Does our participation in DU put us in danger of visits from Secret Service?

[Connonym]

I just posed this question in reply to a thread about the letter to the editor resulting in a visit from the Secret Service.

Do you think that our public participation in DU or any other polically based websites puts us on some sort of watch list? Am I being totally paranoid to even consider the thought?

ETA: I'm not saying DU is in any way to blame. Just wondering if "they" keep lists of people like us who participate in political forums.

[oldtime dfl_er]

1. there's no such thing as paranoid

with this administration

[Solo_in_MD]

7. Its independent of the administration

Threaten or intimate violence and they may knock on your door. Does not matter who is in office.

When I expressed this opinion in the past, someone pointed out that we may be hearing about more of these incidents with this administration that others due to the positions being taken (more angry people). That person may have a point.

[DaveJ]

20. I think we need a LifeWatch list

I had this idea for a website that will automatically check in on people to see whether they disappear, so their disappearances do not go unnoticed.... Has anyone every heard of a site/service like that?

Edit: sorry I meant to reply to the OP

[Connonym]

23. so if we get shipped to Gitmo someone will notice our absence? n/t

[quinnox]

2. only if

you threaten the president directly or indirectly or talk about violent revolution or overthrowing the U.S. government.

[Buzz Clik]

9. I'm thinking this is correct.

DU is a bit of a tangled web of pissed off lefties blowing off steam. If the Secret Service paid a visit to every poster who called the President a chimp or worse, we'd have heard about it already.

[Poll_Blind]

3. Probably, but that's not DU's fault. n/t

PB

[jgraz]

4. I just hope Skinner keeps some big derezzers around in case the guys in suits come knocking

:tinfoilhat:

[Warpy]

5. Only if we say something completely stupid

and against posting rules and the Feds notice it before the mods delete it and tombstone the offender(s).

[babylonsister]

6. DU wouldn't be to blame, we choose to post here. And I wouldn't be at

all surprised to find out there are lists created from DU posters. As noted, don't post anything inflammatory or threatening.

[Buzz Clik]

10. You're already on my list.

:evilgrin:

[babylonsister]

12. ...

:scared: :D

[Connonym]

13. I'm not blaming DU, I worded that badly I guess

No blaming DU at all. Nor am I really referring to a threatening component to what we say. I'm wondering if just by the act of participating in a public manner do we risk scrutiny.

[babylonsister]

18. I would say 'yes'. They have lists of citizens who have participated

in peaceful anti-war protests, so why not us?

[TechBear_Seattle]

8. There is no question about being paranoid. The real question is...

Are we being paranoid enough?

[damntexdem]

11. If it does, then ....

it is that much more important to publicly participate in DU and in other political websites, and public demonstrations.

[raccoon]

14. You mean, the same SS that stood around with their thumbs

somewhere while somebody sat in a classroom of an elementary school while the country was being attacked?

Always remember, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean everybody's not out to get you. :silly:

[porphyrian]

15. Just don't threaten anyone.

Otherwise, it's not really a danger. Yet.

[woodsprite]

16. You may be paranoid, but then so am I.

I think any members of DU are probably of more interest to the powers that be, but just watch what you say and stay away from threads that you KNOW would be SS magnets. I figure I crossed the "interesting person" line when I paid for a membership. If I was doing it over again, seeing how things have changed so much in the past few years, I probably would not have done that since there is more than just myself to consider - I have kiddos and a hubby. Wasn't thinking like that the day I realized the election was manipulated. And yes, that sounds really paranoid for me to write out here, but we all know it's true.

Was talking to someone at coffee hour on Sunday. They said they thought of going to see * on Wednesday. I told him it'd be just better to stay away. He said he was surprised he didn't get arrested back when he was a spectator at an Agnew speech just after Watergate started to bubble over. Apparently he was a very vocal college student at the time. I told him "Not worth going now since you'd just be relegated to the "free speech" zones 3 blocks away and down a side street - You know, the chain link boxes with the barbed wire on top?" I thought some of the people around us would choke on their coffee, but instead they laughed and said I was right.

[undergroundpanther]

17. If Agent mike came here

I'd tell him to go fuck himself in such a way he wouldn't realize it until he was long gone.

And I would tell him I still have a right to say my thoughts. The first amendment has not been dismantled by a fucking executive order yet you know..

So I have a right to express my feelings about Bush and anything else. You know expressing opinions and feelings are not threats..or are you THAT insecure?

The expression of negative feelings are only perceived as threatening to those who are insecure bully types who wear carefully constructed false social masks over who they are and what their motives are. They do this because they are incompetent and insecure they seek to hide what they really are about from everybody else because if they knew they'd reject his claims to authority.. Also these bully types hate it because they do wrong and try to lie about it, so they got to control what others to keep the fake image of who they are intact and most prominent in other's perceptions, so the truth never comes out. a

So why are you or the person that told you to come over here insisting on feeling so threatened by my feelings and opinions being typed and spoken out loud for? Do tell me Agent Mike do you not have an inner locus of control? Have you lost your ability to distinguish emotional expression and negative opinions from actual threats? Do you got a weak personality issue lurking under that Mr. Normal suit, under that bullet proof vest and beneath those guns and badges and symbolic au-thora-tee? Or are you just happy to see me you just HAD to stop by?... g-r-i-n.

