[Arthur Wildfire! March]

William Safire wrote an editorial that our privacy will be completely shredded. Poindexter, who I'm sure is a well-intentioned patriot [but also politically vulnerable due to Iran Contra], would be put in charge of this data base. I read this, fuming, thinking about how our borders were left wide open all this time while they plan to keep a record of every email. Every internet message. Every credit card purchase. All manner of things kept on file. Yet our borders are wide open.

[Deb]

How does "sealing the borders" deal with visa over-stayers and sleeper cells that have been here for years?

And why would you get so foamy about something you read in a newspaper column, without reading the bill for yourself or looking for the otherside of the argument?

[Inspector Harry Callahan]

I heard Neal Boortz talking about this issue on the radio this morning. The fact that you aren't banned for posting this thread is amazing.

Questioning Bush's two-fisted Hitlerian dictatorship is grounds for dismissal around here.

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

William Safire wrote an editorial that our privacy will be completely shredded.

Too late!! My privacy is already completely shredded. Everyone's got my social security number, my birthdate, my address, my mother's maiden name, my bank balance, my credit rating (which is excellent, BTW), my reading preferences (Amazon tracks my every move and offers me suggestions based on what I look at), my medical records, etc.

The only thing they don't all have is my phone number. Only the telemarketers have that, and they call me relentlessly.

So, really, in truth, I have no privacy at all. I like to think that I do, but I don't.

The goal is to eventually have all this information on file -- a national database with millions of pieces of information about us all. What they intend to do with all this information, I don't know. But it won't be to our benefit, I can tell you that.

[spyone]

The population has grown by 100 million in 15 years. What percentage of that increase is legal? I don't know...so pick a number. It is a large amount of people. It is too late to secure the borders. Clinton should be shot.

[spyone]

The population has grown by 100 million in 15 years. What percentage of that increase is legal? I don't know...so pick a number. It is a large amount of people. It is too late to secure the borders. Clinton should be shot.

[pgkdan]

. I read this, fuming, thinking about how our borders were left wide open all this time while they plan to keep a record of every email. Every internet message. Every credit card purchase. All manner of things kept on file. Yet our borders are wide open.

I agree we need to get control of our borders, North and South...although how anyone is going to seal our Eastern and Western borders are beyond me...it's extremely easy to pilot a small boat into any part of the east coast. But I think these concerns about privacy are entirely overblown.

Do you ahve any idea how huge one day's database would be, let alone several years? I think your web history and e-mail privacy is secure unless you're plotting to kill the Pres. or blow up embassies. In that case I hope there's a sysytem in place to uncover those messages and track the sender and recipient.