Progress against the so-called Patriot Act

I am pasting below an e-mail from Erin Haggerty of the ALA Washington Office regarding the library section of the so-called USA PATRIOT Act:

The ALA Washington Office would like to thank all who have fought hard for reforms to the USA PATRIOT Act. On December 21, 2005, we had a terrific victory! Our Senate supporters held firm and refused to accept the House version of the PATRIOT reauthorization, instead convincing colleagues to extend the Act for another six months to ensure a thorough debate in the New Year. Thanks for your efforts and your continued communication with your Senators!

This month the Senate will reconsider the PATRIOT Act, and it will be important to maintain the support that your grassroots efforts have gained. If you have not done so already, please call your Senators (if they are listed below) to THANK them for their continued support and to ask them to stand firm in their support of privacy for library patrons in the coming weeks:

...Sen. Akaka, Daniel (D-HI)...
...Sen. Inouye, Daniel (D-HI)

Thanks to Lee Adams of HLA for passing this on.