Craig, the problem with profiling is that the cops can get themselves into trouble for doing it. Yet think on this: You end up dead. Victim of a murder. Who's the first person the cops look at, assuming you're married? Your wife. So they do profile. But they have to be cautious about it.
But since you've mentioned it . . . people who work counterterrorism and counterintelligence profile all the time. You've got a suspicion that there's a spy in your office. If someone all of a sudden seems to be spending money right and left, you think maybe the Russians hooked that guy. They mostly buy their spies. Long gone are the days when American Commies would spy for the Communist USSR based on ideology. But if you happen to have a Chinese American in your office, or someone who's spent significant time in China, you might think maybe it's a Chinese spy . . . because those are the kinds of people they target. So rest easy. Profiling is alive and well. Can't speak for the TSA . . . but you never know what Granny might be packing. Maybe she's carrying a package her nice Muslim neighbor gave her . . .to deliver wherever she's going.
Wherever the money comes from, if the feds smell a rat, they'll follow ALL the rats. The only problem is this: Proving that the small donors were aware that they money they think they were donating to widows and orphans in Palestine was really going to Hamas. Or to whatever terrorist group. Which is why it's often easier to get the big fish if he's the final link in the chain.
As for bias: I'm still not sure what your point is. Biased news isn't illegal. What the Internet has done is put a profusion of electronic versions of The Enquirer at our fingertips. Used to be you could only get that in the supermarket checkout line. But you have bias from BOTH DIRECTIONS. Pretty much whatever your political opinion, you can find it both supported and attacked on the Net. Result: People tend to gravitate to media outlets that have the same bias that they do. And they're not very diligent about fact checking.
