Congress takes a step away from 1984

Against the Bush Administration's wishes, the House of Representatives has voted to repeal one of the more obnoxious provisions of the Big Brother is Watching... er, I mean, the US Patriot Act.

In a move that may signal a tougher battle ahead, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted Wednesday to remove the Patriot Act provision that "allows federal agents to examine people's book-reading habits at public libraries and bookstores as part of terrorism investigations."

Here's my favorite quote from a Patriot Act supporter in the article:

But supporters of the Patriot Act say the vote will make libraries a "safe haven" for terrorists.

"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," said Rep. Tom Feeney, (R) of Florida.

Yes, that's the problem. The terrorists are going to win because they are reading books. Do these people think before they talk?