The Red and Black

Let me get this straight. You are warning us about HYPOTHETICAL government surveillance of a small anti-war protest at the University of Georgia. You are also afraid that this HYPOTHETICAL surveillance could HYPOTHETICALLY keep HYPOTHETICAL protesters away from other anti-war events which might HYPOTHETICALLY be surveyed by the Federal Government.

Paranoid much?

As my daddy always says,

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you


government surveillance of peace groups and others that disagree with government policies/actions is not hypothetical, it does occur and most certainly has occurred in the past (the FBI had extensive files on MLK Jr. and SNCC among many others). And fear of being watched (whether hypothetical or not) does silence people--those in power count on that fear and use it to their advantage.

I'm both a peace freak and a former employee of the Department of Homeland Security and can safely say David is wrong here (status quo). GBI has been found to have been monitoring GSU students for peace and justice for some time; DHS doesn't really approve of this, we mostly see it as a dumb distraction from going after real bad guys.

So not only is it an attack on constitutional rights, it makes us less safe.

Why did you quote the word "evidence"? Did I ever even say that word? You use quotes to take something from what someone is saying; I know you didn't mean it but this is de facto fraud in your reply right here.

And get yourself acquainted with the Freedom of Information Act and stop having me do your work for you; you can look these things up on public record thanks to the ACLU; you can see the monitoring files on Iraq Veterans Against the War, Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition, American Friends Service Committee, GSU Students for Peace and Justice, and other well-known terrorist groups. Or at least that's what the simple-minded would like to believe: that we have a government of, for, and by the people and not one that is abusing its police forces to crack down on political dissent.

As someone who has been in and out of DHS I'm very proud to have done legitimate work to stop terrorism, but anyone especially this runaway executive who tries to use anti-terrorism as a political cover for nefarious activities that actually hurt homeland security -- they can go to hell. Bush can go to Hell he has shown no concern for legitimate antiterrorism efforts; everything he does makes us less safe, hurts us; he's authorized this new COINTELPRO via the Pentagon, and like his illegal NSA program I hope this one goes down hard through the courts.

This is how they control the government. They use FEAR to make people feel paranoid. Kent state, the shooting of the students said, "We mean business". The surveillance was EVERYWHERE in the 1960's and 1970's.

In MY DAY (Vietnam Years), too many students and fellow citizens BACKED DOWN LIKE THE COWARDS THEY TRULY ARE and let the BULLIES in the government trounce all over our rights.

Since that back down, our wages have ceased to grow. Just wait until you graduate from college and find out that unless you become a nasty bully and join them and behave like they do, you will NOT be invited to the party. YOU WILL NOT EARN ENOUGH MONEY TO LIVE BEYOND YOUR MONTHLY PAYMENTS. The cost of your education will set you back to the blue collar range of lifestyle. Just when you start your big money years, your kids take it all to go to college.

I have too many friends who are doctors, lawyers, teachers, and engineers who are working at HOME DEPOT and places like that. You see, whether you graduate or not, you are thrown to the curb at 55 years of age because they DON'T WANT TO PAY YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY. By lowering your wages for the last 10 years you work they can lower your benefit range.

By the way, after you have given all your money to your KID'S COLLEGE, many times hocking the house to the hilt to do that, you get laid off for being 55 years of age and you can NEVER MAKE IT UP.

You guys had better get off your privileged asses and start acting like patriots or there won't be a country for you to thrive in. Today it is more like the Soviet Union than you WISH to believe.

What you will otherwise inherit is the scenario in Russia today. Or worse. A collapsed nation is in the offing.

We must DEFEND OUR NATION FROM THESE CRIMINAL THUGS. This is an organized crime family ruling our country and they will NOT go silently into that good night any more than Hitler would be expected to do.