Bush Does Read … Over Your Shoulder

by   |  April 18, 2007

Big Brother is not only watching. He is governing this country. Rather than spend this National Library Week focused on the role of libraries in nurturing intellectual freedom and promoting opportunity for all, we are forced to reflect on the serial disrespect the Bush administration has shown librarians trying to protect their patrons’ privacy. As Senate testimony last week made clear, under powers granted by the Patriot Act, the federal government can—and does—spy on the reading habits of ordinary Americans. Meanwhile, librarians across America are being forced to hand over our confidential records, only to be gagged from ever speaking about it under threat of criminal prosecution. Shielding governmental treachery by criminalizing dissent is a classic tactic of despots and dictators used throughout history. In his latest blog on Huffington Post, President McEntee excoriates this administration for treating our civil liberties like an expendable luxury rather than the bedrock principle of our democracy.