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Source:
Paul Ibbetson, 785-317-6624, ibbetson@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Keener A. Tippin II, 785-532-6415,
media@k-state.edu
Wednesday,
September 6, 2006
K-STATE
GRADUATE STUDENT PENS BOOK ABOUT PATRIOT ACT
MANHATTAN -- Paul Ibbetson has three special passions in his life:
criminal justice, sociology and political science.
Ibbetson,
a Kansas State University graduate student in sociology, Wichita,
was able to combine those three passions into one project: a book
on the Patriot Act, scheduled to be released by Author House Publishing
this fall.
The
book, "Living Under the Patriot Act: Educating A Society,"
examines The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate
Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001,
or the federal law better known as the Patriot Act.
The
controversial piece of federal legislation was signed into law by
President George W. Bush in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks. The legislation dramatically expanded the authority of
American law enforcement for the stated purpose of fighting terrorist
acts in the U.S. and abroad. It also has been used to detect and
prosecute other alleged potential crimes such as providing false
information on terrorism.
As
a former police chief in southeast Kansas, Ibbetson had spent a
lot of time studying state statutes. But he didn't start studying
the Patriot Act until 2002.
"I
did what a lot of people do. I went online and pulled up the original
text, assuming that I could read it and understand it," he
said.
But
Ibbetson found reading and comprehending the Patriot Act a difficult
thing to do, which is why he wrote a book about it.
"I try to put into context some of the frustrations a lot of
people have had in trying to learn about the Patriot Act,"
Ibbetson said. "My goal was to educate as opposed to advocate.
I'm driven to reach the common man, but I hope the content will
be stimulating to academics as well."
While
Ibbetson also has written conservative columns, he said the goal
of his book is not to sway people to be for or against the Patriot
Act. He said he wanted to provide information and allow readers
draw their own conclusions.
The
book has two main parts. The first part discusses the original act
that was passed in 2001 and offers his analysis of several provisions
of the act that have drawn scrutiny, such as detention of terrorist
suspects. He also compares the Patriot Act to other historical legislation
enacted by the government during times of crisis.
"That's
something that a lot of times doesn't get covered," Ibbetson
said. "We know people who are for it for that reason, or against
it for this reason, but we can't really say what's been done in
the past."
Additional
chapter in the first part of the book define what actions fall under
the act; what qualifies an individual or group as a terrorist, either
domestic or international; the act from several different sociological
theories; and what individuals and organizations oppose the act,
their stance on the act as a whole and what sections of the act
trouble them.
The
second half of the book deals with the recent renewal of the act.
"I
tried to cover the major players and events that took place that
would push the process forward and pull it back," Ibbetson
said. "I cover the failure of legislators to meet the deadline,
the first and second extensions and the inevitable renewal."
Ibbetson
said the book, a culmination of more than three years of research
which started while he was a graduate student at Wichita State University,
reads like a movie.
"Most
of it the public is not aware of things that took place," he
said. "I think it also is important that the book is not meant
to be an end-all resource. What it is meant to be is a tool to stimulate
the reader to want to continue to research the act."
Ibbetson
said the latest version of the Patriot Act will expire in 2009 and
the nation likely will be faced with whether to renew it again.
In the meantime, Ibbetson said he plans to keep studying it and
analyzing if it should be renewed.
"We'll
have this debate again," he said. "I'm not as interested
in whether people support the legislation as I am in promoting a
long-term interest in the future of this law. If that is the outcome,
this book will have been a success."
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