When one of these intelligence bulletins was spotted on a pro-drilling Internet site and disseminated among anti-drilling activists, [State Homeland Security Director James Powers] sent an e-mail of reprimand to the woman who e-mailed it.
He mistakenly thought she was pro-drilling.
In the e-mail, Powers told the woman the “sensitive information” she disseminated is not meant for the public, but only for those “having a valid need to know.”
He added, “We want to continue providing this support to the Marcellus Shale formation natural gas stakeholders, while not feeding those groups fomenting dissent against those same companies.”
Now, that’s a tell. Emphasis mine.
What’s most galling is that Powers is a product of the military. If anyone should know better than to use surveillance against political enemies, it’s a professional soldier:
From 1971 to 2001, Powers served in the U. S. Army, retiring with the rank of colonel…Powers is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College, the University of Alabama and Shippensburg University, where he completed his master’s degree in Public Administration.