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Burning
the Old Library Card
A
BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
by One Citizen
This week I was personally
threatened by a local librarian
who basically e-mailed me that I'd better clam up because "Big Brother" is
watching me. He said it was specifically because of my anti-Bush stance
about which I've been long been writing.
Now I'm confused. Here I thought the Patriot Act was all about monitoring
terrorism on the home front. When the leadership in Washington eventually
changes (as it always has), will we automatically be forced to agree
with whichever next egomaniac that takes over the White House as well?
By the way, in that emailing, my library's "Information Systems
Coordinator" also assured me that I would probably hear from his
cadre of friends supporting his position. It may surprise him to learn
that I've not received a single e-mail or talked with anyone that actually
supported his particular interpretation of the "Patriot" Act.
In fact, it appears as if he's even bucked the American Library Association
when he threatened me over my political views.
[LINK]
Attorney General John Ashcroft recently assured us all that the FBI is
NOT running around the country watching everything we read. He also says
that there is presently a "baseless hysteria" about the government
monitoring our reading materials. [LINK]
Assuming that Attorney General Ashcroft is telling the truth, then it
strikes me that the fear may actually be about who at your local library
is in charge of interpreting all of our political interests, then possibly
reporting that you are a terrorist.
So the "hysteria" actually may not be baseless if it's more
accurately focused upon some local cowboy's opinion to trigger the FBI
to secretly break into your house to search and bug your place just because
you checked out Al Gore's "Common Sense Government" while waiting
for Katherine Harris to tally the chads!?!
I guess I'm extremely lucky that I'm a natural-born American citizen
and that I've nothing to hide (except that I enjoy reading and that I
dislike where Bush and his posse's steered this country). Otherwise I'd
be a tad paranoid about who has been selected to guard our civil liberties
these days.
Now I'm wondering if Al Gore's airport detention in June of 2002 was
due to some Earth in the Balance research materials he checked out from
his local library 10 years earlier? [LINK]
I never dreamed that burning my library card would actually feel like
a political statement.
One Citizen
Attached is a graphic depiction of Mr. Ashcroft making a political statement
which I found while surfing on the internet.
A
BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY | 
