That is some pretty narrow thinking. You make it sound like the evil Bush sits around all day thinking of ways to stymie everything that is good. Well, your wrong... Neither the president, nor any of those perceived archdukes of hell that you think of as sitting in the Whitehouse administrative offices can dictate policy with the security background checking in the intelligence services. The intelligence folks have built up quite the insular bureaucracy on their own over the years that effectively impedes any meddling from the Whitehouse, regardless of who is currently occupying the office.

To put it bluntly, our government is ineffective and ham-fisted no matter who is the figurehead leader.

I only hope you also accept the compulsive television watcher who hangs out with people in a dog-fighting ring and plots petty larcenies on the weekends-- you know, for consistency.

I just don't see the outrage with this story.

social network usage; disclosure of information in computer-mediated activities - inability to keep things to themselves

extent of on-line contact with foreign nationals; - extent of contact with foreign nationals when traveling abroad.

cyber behavior that suggests an unwillingness to abide by rules - behavior that suggest unwillingness to abide by the rules, i.e., protesting, disorderly conduct, drug use.

compulsive internet use; - compulsive behaviors such as gambling, spending, drinking etc.

involvement in computer groups (especially those allied to stigmatized practices); - involvement in groups especially those that suggest non-conformity

providing false information within computer-mediated communications about oneself or others; - lying to others in any context flags.

procurement and distribution of pirated materials; engaging in deviant cyber-behaviors with the intention of causing harm to others including “hacking” and sabotage. - criminal or rule-breaking activity

The problem is that with technology young Mindy from Minneapolis who never left the farm until signing up can have as many or more red flags as Bradley from Boston who spent that semester studying abroad. As Bradley might have been noticed if he associated with the wrong crowd in Berlin but not Mindy in her bedroom. Being able to get out in the world from the comfort of your own home is a good thing; creates a smaller world. But it will drive the counter-intel types who are by the nature of their work paranoid, insane trying to sort through all the contacts and behaviors that look a lot like someone vulnerable to espionage or who is a foreign agent.

So, essentially, people who like to use computers to share information with other intelligent people, who display dogged task focus, and outside-the-box thinking are the kind of people we want to avoid hiring for intelligence work?

No, but it's the people who are smart enough to hide the fact that they do those things that they should be hiring. Anyone who can get caught downloading pirated movies isn't someone you want, but the one that uses Tor to do it, well he's a bit smarter than your average pirate.