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Bookseller Purges Records to Avoid PATRIOT Act
Skyshadow writes "Vermont Bookseller Bear Pond Books has announced that they will purge their sales records at the request of customers . This would effectively sidestep typically insideous a provision of the PATRIOT Act which allows government agencies to secretly seize sales records. The store's co-owner, Michael Katzenberg, put it this way: 'When the CIA comes and asks what you've read because they're suspicious of you, we can't tell them because we don't have it... That's just a basic right, to be able to read what you want without fear that somebody is looking over your shoulder to see what you're reading.' Now if only certain other booksellers would show that same conscience, we might have something here."
Alcohol and Calculus don't mix. Don't drink and derive.
Sir, please do not let facts get in the way of good, old-fashioned scare-mongering.
That's enough, my son. I absolve you.
Considered harmful.
The principle reason is inconsideration. Not selfishness, because that's innate despite what some might think, but just straight up inconsideration.
People don't care if someone else's rights are taken away much, as long as the "rules" that were followed won't likely impact them then or in the near future.
Too few folks stepped up when people were being rounded up with no good reason. Too little folks complained when it was so damn obvious that the government could have filtered through those they held faster if it had been an open process; if you were being detained and your name withheld, no one could really say "yes, he/she did it" or "that's impossible, he was in a business meeting with me at the time."
It's a sad state of affairs. The reality is that despite all the government hogwash, 9/11 did exactly what the terrorists wanted it to do; we gave away what makes us the US. The irony is that the very reaction we had is so damn un-American but hardly anyone really wants to point this out or, probably more accurately, even realizes it.
So now, there is a power grab. Problem is, I have no clue anymore who to vote for; maybe I'll go Green party.
(btw, I'm a fairly consistent conservative Republican voter--I think the Pres is a fine person and I think as a leader he's not as horrible as people make it seem, but some of his ideas are just plain too little or "wtf?"; and then there's Ashcroft. I almost considered voting Democrat in the last elections, until I looked at the voting record and realized the candidates were yes men, and there was an utter lack of depth on the sprinkle of 3rd party candidates.)
I hope Nader runs. Nader is a nut, but at least he's been shown to have 2 neurons that fire independently and in sync with the other occasionally (plus the frequent misfire, but what the hell).
"Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
People whom we help get arrested also bought...
"I certainly don't want some draft dodging mophead as president."
Yes, I agree. Let's all hope that Dubya keeps his hair short.
Most government agents may not be smart enough to do a basic google search. Sort of like how antiwar activists in the early 1970s would get knocks on the door by FBI agents to confirm where they live, when all the Famous But Incompetent folks would have had to do was look in the phonebook.
' Now if only certain other booksellers would show that same conscience, we might have something here."
dude, you forgot to put slashdot's affiliate ID in the BN link.
...Just great, I bought 2600 with my check card a few times. Guess that will come back to haunt me.