Trickle-down paranoia

Evidently the head of Heimat Sicherheit for Pennsylvania has vanished, and there's some question about what he's been spending his time & money on:

Word of the Terrorism Institute's work first surfaced in July, in a Philadelphia Inquirer column by Daniel Rubin, who got hold of several intelligence bulletins issued by Mr. Powers' office.

Mr. Rubin said the bulletins listed "such potential trouble spots as pro-education rallies, anti-gun demonstrations and the coming of the circus," which was mentioned because animal-rights demonstrators might show up.

Mr. Rendell said the idea behind the contract was to learn ahead of time about "credible threats to critical infrastructure," such as road, bridges, airports and power plants, so state and local police could protect them.

Yes, 'cause those are going to present SUCH a credible threat to public safety.

Pro-education rallies. Anti-gun protests. The FREAKIN' CIRCUS.

Just further evidence that Homeland Security is still, even after Bush, a hotbed of right-wing paranoia backed by state powers. Why, investigate teabaggers who carry guns to political events? Nahhh, we'd rather spend time monitoring pro-education rallies to make sure al Qaeda hasn't infiltrated the public schools or the perennial right-wing boogeyman, the teacher's unions. Pitiful.