If it wasn’t so terrifying, it would be funny. First, Attorney Generalissimo Ass Johncroft goes on a 16-city “Patriot Act Rocks” tour. The purpose was to allay public outcry over the more fascist provisions of the unPATRIOTic Act. Of course, he didn’t actually talk to the public. The public wasn’t invited to his speeches, instead he gave speeches to friendly crowds of law enforcement officials. (In an unrelated incident, the pastor of the local church was caught preaching to a choir.)

Now the AG has just declassified some information in order to make us feel even better about unPATRIOTic. This from the Washington Post:

Ashcroft: Patriot Act Provision Unused

By Dan Eggen

Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, September 18, 2003; Page A13

The Justice Department, which has repeatedly been accused of encroaching on civil liberties in its war on terrorism, has never actually used a controversial provision of the USA Patriot Act that allows it to seek records from libraries, bookstores or other businesses, according to a confidential memo from Attorney General John D. Ashcroft.

Ashcroft said in the memo to FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III that he had decided to declassify that previously secret information because of his “concern that the public not be misled about the manner in which the U.S. Department of Justice, and the FBI in particular, have been utilizing the authorities provided in the USA Patriot Act.

“The number of times [the provision] has been used to date is zero,” Ashcroft said in the memo, which was obtained by The Washington Post.

Gee don’t you all feel better now? The government has the power granted to usurp our civil liberties, but they’ve never actually done it. Nothing to fear here folks. Sheesh, it would be like the guy mugging you holding a pistol to your head, but assuring you that the number of times he’s shot his victims to date is zero.

Or perhaps forcing you as an eighteen-year-old man to sign up for selective service, but assuring you that there is no draft and there won’t be one in the future. Before this Iraquagmire is over, I’m betting you’ll see both unPATRIOTic Section 215 and Selective Service in use.

    ____________________________________________________________________

   |                                                                    

_  | "RADICAL" RUSS BELVILLE | Read More at http://radicalruss.net/blog/  

  | Portland, Oregon U.S.A. | Permission is granted for reprint of this      

  | © 2003 by Russ Belville | post, as long as this footer is included.