Paging Mr. Huxley
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Policy | Privacy | The Subprime Crisis — Comments (5) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Brother Jeff has touched on this issue at significant and valuable length, but it is worth emphasizing that many of the same people who put up a hue and cry--sometimes with a fair amount of justification, it should be noted--against the onset of Big Brother in the United States, went quietly along with the plan to create a national fingerprint database. And for what? To regulate the housing and the home mortgage markets. Recall that intrusive measures to combat terrorism are regularly decried--again, at times for understandable reasons--because they purportedly shred our Constitutional rights and obliterate any and all remnants of our privacy. And yet, the creation of a national fingerprint database actually appears to be moving smoothly through the deliberative process with barely a voice raised in protest in the halls of power.
This measure is an ineffective waste of time that will do more to bring about a Brave New World than the USA Patriot Act ever would and yet, no one appears to be making much of a fuss. We are seeing, yet again, the validation of Ronald Reagan's observation that "a government big enough to give you what you want is also big enough to take it away from you," and yet, this story hasn't even graduated to the backburner level. I hear there is a Presidential election this year. I daresay that it would be a marvelous idea for John McCain to run against this plan and against all the other manifestations of Big Government and Big Brother threatening to alter society irredeemably and for the worse. Running against Big Government is good politics, good policy and, as it appears, more needed now than ever.
At some point, the meddlesome hand of the regulatory state has to be stayed. If a stand is not taken against this, how much worse will it have to get before we collectively say "enough is enough"?
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Paging Mr. Huxley 5 Comments (0 topical, 5 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Yeah, I look like a terrorist, right?
I had actually always been picturing Wild Bill Hickok, myself; you know, something like:
Art Chance, Steely-Eyed Missile Man
of America's Last Frontier
...or something. ;-)
For twenty-odd years I lived in Brooks Bros. and Jos. Banks suits and weekend casual was Ralph Lauren. Don't live that way anymore! In fact, yesterday morning my kid had to go to court as a part of his job and had to put on a suit and tie. He asked me to tie his tie for him and I had the Devil's own time doing it; that felt good! I had almost forgotton how to tie a Windor knot, one of the fundamentals of my former existence. I do however tie a wicked bowline on a bight, sheet bend, reef knot, anchor bend, and knots like that.
Anymore I lean towards a combination of Jimmy Buffet and Northwest Grunge or maybe Jimmy Buffet with lots of fleece because of the weather here; there is NO day here that you can safely leave your hat and jacket at home. I cut my hair and shave my beard when I have to suit up for some formal proceeding, which means somebody has to pay me enough to get me to do that. I did manage not to get a tattoo or a piercing when I was in Mexico this winter, though.
In Vino Veritas
And the Lord upon the Golden Horn is laughing in the sun.
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
As in Transportation Worker Identity Card. If you are a licensed mariner or work in ANY capacity on a vessel or in a port, you have to have one; background check, barrier crimes, finger printing, photo, two forms of ID one of which must be government issued picture ID. No TWIC card, your license is invalid, no matter how long you've had it or what your record might be, and if unlicensed, you can't work in a port.
I really don't have much of a problem with it if you work in a big container port or a cruise ship terminal, I guess, but I don't do either. I have a license and can carry passengers, so I must have one or my license is invalid. My boat lies in a private marina that has a few charter and fishing boats and the rest are pleasure boats. I almost never go even near the cruise ship terminal. I NEVER go near a cruise ship because if you look like you might be getting near one, one of the USCG's fast boats comes roaring up at Warp 8 and you're staring down the barrel of a .50 cal. in the hands of a 19 year old. Yeah, I look like a terrorist, right?
This has all gone too far. It's way too much like those old black and white movies where the black-clad Gestapo agent is walking down the aisle of the train saying, "Papers, papers." Don't want to live like that.
In Vino Veritas