Big Brother and His Eyes

Concerns have spiked up all year over the proclivities of those currently in control of all three branches of government to put ordinary citizens on "watch lists" for expressing political opinions contrary to our leaders. Wonder where that paranoia might have come from?

Women in Black, an idea that has become an anti-war "movement" of sorts, with groups of women in all sorts of locales voluntarily standing mute as a testament against violence, has become the object of an FBI investigation. Wonder if Boone's own branch of Women in Black have been interviewed yet: "Just when did you decide to overthrow the government, huh?"

The Congressional staffer who says he was responsible for inserting last-minute language into the Omnibus Spending Bill a couple of weeks back -- that would have given Republican Congressional leaders access to any IRS tax forms they wished ... he says in this morning's WashPost that he's shocked, SHOCKED, that anyone would take that the wrong way. Anyway, it was an innocent gesture meant to give Congress oversight over how the IRS is using increased appropriations, and the staffer says he was sleep-deprived at the time of the insertion. He'd be a lot better at covering his tracks with a good night's rest.

And the ACLU, along with a coalition of environmental and peace groups, is demanding information from the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act to find out exactly just how obnoxious the surveillance of American protest has become under this president. The ACLU is alleging that the FBI has been targeting people for their political beliefs and not because they are a credible criminal threat to the peace of the land.