r \r
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Devonsangel·
the book list isn't necessarily those that are monitored by the gov, just books that have been challenged by a group for witchcraft, inciting violence, etc.. Strict religious groups have never liked Harry Potter because of the use of magic, witches and warlocks.
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nomodifier·
DA is right, the govt is looking for purchases of \"how to\" books like build a bomb, kill a person undetected, make a meth lab, etc. Think \"anarchist's cookbook\".
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TheDastard·
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Intelligence_Surveillance_Court\r \r Current membership is listed, so I kind of question the \"Secret Star Chamber\", no accountability hyperbole. The fact remains that it is necessary for a government to conduct part of it's business in \"secret\". However, there is still Congressional oversight even thought \"the people\" cannot stick there nose anywhere they want. That is why we elect representatives.\r \r The good news is that Librarians have largely resisted this law. Go Librarians!
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TheDastard·
\"Where's Waldo\" is on the list? Now I've seen everything. Too many people in need of a good beating.\r \r In my opinion, there is no book (of text) that should be banned. I say 'text' because any book with pictures of naked kids crosses a line...but then when we start drawing lines, we never stop and pretty soon someone is pissed about \"Where's Waldo\". WTF? What did I miss when my kids had \"Where's Waldo\" books?
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TheDastard·
\"According to the October 2003 \"Banned Bookslut\" column by Chris Zammarelli (www.bookslut.com), the author claims that one of the Waldo books contains (gasp!) a bare breast. \"\r \r A Tit! A Fucking Tit? Now I'm pissed because 1) I didn't see said tit, and 2) what the fuck is it about this country that we get so upset about a BODY PART!!! OK...Everybody sat \"penis\". See, the world didn't end. Pink Monkey's didn't come flying out of your butt. OMG. I said 'butt' I'm going to burn in hell.\r \r \"Despite these claims, I have been unable to find anyone yet who can cite a specific Waldo book, by page number, containing an errant mammary.\"\r \r There you go. Somebody starts a rumor and the unthinking masses dive in and we get shit like this. \r \r Way to go nomod. Now I need to score some prozac on the way home. :)
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TheDastard·
oops..Everybody SAY \"penis\". Damn it!
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TheDastard·
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52819048@N00/163205280/\r \r There it is...the infamous boobie. Leaves me very unsatisfied just like when I blinked when people claimed Janet Jackson's nipple was on the screen.
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nomodifier·
Thats the whole point of the exercise. (not to get you to up your meds) but to think about what books are acceptable to who's standards at what times. Where is is the line? in your first example (at face value) it would seem that you would have no problem with pedo-erotica as long as it didnt contain photos or illustrations. I know thats not the case. but thats the point- \"We the People\" are perfectly capable of accepting or rejecting any material on our own. \"we as individuals\" should have access to any and all information we choose without landing on a govt list some where.
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TheDastard·
NM...truth is, there is usually a line but there is always someone who fucks it up. As to the 'no problem with pedo-erotica', while it has no appeal to me, its just WORDS. This is different than photographs where one could legitimately argue a child was harmed or exploited in making the image. But then starts the discussion of how the words encourages the acts...bla bla bla. Pretty soon we are bitching about the 'Hokey Pokey'.\r \r That is why I am in favor of public executions and rapid swift justice. Storing people in prisons simply because they would rape or kill again if they were let out is cruel and unusual punishment. We have laws. Enforce them publicly and dramatically. Bring back deterrence.
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RyanFromVegas·
I remember getting an email from my library soon after the patriot act was passed. I wish I would have saved it.\r \r It basically said they had received word from on high that they had to keep extra records of book usage and the government had given itself free reign to peruse the lists. The library said it was doing everything in its power to not comply with the rule but warned that we were all being monitored now.\r \r It pissed me off something fierce. Constitutional scholars can say whatever they want, but to even hint at being intimidated into not reading something out of fear in this country violates the very foundations of the constitution IMHO.\r \r Also I am sceptical in the extreme about how much oversight is actually taking place on the monitors. I saw a show where Homeland Security was showing up at Las Vegas Casinos and demanding to see all records for a weekends..not from a specific person...all records from the whole casino and the managers said they were extremely intimidated by the feds when they asked to consult their lawyers on the constitutionality of such a request.
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Armorsmith76·
Concerning library records...\r \r Visit used bookstores, pay cash, hide your contraband treasures =)\r \r Don' rent banned books, OWN THEM.