With the daily swings in the political arena, I have concluded
we have reached a point where it really doesn’t matter
what any of us think. So I think I’ll go back to ignoring
the subject.
Having said that, I do not plan on avoiding topics regarding
government takeovers and questionable moves. Why did we develop
Privacy Acts? They define why and how our personal information
is guarded and in what cases it may be released. Repeatedly,
we are given complete sheets of reading material which we are
required to sign acknowledging our understanding and awareness
of the protections we have.
Why
after placing the Privacy Laws into place did we follow them
up with the Patriot Act? The multiple layers of definitions
of the Patriot Act are written to defy understanding. Basically,
they allow FBI and or CIA officials to look at our personal
information. Examining bank accounts, books signed out
at
the library and more are allowed if a person is suspected
of even
being associated with a suspected terrorist group. All
these “acts” can
be done without warrants and may include wire taps of PCs,
homes and cell phones or any electronic device.
Civil
libertarians say the scope of the Patriot Act language is
far too broad and encourages unlimited sharing of information
regardless of the need. Critics speak out saying, “Information
related to terrorism or espionage is the only data that
should be accessed.”
All of the ramifications and definitions of the Patriot Act
are covered in 24 pages on Wikipedia. Mine is just a brief
exerpt.
Why do we have the Federal Communication Commission (FCC)?
Their assignment is to oversee air traffic, TV, radio, telephone,
GPS and other satellite communications.
Some
actions by the FCC’s control of the airways,
however, may create dangerous conditions due to
overlapping frequencies,
some private others military. Does that make sense
to you? It certainly leaves room for query in my
mind.
How
about our Food & Drug Administration (FDA)? In the
past few days, it has decided to approve a new drug; Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate,
known as GHB. They already know the drug can cause serious
problems for users but announce, “It will probably help
more people than it will harm.” Doesn’t that make
you want to run to your doctor and get a prescription for this
drug? You can test it on yourself and see if it causes you
harm. But, isn’t that what the FDA is supposed
to do? In fact, they did when they banned the
sale and manufacturer
of GHB in 1990. (They must have forgotten about
that).
If
you watch TV ads (sometimes they are better than the programming),
every other one is for
a drug company
advertising
their latest
and greatest concoction. The sales pitch may
say it gives you muscles bigger than superman,
stops
headaches
before
they start,
causes you to sneeze, or may cause death. The
only problem with these announcements is they
don’t say which action
will hit you or how you can chose the one you’d
like. Since the FDA approved the use of the
drug, it might be
OK.
Isn’t that a little like lighting a fuse on what could
be a firecracker, yet may actually be a bomb? The FDA is a
very large, multi-faceted agency that provides many jobs. It
also provides jobs for advertisers including a group whose
ads may state: “Have you taken ABC medication or had
a heart attack? We may be able to recover funds to compensate
you for these inconveniences including those that cause death.
If you’ve had a problem call lawyer No. 1 to 10 to learn
how he or she may make you rich,” or
at least themselves, if enough people participate
in a class
action suit.
Another
government agency that should cause some concern is the Transportation
Safety
Administration (TSA) created
in response
to 9-11 within the U.S. Department of Transportation.
In 2003, it was moved into Homeland Security
and given wide
authority
over air, rail, highway, bus, mass transit,
pipelines
and ports. The agency has allowed some
airports to opt out
of federal
screening and hire firms to do the job.
These private company’s
employees receive little training, testing
or scrutiny. Once on the job, they perform
acts
that, if performed
by anyone
else, they could be arrested and made to
register as a sex offender.
Last
on my list of government agencies to beware of is the Department
of Homeland
Security
(DOHS),
which
was
also launched
as a result of 9-11. This agency has
spent a lot of money on questionable items. It
has placed
a
large number of
armed personnel
on our streets and waterways, yet we
have no assurance they have been helpful when
it comes
to our security.
Because of their government cloak, we
will never know
because they
can
say, “Our actions are classified.”
As I see it, we have a huge number of government employees
drawing good pay and helping to keep the job market strong.
But I think we could do that without all the big government
involvement. Local governments should be allowed to do their
job without big brother directing every move.