The United States House of Representatives has voted to restrict the Patriot Act so that it cannot be used to pry into the library borrowing and book purchasing of U.S. citizens. You would think that this would be a no-brainer - nobody I know wants to live in a state where the temperatures can reach Fahrenheit 451.

You would think.

However, the Bush administration has promised to veto any such restriction. Explains Republican Representative Tom Feeny, of Florida, “If there are terrorists in libraries studying how to fly planes, how to put together biological weapons, how to put together chemical weapons, nuclear weapons… we have to have an avenue through the federal court system so that we can stop the attack before it occurs.”

Meanwhile, the Feds are telling ISPs to read the handwriting on the wall, and to start thinking about being required to retain the records of their Internet customers and those customers’ activities…

[Continue reading Feds Set Sights On ISP Records: Vote To Protect Libraries And Bookstores From Patriot Act]