Thursday, May 3, 2007

Perspectives on Liberty: A Chilling Effect


Perspectives on Liberty from a lawyer (Bill Newman), a librarian (Peter Chase), and a journalist (Rob Weisman).

I can see one of my fellow bloggers blogging away furiously in front of me (hi Jenn!), so instead of providing a play-by-play, I thought I'd share a few selected quotes from this session.

"There were many minor acts of courage" - Peter Chase

"The government is winning" - Bill Newman

"So far, we can still get companies to talk to us...I think there's a potential for this Judith Miller case to have a more chilling effect." - Rob Weisman

"What's the impact of not only betraying the source, but putting a chilling effect on other people that would talk with you?" - Rob Weisman

"Patrons are aware that it's quite possible that people are snooping into their records" - Peter Chase

"I hope that you will remember that people trust you with that information" - Peter Chase

"In first amendment parlance, we're talking about a chilling effect" - Bill Newman

"I think there is cause for optimism that Congress is following the people" - Bill Newman

---------------------------

That's all from me; this blogger heads home this afternoon.

My first conference was a great experience. I learned a lot and met some wonderful local librarians. Many thanks to Beth Gallaway for the opportunity to blog (blog-ortunity?), and especially to the MLA for generously awarding me a scholarship to attend.

No comments: