I’m still in the process of moving – an epic effort which may interrupt my writing schedule periodically for the next week or so, but I just wanted to make this brief point.
When I first became aware of the FBI’ s interest in this site, and their decision to launch an investigation, I found the whole thing rather dispiriting. Although I had been warning for years that we were on the edge of losing our constitutionally protected liberties, I never realized – until that moment – just how imminent the threat had become.
I have to be honest with you: I found the release of the FBI’s 2004 memo somewhat intimidating, and I briefly considered taking up some other line of work, one less threatening to the Powers That Be – say, stonemason or professional gardener. After all, given the history of domestic spying engaged in by an out-of-control FBI, who knows what today’s “plumbers” might try to pull off? Armed with the PATRIOT Act, and other post-9/11 legislation that rolls back safeguards instituted in the 1970s, a veritable army of domestic snoops and provocateurs have been unleashed — good reason for me to fear for the future.
Yet recent events have lifted my spirits considerably, number one being the success of our winter fund-raising appeal. In the FBI’s 2004 memo, the author averred
“There are several unanswered questions regarding antiwar.com. It describes itself as a nonprofit group that survives on generous contributions from its readers. Who are these contributors and what are the funds utilized for?”
One wonders, in passing, if our clueless Keystone Kops over in the Electronic Communications & Analysis Unit of the FBI (ECAU) have obeyed their bosses’ dictum to “further monitor the postings on website www.antiwar.com,” as commanded in the 2004 memo. If so, they’ll have doubtless noted the success of our winter 2011 fund-raising drive, which met its $100,000 goal with much less trouble than I had anticipated. This is a vote of confidence, as far as I’m concerned – and it buys us a kind of protection. Because the success of our fund-raising indicates a rising level of public support – and that any attempt by the authorities to shut us down or otherwise harass us would meet with vocal opposition.
I want to thank everyone who gave to the winter fund-raiser not only for making a financial contribution, but for giving me the personal and emotional equivalent of saying: “We’re watching your back!” This is like a shot in the arm: it gives me the confidence to move forward, and the strength to write.
Thanks one and all – you know who you are.
NOTES IN THE MARGIN
To the folks at ECAU: keeping “monitoring” us. Who knows, you may even learn something that may cause you to turn away from the Dark Side.
