Student who was visited by Homeland Security

[Cyrus]

STROT aka short-term-results-oriented thinking is prevalent in the current American administration (e.g. No attacks in Iraq for a week --> "the insurgency is in its last throes"), therefore it's understandable that the administration's most faithful acolytes here would adopt the mode.

However, it is still a wrong way of thinking.

The original story turns out to be a hoax. This story turns out to be true.

What is proven either way? Practically nothing. The EV here is negative : They ARE monitoring what Americans read, write and say and they do it with fewer checks and balances than ever (a libertarian's nightmare, btw, but they have not realized it yet!) so you can expect them to follow up on it, one way or the other, sooner or later.

The rest is variance.