Jenn writes “Sudden and seemingly unilateral decisions have been made by the University at Buffalo’s Provost to force out the Dean, and then dismantle the fledgling School of Informatics, which houses the Department of Library and Information Studies. LIS will be absorbed by Graduate School of Education, Communications will go over the College of Arts and Sciences, and the fate of the new Informatics degrees is still unclear.
Students and faculty have not had a voice in this process. Last night, 19 students and alums gathered to voice their concerns and talk about their positive experiences at SOI for a podcast hosted by Jim Milles at Check This Out. It’s episode 33, here. Please give it a listen. Students are concerned about their futures and want answers.”
The Nation
Coming from The Nation magazine, I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry.
Trash
The Nation is garbage and this editorial is too.
Snooping by any other name…..
I reckon a few NYU lawyers on retainer for the Nation may be all we need to settle this Patriot Act discontent.
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Re:Snooping by any other name…..
HOW information is GATHERED and USED is as important, if not more so than the mere fact that it is gathered.
I don’t have to give any information to the Nation. I am often legally bound to provide information to the federal government.
The Nation cannot legally gather information about me secretly. The feds can legally in many cases and when its not, they can’t be prosecuted.
The Nation can’t arrest me on its own suspicions. The Nation cannot imprison me. The feds can.
Junk mail vs. indefinite detention. There is a difference between private companies and DOJ/DOD being allowed full access to your files.
Re:Snooping by any other name…..
There is a difference between private companies and DOJ/DOD being allowed full access to your files.
Yes, there is still a faint whisper of accountability when the feds access your info…
downtrodden librarians
I’d have a lot more respect for the ALA if it advocated for decent salaries in libraries. There are lots of liberal/left-wing groups that one can pursue political agendas with, but only the ALA has the clout to improve working conditions for librarians.
Re:Snooping by any other name…..
I guess this is ironic, but I’d also guess that conservatives would cheer such policy as it’s supposed to comply with the law. Even horrible law.
Re:Snooping by any other name…..
Daniel – From one fellow Catholic to another, would you care to wager which of the following you, or for that case I, are more likely to get? A visit from the Feds or junk mail. Or for that matter, an IRS audit that CAN lead you to jail.
Let’s not forget Lincoln suspended Habeas Corpus in wartime and the Republic still stands. Perhaps still owing its existence to this today.
May I suggest a lyric from an ole punk song back in the day?
“Paranoia will destroy ya”.
Best
Library Connection PAC Travels to New Orleansh tml) only a hundred or so of the many thousands of ALA convention attendees bothered to attend some sort of a birds of a feather session with institgators of government non-compliance from Library Connection. This stuff is growing tiresome for mainstream ALA members even though the liberal press continues to beat on it to a frenzy. As with most reporting, innacuracies abound. Library Connection held its yearly meeting in early June and job titles have switched (http://www.libraryconnection.info/board.html). Library Connection’s political actions have only been allowed to flourish because local library boards that oversee the member libraries of Library Connection fail to be proactive in their role.
According to the Library Journal (http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6347404.
Re:Library Connection PAC Travels to New Orleans
mainstream ALA members
What the heck are those? “Mainstream” in comparison to what?
Kinda like the sizes at Starbucks, “tall”, “grande” and “venti”. ALA: “Liberal”, “Leftist” and “Far Leftist”.
Re:Snooping by any other name…..
“From one fellow Catholic to another, would you care to wager which of the following you, or for that case I, are more likely to get? A visit from the Feds or junk mail. Or for that matter, an IRS audit that CAN lead you to jail.”
Ironically all three are far more likely than being the victim of a terror attack. 🙂 It’s all in the math.
Re:Snooping by any other name…..
Let’s not forget Lincoln suspended Habeas Corpus in wartime and the Republic still stands.
…and the government
never
did
anything
bad
ever
ever
again.
“Paranoia will destroy ya”
Even Paranoids Have Real Enemies
Re:Snooping by any other name….. …bad? Hmmmm.
So Lincoln’s action to suspend was
Then I suppose thisdoesn’t qualify as bad because it was all nice and legal?
Conscience clear, and not living in fear.
Re:Snooping by any other name…..
wikipedia is also garbage.
Tweeeeeeet!
wikipedia is also garbage.
Tweeeeeeet!
Ad hominem logical fallacy used, 5-yard penalty.
Re:Snooping by any other name…..
So Lincoln’s action to suspend was …bad? Hmmmm.
And my point sails over the horizon, having been totally missed. The suspension of Habeas Corpus was a bad idea, that we–through sheer luck and the actions of good men–managed to survive without the republic being destroyed. My oh-so-colorful linked examples were to illustrate that while Lincoln may have hoped for the better angels of our nature, we have failed profoundly in our execution of the American dream.
As it is we have embarked on a perpetual war, wrapped in culture of fear. A War on “Terror” is no more winnable than a War on Farting. Our leaders have made significant efforts to quash reasonable debate and oversight on national issues. Do you honestly wish to roll the dice twice on a risky proposition?
Re:Tweeeeeeet!
Look I understand this is a very informal discussion and therefore we don’t have to reference and footnote each thing we write; however, in my opinion citing wikipedia is probably a couple steps up from citing a web site on geocities or anglefire that is run by some smelly Canadian guy living in his parent’s basement apartment. Come on, we are librarians! I’m assuming many of you have some of the best resources at your fingertips yet you are citing wikipedia! Perhaps that is asking too much.
Re:Snooping by any other name…..
Yes Wikipedia is Garbage. I just made Ronald Reagan a God.
Well actually he did that himself.
Re:Library Connection PAC Travels to New Orleans
Please remember that Venti is a service mark and trade mark held by Starbucks as it relates to coffee.
It is also the Italian word for 20. 20 freaking ounces of coffee and they had to file for service and trade marks. Let the ALA PAC worry about that crap.
Re:Tweeeeeeet!
What is it with this thread and missing my point[s]? It seems that you would rather attack the messenger then address the point[s] made by that messenger. What I gather from your post and that of the lovely and talented Mdoneil is that because I used Wikipedia, none of the examples of US wrong-headedness ever happened at all.
Japanese American internment? — Why that was just a very long camping trip.
Sedition Act of 1918? — Totally needed in light of the War on Ending all Wars (tm FNC).
Tuskegee Syphilis Study? — Pill bottle typo.
My Lai Massacre? — Weapons misfire.
COINTELPRO? Damn dirty commie hippies have no rights!
Operation Condor? — Roadtrip that just got a little crazy.
Abu Ghraib? — Frat pranks that got out of hand.
Re:Tweeeeeeet!
Oh, I have no problem with your main point (which you should have put in your original post by listing the Japanese-American internment, My Lai, et al insted of doing “this and this and this” business). Heck, I agree with you. I’m simply nitpicking about citing wikipedia. Wikipedia is crap.