Ashcroft Rips Anti-Patriot Act 'Hysteria'

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20030915_2121.html

Attorney General John Ashcroft denounced as "hysteria" the contention by some librarians and civil liberties groups that the FBI can use a new anti-terror law to snoop into Americans' reading habits.

In a speech Monday to an American Restaurant Association conference, Ashcroft said people are being wrongly led to believe that libraries have been "surrounded by the FBI," with agents "dressed in raincoats, dark suits and sunglasses. They stop everyone and interrogate everyone like Joe Friday.

"Now, you may have thought with all this hysteria and hyperbole, something had to be wrong," Ashcroft said. "Do we at the Justice Department really care what you are reading? No."

A portion of the Patriot Act, passed shortly after the 2001 terror attacks, gives federal authorities access to library, bookstore and other business records as part of terrorism investigations. Some libraries have begun purging their records more frequently and posting signs warning that the records could be checked by the FBI.

Why do they want these laws which they lie and say they aren't going to use?

There is another article here on DU that says they have been using the Patriot Act against non-terrorists.

That means Ashcroft might by lying to the American people.

No, he wouldn't do that.

no conspiracy here.

if no one at the J department cares what people read then there's no need for that paragraph in the PATRIOT HACK that allows federal authorities access to library, bookstore and other business records, is there?

If a freedom is taken away (in this case privacy) while giving privilege to an authority, human nature dictates that somewhere, sometime it will be abused and taken advantage of by someone for nefarious purposes and...

Needless to say, the words that come from Assclown are of cold comfort.

Shrill and unstable.

needs to be tried and convicted for Treason.

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

If he's so sure we were hysterical, shouldn't he have had
the courage to come out and FACE any of the many
oppositiongroups who've met him along the way on his Fascism
'03 National Tour?

Surely he could have destroyed our arguments in a moment?

John Ashcoft is a fucking coward, nothing more, nothing less.

Atlant

please continue here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=343292

thanks

dwickham