Reply #59: Forget about the posters, they are not important...

[originalpckelly]

It isn't that the government went after someone making threats, it is that the government is watching this board and other boards, even if no one ever posts on them making any kind of threat.

In other words we are being watched (as a nation, not just DU) even though most of us have not done anything wrong.

That is the presumption that we are going to do something wrong, even though we haven't as of yet.

That is the presumption of guilt, not innocence.

If the government presumed people innocent, they would not be monitoring forums or any other public domain.

If they are looking for terrorists, why not monitor the websites of jihadists? Wouldn't that be more useful and wouldn't it cost less?

I highly doubt a Muslim radical will post his fatwa on DU, I'm just saying it isn't too likely.

I also don't think anyone who really means the President ill, would post on such a widely known liberal forum. The same applies for the widely known conservative forum free republic; I highly doubt radical Christian extremists would post their plans to bomb an abortion clinic there.

I really don't want the freepers to have to go through hell just because they said something stupid on a message board, just as I would hope they'd feel the same about us.

You get the idea? They are wasting resources swatting at shadows, when they could be working directly on things which matter.
In addition to that, they are presuming guilt before we have done anything wrong.