Four librarians resist FBI search without warrants
Dear Thomas,
Government assaults on privacy are increasing all around us, even as the people's ability to speak without fear of reprisal is dwindling. Still, most of us have never found ourselves in a direct confrontation with the government over whether to remain silent or speak out for our beliefs.
Barbara Bailey, Peter Chase, George Christian and Janet Nocek -- four librarians who were gagged by the FBI -- have faced our government's abuses of power in a deeply personal way. You and I can only hope that we would respond with the courage and commitment to principle that they demonstrated.
This week, these Connecticut librarians were finally able to speak publicly about their months-long battle against secret government demands for their patrons' library records. At great personal risk, they fought back against a government intent on using the Patriot Act to seize library records without a legal order and to bar them from telling anyone what was happening.
These courageous Americans stood up for their patrons' rights and for the rights of every library user in America -- and they refused to flinch. Everyone who cares about the state of freedom and privacy in our country today owes them a debt of gratitude.
More importantly, we owe it to them to join the fight and stand up to the government's abuse of power in whatever way we can. You can do your part today by joining in the nationwide consumer campaign to stop illegal NSA spying. We need your help holding our phone companies and state and federal regulators to the same fundamental American principles upheld by our four Connecticut librarians.
Act now to stop phone companies from abusing your privacy.
We've seen, time and time again, how intent the government is on invading our privacy from the books we read to the phone calls we make. And we know that neither timid politicians nor quick-to-cooperate companies can be counted on to defend our privacy.
The story of these patriotic librarians reminds us all that there is a limit to how much power we should relinquish without protest or action.
The government gagged them by claiming that their story, told in public, would jeopardize national security. This administration has repeatedly abused this claim to silence its critics and conceal extreme practices they know Americans do not support.
Because when the people can see the truth, they speak out. The Bush administration may not want to hear the growing outcry against their actions. But the ACLU, our clients and our supporters will not stop speaking out until the abuses of power come to an end.
Since the news of possible cooperation between phone companies and the NSA in illegal spying operations surfaced, nearly 60,000 Americans have added their names to our demand to the Federal Communications Commission and state agencies with the authority to regulate the phone companies.
We can't stand idly by while corporations, federal regulators and even our elected leaders fail to champion our rights or uphold our basic system of checks and balances. The power to right these wrongs ultimately resides in the hands of the American people.
It's up to us. That's why I'm urging you to honor the courage of these librarians by making this the moment that you speak out. Remind regulators of their duty to investigate what may be the most massive abuse of customer privacy in American history.
Act now to stop phone companies from abusing your privacy.
Right now, it is absolutely essential that we challenge phone companies that, with stunning eagerness, have been swift to join the government in violating your and my freedom. Please take action today.
Sincerely,
Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director
ACLU
Government assaults on privacy are increasing all around us, even as the people's ability to speak without fear of reprisal is dwindling. Still, most of us have never found ourselves in a direct confrontation with the government over whether to remain silent or speak out for our beliefs.
Barbara Bailey, Peter Chase, George Christian and Janet Nocek -- four librarians who were gagged by the FBI -- have faced our government's abuses of power in a deeply personal way. You and I can only hope that we would respond with the courage and commitment to principle that they demonstrated.
This week, these Connecticut librarians were finally able to speak publicly about their months-long battle against secret government demands for their patrons' library records. At great personal risk, they fought back against a government intent on using the Patriot Act to seize library records without a legal order and to bar them from telling anyone what was happening.
These courageous Americans stood up for their patrons' rights and for the rights of every library user in America -- and they refused to flinch. Everyone who cares about the state of freedom and privacy in our country today owes them a debt of gratitude.
More importantly, we owe it to them to join the fight and stand up to the government's abuse of power in whatever way we can. You can do your part today by joining in the nationwide consumer campaign to stop illegal NSA spying. We need your help holding our phone companies and state and federal regulators to the same fundamental American principles upheld by our four Connecticut librarians.
Act now to stop phone companies from abusing your privacy.
We've seen, time and time again, how intent the government is on invading our privacy from the books we read to the phone calls we make. And we know that neither timid politicians nor quick-to-cooperate companies can be counted on to defend our privacy.
The story of these patriotic librarians reminds us all that there is a limit to how much power we should relinquish without protest or action.
The government gagged them by claiming that their story, told in public, would jeopardize national security. This administration has repeatedly abused this claim to silence its critics and conceal extreme practices they know Americans do not support.
Because when the people can see the truth, they speak out. The Bush administration may not want to hear the growing outcry against their actions. But the ACLU, our clients and our supporters will not stop speaking out until the abuses of power come to an end.
Since the news of possible cooperation between phone companies and the NSA in illegal spying operations surfaced, nearly 60,000 Americans have added their names to our demand to the Federal Communications Commission and state agencies with the authority to regulate the phone companies.
We can't stand idly by while corporations, federal regulators and even our elected leaders fail to champion our rights or uphold our basic system of checks and balances. The power to right these wrongs ultimately resides in the hands of the American people.
It's up to us. That's why I'm urging you to honor the courage of these librarians by making this the moment that you speak out. Remind regulators of their duty to investigate what may be the most massive abuse of customer privacy in American history.
Act now to stop phone companies from abusing your privacy.
Right now, it is absolutely essential that we challenge phone companies that, with stunning eagerness, have been swift to join the government in violating your and my freedom. Please take action today.
Sincerely,
Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director
ACLU
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