In today's New York Times is an article about the F.B.I.'s use of the Patriot Act in Bridgeport, CT and the ACLU suit that has been filed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/26/politics/26patriot.html

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 - Using its expanded power under the antiterrorism law known as the USA Patriot Act, the F.B.I. is demanding library records from a Connecticut institution as part of an intelligence investigation, the American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday.

The demand is the first confirmed instance in which the Federal Bureau of Investigation has used the law in this way, federal officials and the A.C.L.U. said. The government's power to demand access to library borrowing records and other material showing reading habits has been the single most divisive issue in the debate over whether Congress should extend key elements of the act after this year.

In a discussion over at Connecticut Local Politics, there is a discussion about this where one person commented, “What's the big deal about library records?”. I wrote the following in response:

I have a lot of concerns about the Patriot Act, particularly as it relates to use of public libraries.

Let me come up with a few hypothetical examples. If a teenager is struggling with many of those teen issues, drugs, sexuality, etc. and wants to get information I would much rather have the teenager feel that they could get information that they need from a neutral sources like a public library without fear of their searches being disclosed than to have them feel that they need to find information surreptitiously. Now it may seem a stretch to think that the FBI would be interested in such information.

Likewise, a politician might want to bone up on certain issues, perhaps related to something going on personally. They should be able to do research without fearing that their research would become part of an FBI investigation without due cause being presented.

Why am I concerned about this? I think the Plame affair provides a good example of the damage that can happen when people within the government misuse information.

Our legal system, like so much of our Government is based checks and balances. The idea of requiring due process before the Government starts investigating people and the idea that these investigations should not be hidden is an important part of what makes our democracy work.

If I believed that the Patriot Act really made us more secure, I might have a different opinion, but as far as I can tell the Patriot Act actually makes us less secure by damaging the democracy that makes our country strong.