I swear, there are mornings of late when I'm reading the paper
and  have to reach for another cup of coffee if only to remember
what's fact and what's fiction. 

Richard North Patterson's latest book, Protect and Defend
deals with the contentious nomination of a liberal woman to head the
Supreme Court (OK, I know that's fiction) and an abortion case dealing
with the issue of parental notification.

So maybe I'm reading too much fiction or watching too much television.  But when you read this story from today's Chronicle of Higher Education,
you have to wonder if someone at the FBI hasn't begun to think the
rules we live by don't really emanate from the Constitution, but rather
from studio lots in Hollywood.

FBI Agents Back Down When Librarian Refuses to Let Them Seize 30
Computers Without a Warrant

By ANDREA L. FOSTER

An e-mail threat that prompted the evacuation of more than a
dozen Brandeis University buildings on January 18 led to an unusual standoff in
a public library in Newton, Mass., a few miles from the Brandeis campus.

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents tried to seize 30 of the
library's computers without a warrant, saying someone had used the library's
Internet connection to send the threat to Brandeis. But the library director,
Kathy Glick-Weil, told the agents they could not take the machines unless they
got a warrant first. Newton's mayor, David Cohen, backed Ms. Glick-Weil up.

After a brief standoff, FBI officials relented and sought a warrant from
a judge. Click here to read the rest of the story…..

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