Thinking about writing a letter to the editor? Before you tell everyone what you really think, be warned, the FBI is watching. For all you know, you may be on their list.
It’s now common knowledge that Bush’s “big brother” government has been conducting warrantless (hence, illegal) wiretaps on American citizens.
It still remains to be seen whether those wiretaps were targeting legitimate suspects or political opponents.
But since when did the FBI start perusing letters to the editor for potentially traitorous opinions?
On Sept. 15 of last year Laura Berg, a Veteran’s Affairs nurse, wrote a letter to the editor of the Alibi, a weekly paper in Albuquerque, N.M. The letter was critical of the Bush administration’s handling of the Katrina disaster.
The letter wasn’t really unique in any way. Thousands of letters and op-ed pieces were published in news outlets nationwide (perhaps with the exception of FOX “news”) providing equally stinging criticism.
However, Berg’s case was different. A few days after her letter was published, security officials at the VA hospital where Berg is employed seized her computer to ascertain whether or not she had used government resources to compose her letter – she hadn’t.
The hospital’s chief of human resources, Mel Hooker, defended the seizure, insisting that it was necessary to “investigate and pursue any act which potentially represents sedition.” According to the Alibi, Berg’s nursing union notified her that a copy of the letter had been sent to the FBI in Washington, D.C.
So just exactly what was it about Mrs. Berg’s letter that was so “seditious”? Here’s an excerpt from the letter:
“I am furious with the tragically misplaced priorities and criminal negligence of this government. The Katrina tragedy in the U.S. shows that the emperor has no clothes! Bush and his team partied and delayed while millions of people were displaced, hundreds of thousands were abandoned to a living hell. Thousands more died of drowning, dehydration, hunger and exposure; most bodies remain unburied and rotting in attics and floodwater. Is this America the beautiful?
The risk of hurricane disaster was clearly predicted, yet funds for repair work for the Gulf States barrier islands and levee system were unconscionably diverted to the Iraq War. Money and manpower and ethics have been diverted to fight a war based on absolute lies!”
There’s no doubt the letter belabors the president and his handling of the Katrina crisis, and deservedly so. But only someone suffering from intense paranoia would consider a letter to the editor an act of sedition.
What’s really going on? Is this an investigation into a plot to overthrow the president, or yet another attempt to stifle dissent through implied threats and intimidation.
Bullying and coercion have become the modus operandi tactics of the administration and their supporters. If it’s not possible to stand up to a fact-based argument, accuse the other person of being a traitor.
Whether forcing people to sign a loyalty pledge before attending a Bush speaking event or throwing them out because they’re wearing the wrong T-shirt, it’s the same pattern.
The president and his supporters can’t stand up to direct questioning of their actions, so they resort to creating a witch hunt atmosphere that generates fear.
In the case of Berg, it’s the fear of losing a job she has excelled at for 15 years.
In her letter, Berg asked what had become of America the beautiful.
The events surrounding her letter should compel us to question what is happening to our constitutionally guaranteed American liberties, like the freedom of speech.

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