Where we are headed

No, no, and ‘Effing’ no:

The FBI is pressing Internet service providers to record which Web sites customers visit and retain those logs for two years, a requirement that law enforcement believes could help it in investigations of child pornography and other serious crimes. ~news.zdnet.com

This is the typical mindset of a ruling class that no longer sees any value or necessity to follow the constitution. Does it make sense for the government to have all internet traffic saved and monitored for the supposed purpose of catching a narrow set of criminals visiting a specific narrow set of websites or chatrooms?

After 9/11 the government pushed for and authorized the wiretapping of phone conversation of US citizens –when they were talking to known or suspected terrorists or terrorist connected individuals overseas. Something the Federal government was not able to do previously without a warrant. This seemed to me limited intrusion for the sake of national security and in the face of an immediate threat. I wouldn’t be opposed to repealing this privilege either once the necessity has passed.

Totalitarian means total control

We are heading in the wrong direction and have been for the last forty years (if not more). We are incrementally losing all of our freedoms as Americans and each successive set of regulations ratchets up the control and surveilance. Where will it end?

Once the government is in charge of all of our health records, all of our financial information, –some are even floating the idea of putting GPS in our vehicles to tax us by how many miles we drive, why not ankle bracelets as well?– the IRS would have power to enforce the individual mandate that we all have insurance… there is no end to the mischief and entanglement that our government will have in our lives.

I don’t think we always fully understand the repurcussions even small regulations can have on our freedom and choice. I know that many times we don’t feel threatened by such laws because we think it won’t affect us but the other guy.

Living in California, as I do, there are so many petty nanny state laws and regulations that I gaurantee the average Californian has no idea that they are in violation of forty or so everyday without knowing it. Any one of which, if a diligent official might happen to find you in violation of, may only be an inconvenience involving a small fine all the way to having to appear in court or go to a regulatory agency to have cleared. But many are tied into other ‘privileges’ and can impact your life and livelihood.