You may want to check out the LCHR rebuttal. Constitution Battered by War on Terror, Says Lawyers Group, written by Jim Lobe of OneWorld.net discusses this as well.
Oh, and here's a New York Times article about the expansions to the USA PATRIOT Act that the administration is seeking. I know many of you in the library community have been paying attention. But a lot of the general public probably just hear another acronym and dismiss it. This legislation, passed quickly in the wake of 9/11, has the potential to erode our civil rights with little accountability required. Many of the provisions will soon be up for renewal, and more are sought. Even if you do not agree with the concerns of various civil liberties groups, at least educate yourself to what the act does. The complete text of the act may be found on various sites throughout the net, including here. EPIC (The Electronic Privacy Information Centre) also maintains an archive of analyses and materials pertaining to the act. Granted, they are a privacy group, so I'm sure advocates of the act would say it was biased. However, it's remarkable that so many diverse groups (left wing, right wing, liberal, conservative, etc.) who are concerned about civil rights have united on this one, don't you think?
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