The Nov. 30 editorial, "Deja vu at the FBI" complains that although "all" protests in opposition to the war in Iraq have "so far" been peaceful (which may not be so), the FBI has ordered local law enforcement agencies to report any suspicious activity at anti-war rallies.

The writer is alarmed that "once again" our government is "spying on" anti-war protesters and riding roughshod over their constitutional rights to peaceably assemble and to be secure against unreasonable searches.

This, to say the least, is naive. The reality is that the government's failure to scrutinize anti-war demonstrations would constitute gross neglect of duty. Where would the Times Union have the FBI look for terrorists if not at anti-war demonstrations?

Gee, how about in Texas? Or in Florida? Seems to me that neither of those folks were associated with the anti-war movement.

Dissent is not treason, people. Keep reminding these yahoos of that, or you may find that is, after all.