The House of Representatives is challenging President Bush again by defying one of his veto threats; this time it’s regarding the Patriot Act.
Update [2005-6-15 19:44:3 by Man Eegee]:
For a comprehensive look at how the law changed the way libraries operated, check out this link
Also, be sure to read The Maven’s comment below regarding Rep. Bernie Sander’s reaction to the amendment, which he sponsored.
Details below the fold…
The House voted Wednesday to block the FBI and the Justice Department from using the anti-terror Patriot Act to search library and book store records, responding to complaints about potential invasion of privacy of innocent readers.
Despite a veto threat from President Bush, lawmakers voted 238-187 to block the part of the anti-terrorism law that allows the government to investigate the reading habits of terror suspects.
The vote reversed a narrow loss last year by lawmakers complaining about threats to privacy rights. They narrowed the proposal this year to permit the government to continue to seek out records of Internet use at libraries.
Last year, a similar provision was derailed by a 210-210 tie tally after several Republicans were pressured to switch their votes.
In the meantime, a number of libraries have begun disposing of patrons’ records quickly so they won’t be available if sought under the law.
AP via Yahoo News (Emphasis Mine)
The only reason these Orwellian tactics weren’t reversed last year was because the Republican leadership twisted some of their members’ arms behind their back until they cried Uncle (Rove).
This is a small victory for the Democrats who finally woke up to the fact that maybe the Congress went a little too far in rolling back our personal rights as Americans in the aftermath of 9/11. (I’m kidding folks, I hate the “Patriot” Act).
So keep your heads up, we’re starting to see some W’s in our column that are worth having. Now if we can just get rid of the other W…