From the always educational and entertaining blog of Maud Newton comes news of "Bipartisan legislation [to] keep library records private." It’s that pesky Patriot Act again, except when you tell librarians (becoming fiestier every year) to hand over the records and keep the mouth shut, they’ll do the exact opposite.

Finally, something Republicans and Democrats agree on.

From the PEN Center press release:

"National Security Letters are administrative subpoenas which are issued by FBI field agents with no judicial oversight and which give the government virtually unlimited access to electronic communications transactions records, including those of Internet service providers and public libraries. Recipients of NSLs are bound to perpetual silence by a gag order.

The bipartisan National Security Letter Reform Act of 2007, introduced by Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI), John Sununu (R-NH), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Ken Salazar (D-CO), and Chuck Hagel (R-NE), is a response to a report by the Inspector General of the Department of Justice documenting widespread misuse of NSLs and to two federal court decisions striking down the NSL provisions of the Patriot Act as unconstitutional."

Show your support for the bill by writing to your local representative or senator.

Jennifer Leblanc