Some of the "terrorist groups" the Bush Administration has been investigating

Back in July, I blogged on the reorganization of the nation's intelligence services, quoting a WaPo article detailing how the FBI was now largely under the control of that wonderful guy who brought you Honduran death squads, John Negroponte. In that same post, I also cited an article about how the California National Guard was was tracking antiwar groups as they prepared for a march on the Sacramento capitol.

Now, C-Plus Stalin is claiming that he needs the ability to circumvent the law at any time in order to fight the so-called war on terror.

Now it's becoming increasingly clear that Bush's war is not in the Middle East, but here at home -- against all who would attempt to thwart his dictatorial ambitions, and against all who would disagree with any aspects of his policies, no matter how trivial they may seem. Here's information on some of the groups that the Administration and the intelligence community deems to be a terrorist threat:

Counterterrorism agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation 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.

[snip]

One F.B.I. document indicates that agents in Indianapolis planned to conduct surveillance as part of a "Vegan Community Project." Another document talks of the Catholic Workers group's "semi-communistic ideology." A third indicates the bureau's interest in determining the location of a protest over llama fur planned by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Now here's where you spit your coffee all over the keyboard:

"Just being referenced in an F.B.I. file is not tantamount to being the subject of an investigation," said John Miller, a spokesman for the bureau.

"The F.B.I. does not target individuals or organizations for investigation based on their political beliefs," Mr. Miller said. "Everything we do is carefully promulgated by federal law, Justice Department guidelines and the F.B.I.'s own rules."

I'll wait while you finish laughing and pick yourself up off the floor.