Where not only can you be arrested for wearing a t-shirt that promotes peace, but where the FBI protects us from anti-war high school students.
March 5th (today) has been designated as a national day of student protests against the war. As part of that movement, a group of students at Lexington High School, together with a faculty adviser, organized a fantastic program, with the support of the school administration.
One of the students put a note on a web site that Lexington was participating in this national student day of protest.
Yesterday, the FBI emailed or called the Lexington police department, and asked them if they were aware of this student activity. The FBI told the Lexington police that people from around the area might be coming to Lexington to march. The police then went to the school administration to ask what was going on.
This had nothing to do with terrorism. Why is the FBI monitoring legitimate anti-war speech in this country, and sending local police departments to High Schools to investigate? It is due to the USA Patriot Act, which now allows the FBI to monitor political speech when there is no question at all about any criminal activity.
Did you get that? The FBI asked local police to investigate a bunch of high school kids who were lawfully participating in an anti-war protest that had been sanctioned and approved of by the school’s administration. Almost feels like the 1950’s all over again, don’t it?
Found this via Scott’s blog which has had a number of such worrisome stories lately. I need to read it a bit more often it seems.
Kind of makes you wonder what the file on you has in it...or me for that matter.