Getting Both Sides?

John at Stop the ACLU notes that leftist blogs are running hysterically with this ACLU press release:

PITTSBURGH – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Pennsylvania today released new evidence that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is conducting investigations into a political organizations based solely on its anti-war views.

The ACLU's premise sounds rather, well paranoid. The same blogs are not running the FBI's press release:

Washington, DC - Recent statements by officials of the American Civil Liberties Union including those carried by the news media ("FBI Watched Activist Groups," The New York Times, 12/20/2005; "FBI Papers Show Terror Inquiries into PETA, Other Groups," Washington Post (12/20/2005) are misleading and imply that the FBI has engaged in unauthorized or otherwise inappropriate investigative activity. The FBI does not investigate any public interest or advocacy group based on the group's lawful activities or political beliefs. Investigations and interviews of individuals conducted as part of a criminal and/or terrorism investigation are always predicated on specific information about a potential criminal act or terrorist threat, and, they are conducted in strict conformance with federal law, Department of Justice investigative guidelines and FBI policies. FBI Agents are obliged to respond to all threats of violence under FBI jurisdiction and take an oath to conduct such investigations within the bounds of the Constitution, while respecting the dignity and civil liberties of the public.

And they are most certainly not mentioning a report from National Public Radio that quotes the FBI as saying they checked out the group based on a tip that a "wanted individual" wa a member.