I Feel SO SAFE....NOT
Why, in the name of all that is holy, would the people who are supposed to be keeping us safe, are instead wasting taxpayers money attempting to stomp out the same type of curiosity that is the hallmark of some of the most creative minds of our time?
In days of "not so old" our intellectual elite were found mapping the steam tunnels of such illustrious institutions as MIT, RPI, and countless others. The quests through the steam tunnels taught the explorers valuable lessons in civil engineering, orienteering, and how best to pull cables through these facilities for later ethernet and fiber optics that made these same institutions the leaders of the Internet revolution to come.
However, when a student was interested in already mapped steam tunnels at the University of Texas, he was told that this information was "secret." So he did what any student with half a brain would do - he filed a Freedom of Information Act request. Unfortunately for him, he got a lot more than he asked for; namely, the FBI and the Secret Service. More here
So what is the mentality of law enforcement officials that pushes them to investigate a college Freshmen who is curious about his own school? Given that the agents inquired "why he wears long hair," it is doubtful that they were the best and brightest. They wanted to know how he knew he had the right to use a FOIA request (likely assuming most Americans should not have this type of information), and kept asking him over and over whether he belonged to any activist organizations.
So basically, if you use lawful means to request information through lawful channels, you run the risk of the FBI and Secret Service paying you a visit to ask whether you're an activist or why your physical appearance may not conform with that of your friends.
One definitely has to ask the obvious - why would a terrorist file a lawful FOIA request and put his name and information on file with the government in order to get information that might later be used in a terrorist plot? Why would a terrorist alert the government as to the very thing s/he was going to do? And what REAL leads could the FBI and Secret Service be following instead of wasting their time with a curious college freshman?
Unfortunately, we may never find the answer to those questions. And if we file a FOIA request for further information, we might find ourselves investigated too. Welcome to America.