Everyone Loves a Police State

I'd say this is about right. How does this differ from police state tactics? From the New York Times:

On the weekend before the Republican National Convention, law enforcement agencies detained dozens of people and issued a series of search warrants aimed at groups believed to be organizing demonstrations while delegates and Republican officials are in town.
...

The sheriff's department continued the sweeps on Saturday morning, executing warrants for three houses in Minneapolis and two in St. Paul, detaining more than 50 people and arresting 4.

A copy of a warrant at one house said the police were authorized to look for a laundry list of items, including fire bombs, Molotov cocktails, brake fluid, photographs and maps of St. Paul, paint, computers and camera equipment, and documents and other communications.

Brake fluid, camera equipment, documents? Yep, classic terrorist materials, and certainly grounds for a search warrant.

Now one group you might be able to dismiss as "fringe" since they were self-proclaimed anarchists and anti-authoritarians, although neither of those proclamations is illegal, but by attacking a fringe group and also some more mainstream protest movements, the message is sent: "Fear the state and fear the police. We are listening, we are watching, and we have the power." Read this Glenn Greenwald piece for a better commentary than any I could make.

Watch your ass. The Bush-Cheney-Republican wet dream is here now.