And after that opinionated rant..I'd probably be sent on a rendition plane somewhere. For having thoughts and feelings the state namely boosh the doosh don't like..And I know they'd get me a heaping portion of a'la Clockwork Orange treatments.

The state hates little mouthy, creative thinking, rebellious, smart and sensitive people that will not color inside the party lines.

The state hates the little people to have real freedom like the elites think they are the only ones entitled to have . Things like Freedom of thought and to express them, freedom to associate to create dissent,gain solidarity with other little people to change the social status quo that the elites want to keep the same because it keeps the elites in power and hides what they are.

For others having freedom is scary to authoritarian personalities, it is not tidy,or easy to dominate, it does not automatically bow it's mind to power, authority or coercion, or threats,without questioning it's legitimacy first. Freedom is not about being certain,predictable, or control. Others freedoms to seek and know express and create does not feel good to authority figures, or corporates . Nor does freedom to express disdain help profits or state/empires make money exploit people and oppress others voices.

Authority does not want knowledge, it wants certainty .

Bush calls himself a decider because he wants the comforting illusion of certainty more than uncertain messy unpredictable uncontrollable reality.

You see freedom is about seeking and sharing knowledge. Knowledge that is not contained and limited interferes with that comforting authoritarian facade of certainty and power the right wing lives for..

Sometimes when you realize you have nothing to lose, you see how close to losing everything your country is.

[catmandu57]

33. Right on UP

I'm a proud member of that list.

[stillcool]

19. I find this telling...

http://www.yorkdispatch.com/pennsylvania/ci_5061082

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Some might say Dan Tilli's letters to the editor threaten conservative values. But the U.S. Secret Service briefly worried that the 81-year-old man's words threatened President Bush.

Tilli's letter published in last Monday's edition of The Express-Times of Easton earned him a visit from a pair of Secret Service agents.

The letter referenced the execution of Saddam Hussein and ended with the line, "I still believe they hanged the wrong man."

The government apparently saw that as a potential threat toward the president.

Not a threat: "I didn't say who -- I could've meant bin Laden," Tilli said Friday, adding that the statement wasn't a threat.

The agents, who confirmed the visit, grilled Tilli at his Bethlehem apartment for nearly an hour Thursday morning before deeming him safe. They asked Tilli questions such as: Do you have siblings? Have you considered committing suicide? (He said no.) Have you visited Washington, D.C.?

"I don't even know how to get there," Tilli said. "Atlantic City is the only place I go."

[raysr]

21. Good point

How can you "resign" from DU? Scrub all your posts and user name?

[ptvet]

22. Shhhh

Actually a good friend of mine in Law Enforcement jokes about how he has to be careful what he says to me over the phone. Then we laugh nervously....
I've been to way too many protest's and marches for his comfort level.

[notadmblnd]

24. I assume it puts us on some sort of list.

nt

[HamdenRice]

25. It's already happened

A few months ago, I think, someone wrote something inflammatory and the Secret Service asked the administrators for the person's identity. I think there was some question of whether Freepers reading DU alerted the SS or they found it on their own. Skinner kept everyone informed.

Don't quite remember what the outcome was, but it is clear that the SS reads DU at least sometimes, and that they don't have automatic access to your identity (otherwise, why would they have contacted Skinner.)

Maybe you could do a search and find that thread.

[Connonym]

29. I will search that, I think it was before my time

I don't really think the SS is literally going to come pounding on my door. I'm more worried about surveillance. It feels paranoid to even say that but if they phone tap and they look at what you've checked out from the library, monitor credit card purchases, track who goes to protests, etc., is it unreasonable to suppose that they monitor web sites? How do we know we're not setting ourselves up to be under closer scrutiny for an IRS audit or an extra pat down at the airport? Clearly the fear of this isn't stopping me from posting online but I'd be lying if I said I didn't sometimes worry about it.

[H2O Man]

26. That's simple:

How many DUers have had visits from the Secret Service that are related to posting on DU?

[hfojvt]

27. We don't know

because they disappear the person and then take over the account :tinfoilhat:

I did get a PM asking what city I lived in from a DUer I had not noticed before and it was very soon after I had mentioned that I used to work in the weapons of mass destruction industry. Probably was a coincidence. That DUer, like many, has not been active now for over a year.

[johnnie]

28. Funny you say this

A few months ago I had a visit from the Secret Service. My cousin, he stayed over while he was in town. I asked him if they watch this stuff and he kind of laughed and said they really don't have the time to be reading every website out there.

Of course, he is Secret Service, so I don't know if I believe him..LOL.

[Rex]

30. We are all on a list somewhere in the bowels of the Pentagon.

They never quit the TIA project and I bet it is up and running smoothly by now (they've had 3 years). The SS is just doing the job they swore an oath to do. If someone here says something threatening or stupid (like they want to bomb somewhere), then I can see why the SS might want to have a chat with him/her.

[treestar]

31. Considering some of the high school kids and LTTE they've had

time to follow up on, I'm sure they have time to at least surf DU looking for leads.

Hi agent Mike! :hi:

[MnFats]

32. "If you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear." Yeah, right.

I suspect we're all in great computer data base right now. especially if you show up in other data bases -- for example, somebody who marched in an antiwar demo or wrote a letter to the editor of their local paper.....

But so what? they'll get damn bored looking into my background.