Confessions of a Mad Librarian

"Several of the provisions in the USA Patriot Act go too far and
increase the chances that innocent Americans will be swept into
terrorism investigations by removing traditional checks and balances on
law enforcement and oversight powers from the judiciary," said Dorothy
Ehrlich, Executive Director of the ACLU-NC. "That is why we are
launching this campaign today, to bring the Patriot Act back in line
with the Constitution by urging our representatives to endorse the SAFE
Act."

As part of the campaign, full-page ads in twelve alternative newspapers
throughout California, with a combined circulation of more then one
million, will start running on January 21-28. The headline in the ad
reads:"Don't you hate it when someone reads over your shoulder?
Especially when that someone is the Justice Department" and calls upon
individuals to contact their representatives and urge them to support
the SAFE Act. To date, northern California representatives Lynn Woolsey,
Barbara Lee, and Pete Stark are co-sponsors of the bill.

"In the State of the Union, President Bush called on Congress to make
permanent some of the worst provisions in the USA Patriot Act," said Bob
Kearney, Associate Director of the ACLU-NC. "We are calling on the
Northern California delegation to lead Congress in the opposite
direction. We must pass the SAFE Act."

Senators Larry Craig (R-ID) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) introduced the
SAFE Act late last year and Representative Butch Otter (R-ID) introduced
a companion bill in the house. The bill, if passed, would do the
following:

* Limit the government's ability to conduct widespread searches
of an individual's records, without probable cause or individualized
suspicion;

* Limit the government's use of "sneak and peek searches" and
require notification within seven days (currently notification can be
delayed indefinitely);

* Make sure that intelligence agents cannot search library
records unless there is suspicion that an individual is involved with a
foreign power.

"Your public library should be a SAFE haven where you can be assured
that, whatever magazine you read, web site you visit or book you check
out, that information will be kept private," said Susan Hildreth, CLA
President. "We support the SAFE Act so that libraries can continue to
remain institutions of free expression and exploration of ideas. We are
proud that the California Library Association and the ACLU-NC have
forged this partnership to restore our precious constitutional rights."

Chair of the CLA's Intellectual Freedom Committee, Karen Schneider
added: "The Patriot Act is a clear and present danger to our civil
liberties, and an assault on free speech in an open society. This is an
important time for advocates of free speech everywhere to join forces to
defend our Constitutional rights."

The PATRIOT Act was rushed through Congress in just 45 days after the
terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. On Wednesday, Los Angeles
became the largest locality to join over 230 governing bodies --
including the state legislatures of Hawaii, Alaska and Vermont - to pass
resolutions opposing provisions of the PATRIOT Act. In northern
California alone, resolutions were passed 47 communities San Francisco,
San Jose and Sacramento.

"As we strive to protect our country, we must remember to uphold the
very freedoms we seek to protect," Ehrlich said. "In the aftermath of
9/11 many liberties were curtailed, but now, millions of Americans are
demanding that freedom be restored to keep America both safe and free."

Through a website www.aclunc.org/freedom the ACLU and CLA are urging
individuals to send letters to their U.S. Senators and Representatives
urging them to support the Safe Act. Both the ACLU of Northern
California and the ACLU of Southern California along with the California
Library Association are launching the campaign.