] 'COINTELPRO is an acronym for the FBI's domestic
] "counterintelligence programs" to neutralize political
] dissidents. Although covert operations have been employed
] throughout FBI history, the formal COINTELPRO's of
] 1956-1971 were broadly targeted against radical political
] organizations.
]
] The origins of COINTELPRO were rooted in the Bureau's
] operations against hostile foreign intelligence services.
] Counterintelligence, of course, goes beyond
] investigation; it refers to actions taken to neutralize
] enemy agents.
]
] "Counterintelligence" was a misnomer for the FBI
] programs, since the targets were American political
] dissidents, not foreign spies. In the atmosphere of the
] Cold War, the American Communist Party was viewed as a
] serious threat to our national security. Over the years,
] anti- Communist paranoia extended to civil rights,
] anti-war, and many other groups. As John Edgar Hoover,
] longtime Director of the FBI, put it
]
] The forces which are most anxious to weaken our internal
] security are not always easy to identify. Communists
] have been trained in deceit and secretly work toward the
] day when they hope to replace our American way of life
] with a Communist dictatorship. They utilize cleverly
] camouflaged movements, such as peace groups and civil
] rights groups to achieve their sinister purposes. While
] they as individuals are difficult to identify, the
] Communist party line is clear. Its first concern is the
] advancement of Soviet Russia and the godless Communist
] cause. It is important to learn to know the enemies of
] the American way of life.
]
] Although today this may sound ridiculous, the
] implications were deadly serious for the thousands of
] people who became COINTELPRO targets. After many years of
] investigating and disrupting these groups, the Bureau
] could not find evidence that any of them were
] foreign-controlled.
]
] These programs were exposed to the public following an
] unsolved break-in into the FBI's Media, PA resident
] agency, separate lawsuits by NBC correspondent Carl Stern
] and the Socialist Workers' Party, and then a US Senate
] investigation led by Senator Frank Church. Although the
] FBI's COINTELPRO's officially ended in 1971, there have
] been many examples of counterintelligence-type operations
] against political dissidents since.'

If you are not familiar with the counter intelligence programs that were put in place to monitor dissidents, then you should be. Especially considering the current atmosphere. There is history here that tells an ominous story about what people in power tend to do when left unchecked by the populace. The PATRIOT Act is potentially only the beginning of some very bad juju.