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Comments on Friday 7 November 2003:
It's been proposed, and done, that in order to technically conform with the PATRIOT Act while still protesting it and avoiding at least one of the intended effects, libraries put up signs stating that the FBI haven't inquired about anyone's reading habits - signs which can then be removed if and when the FBI do inquire, thus informing patrons as to the truth without breaching the "you can't tell people we've inquired" rule.

I'm surprised there haven't been extensions suggested to this mode of play. How about having a big sign on the wall with a listing of all the library's patrons: "The FBI have not inquired about any of the following patrons:". If the FBI did inquire, at that point, then the inquiree's name could be crossed out with a huge red cross. Alternatively, and more easily (though less amusingly), the librarians could simply tailor their thank-you-goodbye banter to include "congratulations, the government haven't inquired about your reading habits yet" whenever someone borrows a book, and have a sign up declaring this policy. The librarians could then simply omit this statement when an FBI inquiree next borrows a book. This would also be quite a functional protest and inspirer of awareness, with that lovely ominous 'yet' in there.

I wonder if they'll further extend their misuse of the PATRIOT Act to investigate strip clubs to also allow secretive inquiry as to which strippers a specific patron has borrowed recently. "Aha, the blonde bombshell! He's a terrorist!" [09:25]

Nik
Or, even better, a card swiping entry machine to the library, displaying - as appropriate - 'Welcome' in green and 'RUN! RUN FOR YOU FREEDOM!' in red.

And ech, the Mazda RX-8 adverts do include the hideous 'zumzumm zuhm' jingle after all.

SpasmodicMonk
I think that the FBI should all be issued with tee-shirts with the words 'Doing it for your freedom' emblazened across the back.
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