Ghost of Hoover

NY Times reports that the FBI has been spying on . . . er I mean monitoring several DOMESTIC organizations, including PETA, Greenpeace, and the Catholic Workers organzation. The bureau found that groups like PETA, who likes to put celebrities in fake fur and Greenpeace, whose members like to ride in little rowboats, are associated with other organzations that the FBI describes as "extremist special interest groups" and a "a serious domestic terrorist threat." Granted, bored college kids have on occasion set fire to construction sites, costing large corporations HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS in damage. Are they really a serious domestic terrorist threat? So, perhaps PETA's placing Pamela Anderson on billboards can be considered terrorist. What's really troubling is that now it seems ANY social activism can be considered enough to warrant the FBI tappin' my telephone, like Chuck D said (somebody call Tony Rome). This is exactly the kind of thing people who opposed the Patriot Act were concerned about. Yeah, I know, I said this kind of thing has probably been going on prior to 9/11. But now you know, so act like you know. I'll be curious to see if any right wing organizations are on the list that the ACLU plans to release tomorrow.