A discussion about the FBI…

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  Alan L. Maki
  Question: Why would a U.S. District Attorney initiate the launch of such an investigation (against the Freedom Road Socialist Organization) on his own?
  Actually, you use the word "directed;" who directed him to launch this investigation?
  It doesn't take an awful lot to be better than J. Edgar Hoover or William Sessions, Kelly, Webster or Gray.
  Obama could have fired Mueller; he chose not to.
  Mueller has ordered all kinds of wire-taps; mail openings and infiltration of perfectly legal peace, environmental, civil rights, student organizations and Native American Indian organizations not because these organizations were suspected of any criminal activity but for the purpose of using special agents and hired informants in encouraging illegal activity.
  Twelve FBI Directors have authorized investigations of my completely legal political activities and I have never been charged with a federal crime except for "destruction of federal property" when I posted a bumper sticker on the door of my draft board that said: "We want jobs not war." Charges for this hideous crime were dismissed.
  This attack on the Freedom Road Socialist Organization is following a very clear pattern of how the FBI and the United States Department of Justice working with right-wing politicians first attack what they determine is the weakest organization on the left as they work their way into a full-blown "investigation" against anyone who is left, progressive or liberal.
  This has been the method of operation from the Palmer Raids to the Dies Committee, House Un-American Committee to McCarran, Joe McCarthy, Hubert Humphrey to the Senate Internal Security Sub-Committee.
  Also, in each and every one of these stages of political repression, the FBI had their Special Agents and informants infiltrate the defense committees in order to prevent people from adequately defending themselves and to provide information to the prosecutors.
  I seriously doubt, given the Obama Administrations verbal attacks on liberals, progressives and the left which coincide with this "investigation" that this all ends with one grand jury investigation... more than likely Obama, Mueller, Holder and Panetta are all involved as are probably members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.
  The United States Department of Justice and the FBI have no business being involved in "investigations" into any political organizations where there are no criminal activities taking place except for what the FBI instigates.
  We see the dirty methods the FBI uses when looking at any of the dossiers the FBI maintains on million of people in this country, people like me whose only crimes is that we speak our minds, write a few things and distribute some leaflets and write blog postings to express our views just like the Bill of Rights declares our rights to be.
  The FBI should be out arresting public officials who break the law by refusing to enforce affirmative action and those making campaign contributions to politicians like Collin Peterson in the form of Birthday Presents for which there is no accountability and politicians like Dave Olin who knowingly knew about and tolerated drugs being sold through Red Lakes Seven Clans Casinos.
  Robert Mueller just might be among the best of the FBI Directors and other agency administrators but I am sure that just tells us the other 80% are really, really bad.
• 10 hours ago · Like · 2 people
• 
  Coleen Rowley
  Alan: I don't disagree with your historical points but remember my qualifier about "grading on the curve". Firing and replacing agency directors or AGs, US Attorneys, etc. may be one of the main ways a President can make a show of changing to impress the public and look as if he's doing something, but more times than not, the replacement is even more sycophantic and worse than the predecessor. The firings are just for show and exercises in futility unless there is a real change in fundamental policies from the top. One example: Ashcroft was fired (or resigned) and was replaced by Gonzales, then Gonzales was forced out and replaced by Mukasey. Each successor was as bad if not worse than his predecessor. Another example, Eric Holder is using "State Secrets Privilege" over and over to keep torture victims from being able to sue. What if Obama fired Holder? Do you think that would change anything for the torture victims? Do you think the new guy would stop using "state secrets privilege" to protect the various illegal Presidential actions?
  Perhaps when you have Alberto Gonzales and J Edgar Hoover dragging "the curve" down, it's not that meaningful to "grade on the curve"? But I think it really only makes sense to point out RELATIVE differences rather than comparisons to ideals. For instance I would see some value in ranking all nation leaders of the last century which would include Hitler, Pinochet, FDR, Jimmy Carter, DeGaulle, Churchill, Stalin, Pol Pot, Chairman Mao, etc. by applying some objective criteria to assessing their actions. I'm sure many people would see that as a useless exercise, simply concluding that power corrupted them all and they all did bad things at some level. All I was saying is that based on my experience, FBI Dir. Mueller (who is on his way out anyway in a few months) is one of the better FBI Directors. Eric Holder is one of the better too even tho' they both are following orders to a huge extent and operating in horrible systems due to the perverse pressures of "Top Secret America" and the "war on terror" that's now being turned inward on U.S. citizens and political advocacy and humanitarian groups.
