Topic 3: Under-reported Story of the Year

Maud: I was deeply troubled by Rachel Donadio's recent New York Times Book Review essay, "Is There Censorship?," in which she suggests that because liberals can't point to many concrete, deleterious effects of the Patriot Act (and other "anti-terrorism" laws and regulations), we are overreacting when we decry its far-reaching provisions.

The argument seems to be that because the country hasn't yet slid back toward the sort of prohibitions that characterized the McCarthy Era, and because there is no demonstrable rise in overt censorship of books (e.g., the sort of treatment Lady Chatterley's Lover received in the last century), it's a little ridiculous to be concerned about the terms of the law.

Donadio's reasoning is problematic, even leaving aside the likelihood that Patriot Act provisions will impact free speech. Her argument is akin to saying that laws criminalizing sodomy aren't a big deal because they're rarely enforced.

If a law isn't enforced, and shouldn't be, why not take it off the books?

Whether or not the government pushes its power to the fullest extent of a law, the terms of the law matter. The fact that the Patriot Act allows the government to monitor (without warrants) citizens' speech and activities, including what library books they read, is troubling even if no monitoring actually occurs.

In 2003, Slate's Dahlia Lithwick took a thoughtful look at the Act. Acknowledging that some of its provisions are "benign," she pointed to some "truly radical" portions and said "what is most frightening about the act is exacerbated by the lack of government candor in describing its implementation."

She went on, discussing "one of the surprising lightning rods of the Act, Section 215, which "authorizes the government to march into a library and demand a list of everyone who's ever checked out a copy of My Secret Garden." Lithwick noted that:

"Section 215 modifies the rules on records searches. Post-Patriot Act, third-party holders of your financial, library, travel, video rental, phone, medical, church, synagogue, and mosque records can be searched without your knowledge or consent, providing the government says it's trying to protect against terrorism.

Previously the government needed at least a warrant and probable cause to access private records. . . . Now the FBI needs only to certify to a FISA judge - (no need for evidence or probable cause) that the search protects against terrorism. The judge has no authority to reject this application. DOJ calls this 'seeking a court order,' but it's much closer to a rubber stamp. Also, now the target of a search needn't be a terror suspect herself, so long as the government's purpose is 'an authorized investigation . . . to protect against international terrorism.' . . . .

The DOJ is playing [Section 215] particularly close to the vest. The act itself mandates semiannual reporting by the attorney general to Congress, but the only thing he must report is the number of applications sought and granted. Not very helpful unless that number is zero . . . "

Lithwick also observed that an individual has no way of knowing whether the government has used its 215 powers to obtain information about him or her. "The person made to turn over the records is gagged and cannot disclose the search to anyone," she said.

So there is no avenue through which an individual can find out whether the government is monitoring his or her reading habits or other personal records. Accordingly, Donadio's contention that that the "near-paranoid" "publishers, writers, librarians, bookstore owners, readers and concerned citizens" opposing the Patriot Act are unable to "cite specific instances" in which the government is "intruding into their personal business" is specious - if not in fact disingenuous.

It smacks of the sort of blithe response you'll sometimes hear from conservatives about government searches: "well, if you had nothing to hide, it doesn't matter that the police searched your trunk."

There are reasons in a free society for protections against search and seizure. These reasons were perhaps best enunciated by Benjamin Franklin, who once said said: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty or Safety."

Robert: Beyond the apparent contradiction - that is, if a story was really underreported I wouldn't know about it at all. Or an assumption of reportorial superiority as I proclaim a discovery no one else has made; a couple of items piqued my interest.

Gore Vidal moved back to the US and beyond announcing his intention to sell thousands of (his own) books I have seen nothing of his thoughts and activities. Surely he is worth more attention. Also Ron Hogan (Beatrice.com) pointed out that dark force Robert Novak' s conflicts of interest ought to have received more attention than a passing mention in the Times. Yup, I agree

Michael: 2002 Nobel laureate Imre Kertesz's first official visit to the US, and the publication of three of his books (two in new translations). Kertesz's visit resulted in no major and only a few minor newspaper profiles, and while his new book (Liquidation) has gotten a decent amount of review coverage many reviewers seem unaware that two additional books are out in new translations (Fatelessness and Kaddish for an Unborn Child). Bookstore owners seem unaware too: I haven't seen the two new translations prominently displayed anywhere; usually there's - at best - a copy or two stuffed in the fiction section. The Nobel-label may have scared people off this year with the award to Jelinek (who might be worthwhile but is certainly nobody's idea of a good time), but Kertesz deserves better.

Alex: It seems that reporting on any issues touching on the political is at some kind of low right now in the US. I second what Maud says about the Patriot Act and Robert on Novak. It's part of a wider silence. I mean, who's reporting on the American use of uranium and napalm in Iraq? Isn't that news?

On the strictly literary front, I was surprised by the drop-off in critical attention for Stephenson's Baroque Trilogy. I considered it to be quite an achievement, and given the generally favourable reception to Quicksilver I thought the completed trilogy would get a lot more attention. Instead it seemed to vanish off of everyone's radar. I don't remember reading a review of The System of the World anywhere. It was Stephenson-mania when the thing got started and then he was forgotten. Which is a shame.

Also, the fact that Amazon now sells more electronic junk than books, and, in Canada, Indigo's desire to make itself over into a "cultural department store" (i.e., fewer books, more crystal ware and candleholders), is a trend that I thought deserved more comment.