John Ashcroft On My Shoulder
Oh, that poor, misunderstood John Ashcroft. According to a bit on Reason's blog, the government doesn't want to know "how far you have gotten on the latest Tom Clancy novel." Well, not yet, anyway:
Ashcroft does not deny that the PATRIOT Act authorizes the government to monitor your reading habits (and many other private aspects of your life). He just says the government has no interest in doing so. All it wants to do is catch the bad guys, and if you've done nothing wrong you have no cause to be concerned--presumably because government officials never waste resources, make mistakes, or act maliciously. In other words: Trust us.
Brrrr... George Orwell's 1984 is about 20 years too late, but it's coming.
Patrick at September 18, 2003 8:45 AM
When his clients told him that they don't need a lawyer because they're innocent, F. Lee Bailey told them that that's when you need a lawyer the most. Of course, he was probably drunk at the time.
Paper Trail in 2004 at September 18, 2003 10:14 AM
Who is F. Lee Bailey?
Lena Cuisina at September 20, 2003 8:23 PM