Paranoia

I haven't given into feelings of paranoia for a long time. Trust me, some of the things I did back in the day would make the most secure person feel a little paranoid (and that's all I'm going to say about that). But this whole deal with our government being so unorganized and internal radicals outing our national security secrets is giving me a case of deja vu. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that current events are giving credence to the aluminum foil wearers out there. For years I have occasionally wondered just who was watching the watchers. As Benjamin Franklin famously said "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." That man was one of our founders and they are folks we all ought to give major credence to. I believe the thundering, out of control train that is technology will eventually run us all over. Perhaps one day someone will read this and wonder about my paranoid rantings. Strange, huh? People are justifiably concerned about identity theft these days. But when it comes to privacy I rarely worry. Want to know why? Technology has let that cow out of the barn. Anyone with a computer and a little savvy can find out just about anything he or she wants to know about an individual. We've gone from mining peoples trash to electronically revealing a person's secrets in under twenty years. The revelations out of Washington are (or should be) truly alarming. Rape is out of control in our military, the president's security detail is out partying and having sex with prostitutes and the same thing, or worse, is rampant among our diplomatic corps. And; just like a lot of government departments, the State department investigates and adjudicates itself. Apparently, while all this misconduct was occurring, our good friend Hillary was in charge. And as is usual for her (and her philandering husband) she claims to have no knowledge of this alleged misconduct. The "sheriff" who is supposed to be investigating and controlling things is the Office of Inspector General, or OIG.  It is the OIG that is investigating claims that the State Department thwarted efforts to investigate the alleged misconduct. Meanwhile, what should be an outraged electorate seems blissfully ignorant of the situation(s). I have a friend that also publishes a blog and he contends that the reason for all this passiveness is the welfare state. Too many folks on the dole that don't want to risk killing the golden goose. What ever the reason, we have an ever growing and controlling government that is apparently out of control. Those founders I spoke of earlier would surely be disappointed at the goings on today. Few envisioned the eventual size and population of the union and how involved government would become in our daily lives.