Incendiary Advice

What do these three have in common?

They're the focus of groups being monitored by our very own FBI, these days. Your tax dollars at work, government spying on agencies such as Greenpeace, PETA and the Catholic Worker's group.

FBI watched political, social groups, agency records show
By Eric Lichtblau

Originally published December 20, 2005

WASHINGTON // Counterterrorism agents at the FBI have conducted numerous surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations that involved, at least indirectly, groups active in causes as diverse as the environment, animal cruelty and poverty relief, newly disclosed agency records show.

With the President staunchly (after yesterday's bilious display, some would also include "bellicosely") defending his decision to spy on Americans outside FISA law and perhaps against the Constitution, one would assume that those being surveilled were clearly threats to America.

After all, that's what he said yesterday, right? These are "speedy, tricky" enemies of freedom.

Oh, that insidious Greenpeace - the infidel fighter of democracy.

Catholic charities are speedy? Not if you've ever been on the receiving end of them, I'd wager. They're hardly tricky, either.

Without a doubt, however, they are all "the enemy."

Not to this country, but to an administration whose ideology is so unfounded and slipshod it cannot stand up to scrutiny and counter-argument, let alone factual data. Groups that support the environment, animals and the impoverished not only have the angels on their side, they have statistical evidence and a fair amount of financial clout.

All of which makes them, along with the Quakers and anti-war groups in this country, a direct threat to the Bush administration's fantasy world where things like global warming, species extinction and the ever-growing ranks of America poor simply don't exist.

Even Orwell couldn't have imagined things going this far off the beaten path.