Okay, one last thing on this NSA privacy issue.... I have been screeching about governmental overreach and totalitarian democracy for some time now. If you look back through the posted pages of this site then you will find ample evidence to form an understanding about how I feel about such things.
Remember, I worked for Apple. The iPhone was so riddled with security breaches that could be easily exploited by app developers that I knew there was no way they could ever keep personal information out of the hands of the government, even if they tried. If an unemployed nerd can get it then the US gov. certainly can. Look at what happened to Microsoft. If you want to do big business in this country then you learn how to play ball. You can only hide under the couch for so long.
.... and when they start claiming that it's an issue of national security then the party's already over.
Remember, I worked for Apple. The iPhone was so riddled with security breaches that could be easily exploited by app developers that I knew there was no way they could ever keep personal information out of the hands of the government, even if they tried. If an unemployed nerd can get it then the US gov. certainly can. Look at what happened to Microsoft. If you want to do big business in this country then you learn how to play ball. You can only hide under the couch for so long.
.... and when they start claiming that it's an issue of national security then the party's already over.
Also, I have been publicly writing here in a very non-anonymous way for a few years now, openly divulging many personal secrets, minor crimes and major plots in support of humanity. The government has a much larger file on me than most, with well over half a million words and counting, some of it occasionally well written (thinking my turds are interesting is the way my mom recently described it).
Of what do I possibly have to be afraid of now, really?
Does the government want to know if I've done drugs? Check
Does the government want to know if I had a turbulent youth? Check
Does the government want to know if I have a ferocious masturbation habit? Check
Does the government want to know if I trust them? Check
Does the government want to know if I want to own a gun? Check
Does the government want to know if I pay my taxes? Checkmate
People believe they will somehow protect themselves from the government by hiding, disengaging, or seeking an "off-the-grid" secrecy. The opposite is closer to being true. If you want to possess liberty then practice the expression of it. To me it seems that the majority of the nation is moving in the wrong direction to adequately resist. But that is how I've always felt, so, Amen to that.
Does the government want to know if I pay my taxes? Checkmate
People believe they will somehow protect themselves from the government by hiding, disengaging, or seeking an "off-the-grid" secrecy. The opposite is closer to being true. If you want to possess liberty then practice the expression of it. To me it seems that the majority of the nation is moving in the wrong direction to adequately resist. But that is how I've always felt, so, Amen to that.
Do you see? I'm all for privacy, but those days are gone, and have been for some time. Trying to hide now is among the worst things that can possibly be done, and expecting a return to privacy is absurd. It will not happen. There must be some politicians now saying, "See? Why is everybody so suspicious about the NSA. We were right all along." Fear feeds fear and justifies the suspicions of others.
Some would say that I'm missing the point there. I do not believe that I am. If you believe that the democratic process is a valid strategy of resistance then I wish you luck with your occasional partisan voting. It truly is change we will believe in. It is proven now.
But adding my voice to the current self-righteous noise, paranoia, and patriotic indignation isn't going to help much. Anybody that reads here knows how I feel about any number of things. Are my feelings consistent: rarely, sometimes, and then far too often for most. For me, the damage is done. It's well past the point that I might ever expect personal privacy again. Between this and some of the seditious nonsense I post on Facebook the government knows pretty much all that they might need to tie me up in a bag of rocks and snakes and dump me in the bay near San Quentin when the time finally comes, or to drag me screaming back to Rikers Island for some past infraction on the distant east coast. Some lucky future or present brown-shirt will take much joy in punishing an addled libertine like me.
A little taste of the old bastinado should fix this one....
Some would say that I'm missing the point there. I do not believe that I am. If you believe that the democratic process is a valid strategy of resistance then I wish you luck with your occasional partisan voting. It truly is change we will believe in. It is proven now.
But adding my voice to the current self-righteous noise, paranoia, and patriotic indignation isn't going to help much. Anybody that reads here knows how I feel about any number of things. Are my feelings consistent: rarely, sometimes, and then far too often for most. For me, the damage is done. It's well past the point that I might ever expect personal privacy again. Between this and some of the seditious nonsense I post on Facebook the government knows pretty much all that they might need to tie me up in a bag of rocks and snakes and dump me in the bay near San Quentin when the time finally comes, or to drag me screaming back to Rikers Island for some past infraction on the distant east coast. Some lucky future or present brown-shirt will take much joy in punishing an addled libertine like me.
A little taste of the old bastinado should fix this one....
Oh, and the time is coming.
But, I have been in contact with the people who took the greatest offense at my "Edward Snowden is a Vampire" piece and we are revolutionary brothers again. The cause needs me, I'm told. So, all is still good like pie. You needn't worry that I have lost any of my comrades in the international socialist underground movement. My anarchist buddies and I have also been plotting again. When the time comes, and the heavy curtains of the near future fall, you will still want to know me. I have associates that can keep you safe and get you near the border.
Taco Bell, that is, or Spam when in a pinch.
Taco Bell, that is, or Spam when in a pinch.
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