No evidence needed under terror profiling plan

You read that headline correctly -- no evidence needed for the Feds to gather information on an American subject citizen. Because old-fashioned ideas like "due process" and "probable cause" are just SO pre-9/11. After all, what do you want to be, safe or free?

Actually, that wasn't a real question -- the choice is already being made for you:

The Justice Department is considering allowing the FBI to investigate Americans for terrorist activities without evidence, instead relying on a "terrorist profile" which includes ethnicity and religious affiliation.

Rather than having evidence of terrorist activities, the FBI could launch an investigation based on a profile that could also include visiting countries known for terrorist activity and having access to weapons or military training.

Clearly, these aren't the only red flags that could raise suspicions. It's pretty easy to figure out that anything a government official doesn't like can be used against you. Do you read the wrong books, visit the wrong web sites, or belong to questionable organizations? Before you answer "no," don't forget that the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has worked closely with the Federal government in the past, has condemned the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), and NumbersUSA for their "ties to white supremacists." And in post-9/11 America, such ties clearly mark you as a terror suspect. As Jessica Stern, a lecturer at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, wrote in Foreign Affairs, “Al Qaeda has shifted its mission, even aligning itself with neo-Nazis and white supremacists who are sympathetic to its new focus of fighting a ‘new world order.’” If you've ever visited those sites, downloaded articles from them, or -- God help you -- joined or donated money, you could be a target for Federal investigation.

But don't worry -- as long as you fly the right flag, avoid trouble-makers, and say the right things, there's nothing to worry about.

And don't forget -- freedom of speech is one of our most cherished possessions ...


... so we have to make sure you don't abuse it.