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From the page: "FBI says activists who investigate factory farms can be prosecuted as terrorists

The FBI tracked animal rights activists who exposed factory farm abuses and recommended they be prosecuted as terrorists for causing corporate economic losses, according to a recently released FBI file.

Activist Ryan Shapiro submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for the 2003 FBI documents, which track the work of activists who worked undercover to expose animal welfare abuses. The activists trespassed onto factory farms to videotape and photograph animal rights abuses, and some activists also released abused animals.

Animal and environmental advocates were singled out by the FBI because they pose a risk not to human life, but rather to corporate profits.

FBI agents initiated their investigations under the pretense that the activists "disrupt the normal business and cause economic loss" to the corporations they examined. The FBI reasoned this was a violation of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), a bill that targets environmental and animal rights activists, labeling them �oeeco-terrorists.”

AETA instills fear among activists and constitutional experts because the law criminalizes First Amendment-protected activity. Furthermore, the law unfairly penalizes animal welfare activists by designating them as terrorists, despite the fact that their activities would not be considered terrorism if they were instead advocating a different belief or interested solely in personal gain.

AETA supporters claim it only targets people who "burn down buildings." Yet the law has a much larger purview; it has been used to punish activists for causing a business "loss of profits." The Center for Constitutional Rights filed a lawsuit against the AETA in December because of its breach of civil liberties.

The disclosed documents show definitively that the FBI opens investigations in order to defend corporate profits, a revelation that furthers longstanding concerns about corporate cooptation of terrorism policy. The danger of corporate influence can be seen in recent policies ranging from the TSA�s body scanners to the NSA�s warrantless wiretapping program to ongoing national security letter abuses under the PATRIOT Act�"none of which effectively protect national security, but all of which are quite lucrative for private contractors.

Targeting animal rights activists is also disturbing because of it precedent it sets. By laying a foundation for government targeting of advocates who threaten corporate profits, treating radical environmental activists as terrorists could help justify similar crackdowns on Occupy sites, Tea Party groups, or other grassroots advocates exercising their First Amendment rights."

The threat of income inequality among college students is becoming even more of an issue over time.

Too often you will hear Republicans say that they are the party of civil rights because of the history with slavery and being the party of Lincoln. This article tells how the Republicans morphed into the party of racists over time.

Colleges are trying to have more socioeconomic diversity, but it hasn't been entirely successful despite recent efforts

Poor young people are not able to go to college due to insufficient financial aid

Online museum of racist objects and historical memorabilia. A way to never forget

Wow