MAYBE PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO LISTEN

Nealznuze ^ | 11-21-02 | Bob Novak

[Dick Bachert]

It’s making news again...and who knows? Maybe people are starting to listen. I’m talking about the grand Pentagon plan to gather every bit of information available on every man, woman and tricycle motor living in America to store in some giant government computer.

I want you to hear the way Major Garrett on Fox News Channel described this Pentagon Total Information Awareness program last night’s newscast. I’ll quote Major Garret’s story exactly … and if doesn’t send your pucker factor up a few notches, there is no help for you.

“If the Pentagon has its way some day the government will know more about your spending and banking habits than almost anyone. It will create a vast computer database that will track what trips you take, it will know what books you buy, how much money you withdraw from your ATM, and what type of firearms you like to purchase. Then special software will analyze your spending habits to see if they match a terrorist profile."

The Pentagon agency that is developing this system is called the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). They have a logo. It’s that pyramid thing you see on the dollar bill...the one with the huge eye on top...and the eye is scanning a nearby globe of the Earth. The motto, in Latin, is translated to “knowledge is power.” Knowledge for whom? The government, that’s who. And power over whom? Us. The people.

Somewhere Fox News dug up an attorney named David Rivkin. What kind of an attorney? They didn’t say, but David Rivkin did have this to say about people who are worried about this Pentagon information grab:

“I find it somewhat counterintuitive that people are not concerned that telemarketers and insurance companies can acquire this data, but feel tremendous trepidation if a government ventures into this arena. It just smacks of paranoia.”

Hey, Counselor -- get a grip. You’re a hotshot attorney with the fancy resume pulling in the big bucks … so don’t act dumb. We covered this yesterday, but I’ll hit it again. Telemarketers and insurance companies don’t have that one asset that government has...they don’t have the ability to use force -- deadly force -- to accomplish their marketing and business goals. The government does. Someone selling me a vacation plan over the telephone can’t pull out a gun and force me to buy his wonderful package. The government can. An insurance company can’t lock me up if I don’t go along with their marketing desires. The government can. If you think real hard about this, David Rivkin, can you see what sort of a difference this might make?

Now … listen to this. It’s important: This is not about terrorism. The people working on this system will tell you that it is all about uncovering patterns of behavior that are indicative of terrorist activity. I’m not buying it. If this is so, then would someone please come forward and tell me why the government was trying to implement this massive snooping structure long before the Islamic Jihadists attacked the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon? There was Clinton’s “Know your Customer Program.” You do remember that, don’t you? And I know you remember that the IRS and other government agencies have been trying for years to get access to the computers that handle credit card and ATM transactions. The DARPA logo has it right. Knowledge IS power. The more information government has about its subjects, the easier it is for the government to keep its subjects in line. We have long been a transition from a government that serves the needs of its citizens to a government that rules. This “Total Information Awareness” program is merely a step in that direction.

How long are you going to remain silent? When do you start to get concerned?

If you’re sitting there saying “Hey, I’m not worried because I don’t have anything to hide,” you’re part of the problem.

[Dick Bachert]

CORRECTION: BOB NOVAK IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF THIS ARTICLE. IT IS BY BOORTZ! Musta scrolled in the "Author" field and failed to catch it at "Preview." Excuuuuussse me!!!

[Lizavetta]

I have a question for all you historians out there: were there intrusive measures taken during WW2 by the US government that were later repealed? That were only enacted during wartime?

[Governor]

Just how does the Pentagon expect to track our purchases?
National I.D.'s? Implanted ID Chips?, Computer controlled video of ALL purchases? Illegal recording of gun Purchases?
Required store recording and reporting of ALL purchaseing?
God help the system just before Dove or Deer season!!

[Gary Boldwater]

I think it's great and wonderful that the Pentagon can keep track of every American's purchases! I mean, what an improvement over the last time, when they couldn't even keep track of their own employee's purchases after they issued those credits cards to each of them a year or so ago. Next, they'll be tracking every American's toilet paper use because I hear someone is stealing rolls of it from one of the Pentagon's bathrooms.

[Purdue Pete]

As I was reading this I kept thinking "I can't believe Novak wrote this! What kind of hormone is he taking?!"

[trebb]

According to Rush - there's a lot of knee-jerk about nothing. All the bill does is make it easier to go after those suspected of terrorism, it doesn't take down the walls that prevent going after info on ordinary citizens.

It allows enforcement to use info gathered by other agencies (FBI can run with tips from CIA, etc..,) which was a stupid block by Dems anyway...

[libertylady]

When are you going to start thinking for yourself?
Just something to think about.

[zingzang]

If they ever implement this, and that's a big "IF", I can't see the government ever having the personnel or the technology to manage such a database. This thing would be so unweildy as to be nothing short of information overload for them. However, it still leaves the door wide open for some really great cases of abuse. Between groups like the ATF trying to justify their existence, and the FBI trying to grab the spotlight in the war on terrorism/drugs, one can only imagine how much bad will outweigh the good here.

[Arthur McGowan]

Thank God that scheme for withholding of income taxes from our paychecks was repealed after the war, just as FDR promised. If that had continued, government spending would have gone out of control!