Orwell Gone Wild

The Left went over the top nuts with the Patriot Act. The government might look at your library check outs! Like these knuckleheads use the library. That was tossed out pretty quickly anyway. Then they objected to overseas calls by suspected terrorists being monitored. Then they objected to suspected terrorists' bank accounts being monitored. Of course being pro-Islamofacist they don't want the government tracking the activities going on inside of mosques either. 

Don’t hear any caterwauling by the Left with the Obama administration’s latest attempt to violate the rights of Americans. There’s a case being appealed by the Obama Justice (?) Department regarding a GPS device that was put on a drug dealer’s car. It was done without a warrant. The  Justice (?) Department is saying that there is no expectation of privacy in public. There may be a small problem with that. I’m no lawyer, though I’m sure I have more sense that most do; if the car goes on private property, then it’s no longer in a public place. Tracking without a warrant? Truly?

The Left apparently has no problem with any citizen being tracked by the government. They only object when suspected terrorists and their Islamofacists supporters are tracked. I'm sure too that if a Republican were president, they would object just because of that, but a fellow Statist and his Party are in power, so it’s okay.   

I just read a trilogy (highly recommend), The Fourth Realm Trilogy, an uber updated Orwellian view of society. It mixes in mysticism and sword fighting, gun fights and martial art heroics to make it fun, but the theme of the book is how we are all monitored by being on the “grid” and how hard it is to stay outside the “Vast Machine”.

From a speech given by our hero:

“Some of you have already become aware of this new system. One morning, you wake up, look around, and realize that surveillance cameras are everywhere. It feels like you’ve stepped into a massive electronic prison. 

“But the cameras are only a small part of the Vast Machine. Every major government in the world is reading your e-mail messages and listening to your phone calls with scanning programs that react to certain words and phrases. Security agencies and corporations monitor your bank and credit card activity. Your cell phones and your car generate data about your location and activities.

“We can usually see the cameras, but the rest of our prison is invisible. Sophisticated software programs acquire information from your purchases, your work activity, and your medical files to create a shadow image of your life. Separate databases are being combined into a total information system, and this data will be saved forever.

“Many people will gladly trade their personal privacy for small improvements in their lives. ‘I’ve done nothing wrong,’ proclaims the honest citizen. ‘So why should I be worried?’”

Why indeed. Given governments penchant for tyranny, well…. ObamaCare centralizes every citizen’s health information into one federal  database. In the UK it’s been suggested that employers send employees paychecks directly to the government, and they in turn deposit into the employee’s bank account what’s left after all the deductions.

This current administration, Democrats, Leftists, Statists, aren’t objecting to this; they’re in power. Obama and his Statist enforcers are working hard to get as much freedom crushing legislation passed as quickly as they can because they know this may be their last chance for a while before they get another shot to turn us into the tyranny they envision.

After the election this November when they are tossed out of power, you’ll again hear screams about their  rights to privacy being taken away. Of course, what they’re really objecting to is their perceived right to tyranny taken away.

By the way, the trilogy referred to above was written by John Twelve Hawks.  

Cars, Appliances and Cell Phones

What happens when the government buys car companies? For one, they are in competition, and in this case our government has borrowed taxpayer money (on credit since we don't have the money) to buy GM (aka 'government motors') and Chrysler, and they're losing money. The fix? Something only the power of government can do, destroy its very successful competitor with the heavy hand of its power.

Toyota is doing a recall. There are defects, the government claims, with the gas pedal of many Toyota models. The defects are unproven, and can't be replicated, yet the government has ordered Toyota to recall, involving about 56% of all Toyota and Lexus models, costing the company about $2.5 billion a month. Toyota is claiming the recall is voluntary, but Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says Obama ordered it? Toyota has shut down its U.S. plants and stopped selling eight of its models, making this the largest recall in history. Watch for sharks (aka lawyers) to start their feeding frenzy soon.

Toyota is non-union, GM and Chrysler union. Unions were and are the biggest contributors to Obama. Toyota beats the pants off GM and Chrysler in sales. The alleged "defect" is known as SUA – sudden unintended acceleration. GM and Chrysler have had complaints about SUA and there were no recalls of their cars. The gas pedal in question is supplied by The American Company (CTS of Elkhart, Ind.), and they also supply Honda, Ford, GM and Chrysler. So only the pedals supplied to Toyota have a problem and the ones supplied to GM and Chrysler work okay? Just askin'.

Breaking news. The Obama administration released yesterday (Friday) that there's going to be a 'cash for clunkers' style program for appliances. Take your old appliance in and get an "Energy Star" product and get a government rebate. This will cost another $300 million that we don't have. Some connections. NBC and MSNBC are huge campaigners, contributors, and supporters of the Obama administration. They even had 'green' broadcasts with lowered lighting and pro-global warming propaganda recently. NBC is owned by GE, which is one of the most popular appliance manufacturers. They are also major investors and manufacturers of windmills and solar panels, getting huge huge huge government subsidies doing so. Think their appliance sales may be spiking here shortly? Just askin'.

Finally, the people that objected to the 'Patriot Act', and listening to overseas conversations with terrorists, will by executive order, have their cell phone monitored, yet are strangely silent. The Obama administration wants to track each and every citizen's cell phone, arguing that warrantless tracking is permitted because Americans enjoy no "reasonable expectation of privacy". "U.S. Department of Justice lawyers say that "a customer's Fourth Amendment rights are not violated when the phone company reveals to the government its own records" that show where a mobile device placed and received calls." Quotes from CNET, full article here. Can you imagine the outcry of the Dems and Jurassic Press if the Bush administration had said that by executive order that citizens have no expectation of privacy and they can be tracked by the government? Just askin'.

Originally posted on The Windrose Hotel