  Did I send you my draft paper about the factors forcing this return of COINTELPRO era? I'd like your feedback.
  3 hours ago · Like · 2 people
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  Alan L. Maki
  Coleen, no you didn't send me the draft paper... unless someone "grabbed it" en route to me... lol!
  All joking aside; I guess I view the workings of the FBI slightly differently... maybe a little too personally since I am one of their "Subjects;" because, as a reporter from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation pointed out during her radio interview of me after going through several hundred pages of the FBI dossier maintained on me, "You are being treated worse than a drug lord; the only thing in this huge file is that you express an opinion and talk to other people and pass out a few leaflets and newspapers and read some books with an opinion not appreciated by corporate America."
  Or how Michigan's Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Brown exclaimed in a courtroom filled with people as he got to see my "Red Squad File" for the first time that was delivered in several huge and very tattered card board boxes from having been opened and closed so often said to Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelly who is a good liberal like Hubert Humphrey was as he authored the Communist Control Act that enabled all of this to take place against hundreds of thousands of people in a "legal" manner, perhaps waiting for history to absolve him after judging him on a "curve:" "Jesus Christ Frank; what have you done to this man" as you used my file as one of several including one maintained on my friend, Detroit Mayor Coleman Young whose "file" not only filled several boxes but was maintained in 7 four-drawer steel file cabinets that needed to be wheeled into the courtroom on dollies.
  I have a photo of an angry FBI agent taken several years ago as I followed him from door-to-door from my parent's neighbors in Grand Rapids, Michigan as he asked the neighbors "Do you know when your Communist neighbor Armas Maki is expected to die." I also have photos my mother took of FBI Special (oh so "special") Agents who had the nerve to come and look in the casket of my uncle, Henry Sompolinsky; "Special" Agents, who after peering into his casket, turned to my mother and said, "Sarah, we just wanted to make sure Henry was really dead" as they began harassing Ed and Olga Beltram... two old Communists who organized more unions then missionaries organize Bible studies.
  I guess when judging on a "curve," the victims use a slightly different interpretation of the curve; and, like with the distinction between Democrats and Republicans there really isn't any difference between who is chosen to "direct" these most blatantly unconstitutional and anti-democratic activities of this institution--- the FBI-- whose doors should have been padlocked at the time of the Palmer Raids which has the full and complete backing of a huge governmental apparatus and all of the government's human and financial resources backing it up--- and then, every time a citizen spends years in the courts (almost two decades in my case), trying to get a little justice for these dastardly criminal and unconstitutional activities the FBI engaged in for over one hundred years and continues to engage in as it completely disregards the Constitution and Bill of Rights which are held up to the peoples of the world as what makes this the greatest bastion of democracy... us victims don't really care how these Directors get "graded" because to us they are no better than your run-of-the-mill two-bit half-assed fascist bastards than the fascists they have trained to kill people all over the world.
  And now they work hand-in-hand with private outfits like Altegrity/USIS to ply their dirty deeds using their dirty corrupt little fingers without even having to worry about any United States Constitution or Bill of Rights as they get working people fired and beat up and worse just for trying to organize unions in the smoke-filled casinos where they are employed at poverty wages without any rights under state or federal labor laws by a bunch of mobsters who have had their "family businesses" protected by the Democratic Party which drafted "Compacts" at their behest in exchange for campaign contributions made through creeps like John McCarthy of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association and his side-kick Stanley Crooks--- "Compacts" that another generation of Humphrey's turned into "law."
  And now Mueller and Holder have turned their rats and goons loose on the Freedom Road Socialist Organization which supported Obama who allowed Mueller to continue and appointed Holder. More of Obama's loyal supporters being kicked under the wheels of his fast moving campaign bus, apparently being driven by some corporate flunky drunk drunk on profits.