Our blogs about
America's Wars
War on Iraq
War on Drugs
War on Afghanistan
War on Columbia
War on Philippines
War on Venezuela

MORE
Matrix Masters
Blogs
World Events
Katrina's Aftermath
US News
Bush Crime Family News
Science & Health
Earth News
Free Speech
News from Africa
News from Palestine
Bill of Rights Under Attack

Support Bloggers' Rights!

Lorenzo's
Random Musings
. . . about Chaos,
Reason, and Hope

 

Fourth Amendment Violations
Authorities no longer have to show evidence to a judge that the target of their search is a foreign agent or suspected terrorist. Authorities no longer have to show a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, much less the ''probable cause'' required by the Fourth Amendment. Libraries and bookstores are prohibited from disclosing the searches to anyone, which deprives innocent citizens of the right to challenge illegitimate inquiries.
Spying on readers: FBI agents currently are going into libraries and bookstores to demand records of materials that individuals borrowed or bought. The source of their new authority is the USA Patriot Act, which Congress rushed through in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. In an effort to ease the tracking of potential terrorists, it also lifts valuable restraints that had protected law-abiding citizens from government snooping. The U.S. government claims the right to impose electronic censorship on libraries and secretly seize library and bookstore records of what citizens read. The actions also are defended on legal grounds: shielding children from pornography on the Internet and protecting the public from terrorists.

posted by Hal 5:46 PM