Fraters Libertas

The Terrorist In The Mirror

Two months I was browsing in a Barnes and Nobles (yes, the evil corporate giant-I believe I also stopped off at the adjoining Starbucks Cafe for a cup of java while there- buwah! buwhah! buwah!) when I noticed the 2004 Almanacs were out. I hadn't purchased an Almanac since my college days when they were a staple of my bathroom reading material. But in order to sharpen my trivia skills, and seeing as how they were selling for ten bucks a pop, I decided to pick one up.

When I'm at work I like to get out of the office for lunch. On most days I'll bring a lunch with me and eat it at my desk while working. Then, when I have a chance, I'll head out during my lunch hour, usually to a local park. I will then listen to the radio, read, or write in or near my car (weather permitting). It's nice to have reading supplies on hand so I try to keep a couple of books in the car at all times. My recently purchased Almanac is one of the books I have in my car now.

One of the nearby parks that I like to frequent is across the street from Flying Cloud Airport, a regional feeder airport here in the Twin Cities used mostly for corporate and general aviation. It's relaxing place to read or write and watch planes at the same time. It's also used by the local police department as a training area for K-9 units, so it's not unusual to see a squad car or two at the park.

Getting the picture? I'm sitting in my car with an Almanac, watching an airport, and scribbling in a notebook with police officers close by. I wouldn't have thought twice of my behavior until I read this:

The FBI is warning police officials across the United States to be alert for people carrying almanacs, cautioning that the popular reference books — covering everything from abbreviations to weather trends — could be used for terrorist planning.

In a bulletin sent Christmas Eve to about 18,000 police organizations, the FBI said terrorists might use almanacs ‘‘to assist with target selection and pre-operational planning.’’

The FBI noted that use of almanacs or maps may be innocent, ‘‘the product of legitimate recreational or commercial activities.’’ But it warned that when combined with suspicious behavior — such as apparent surveillance — a person with an almanac ‘‘may point to possible terrorist planning.’’

I plan on turning myself in to the FBI tomorrow before Atomizer has a chance to rat me out for a few pieces of silver.

For a more sober take on this serious subject let us turn to those staunch defenders of freedom, (just ask them) the valiant librarians:

Deborah Caldwell-Stone, deputy director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, said the bulletin "is criminalizing the use of the most basic reference resources, which people have a legitimate reason to have. ... This is the kind of thing that leads to profiling."

And the problem with profiling terrorists to keep us safe is what again?