Thanks are due

In one small sign that some members of the House retain some shred of sanity, a coalition of Democrats and Republicans voted to block renewal of a provision in the Patriot Act that allowed the FBI to search library and bookstore records. Our lovely Justice Department came up with the following argument to justify the provision:

"Bookstores and libraries should not be carved out as safe havens for terrorists and spies, who have, in fact, used public libraries to do research and communicate with their co-conspirators," wrote William E. Moschella, assistant attorney general.

Hey Bill! I heard them sneaky Ayrabs were meeting at coffee shops, laundromats, and hardware stores, too! One time, I saw this sneaky looking swarthy man TALKING ON A CELL PHONE in his car! Good-god man! If we carve out each of these places as safe havens for terrorists, we could all die! We should expand the library/bookstore provision to include every space bounded by four walls in which sneaky Ayrabs might seek Safe haven!

Jeebus. Thank goodness some folks in Congress still recognize that we retain an interest in liberty in this country.