They say that in war, the first casualty is the truth. For online booksellers, however, the truth seems to be MIA.
In late 2001, the U.S. Congress passed the PATRIOT Act, designed as a first step in a new, sudden war on terrorism.

For those of you who haven't read the Act itself, the document is a fragmented mess of addenda, revisions, and additions to the U.S. Civil Code. Actually, most of the document concerns itself with money laundering; the Act argues that the easiest way to assist terrorism is to provide terrorists with money. Finally, the Act redefines terrorist activities, including hackers in the mix.

But the Act also includes some seemingly non-sensical provisions regarding the use of evidence in seeking out terrorists, including what books individuals purchase.

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