Big Brother in 2012

The sky is falling, the sky is falling…
-Chicken Little-
Imagine yourself, soaking up the sun as you unwind from your high security, air conditioned, desk job in D.C. You close your eyes. The sun feels great, but what is that buzzing sound? Suddenly a acorn pops you on the forehead, perhaps shaken loose by that small aircraft flying low overhead.
If some in our government have their way, that small aircraft could be a surveillance drone, checking you out in the privacy of your back yard.
Last February the President gave the FAA orders to loosen the requirements for increased use of drones in U.S. airspace. These are machines capable of reading the words on this paper from over a 1,000 feet up and record the number times your dog does his business in the neighbor’s yard in the dark of night.
These advanced drones have been around for years, but were always restricted to the battlefield for use against our enemies. Now, with the stroke of a pen, Obama has authorized their expanded use on American soil.
No problem you say. After all they will only be used to help secure the borders and may be used for surveillance of drug operations. If I’m obeying the law I have nothing to fear…right?
Well-no. It’s only true if you trust the government, everyone involved in the process from top to bottom, to always do the right thing. Keep in mind, this is the same government where, as comedian John Stewart put it recently on the Daily Show, “It all began with a program called Fast and Furious in which the government allowed guns to be smuggled to Mexican drug runners in order to find out where Mexican drug runners were getting their guns … it turned out to be … from our government!”
It was a great comedic bit for John Stewart. It was probably a little less funny to the parents of Brian Terry, a Border Patrol Agent killed with those guns. His parents now say they believe the government is hiding something since Obama has claimed executive privilege and refuses to release documents requested by Congress related to their son’s death.
It’s going to be even less funny if it turns out that what the Obama administration is trying to hide is why the program existed to start with – not to trace gun smuggling so much as to manufacture a political anti-gun statement .
And are you sure we can trust the government to do the right thing when they have already killed two American citizens using drones, without trial, ignoring any form of Constitutional due process: Anwar al-Awlaki, an American cleric living in Yemen who served as a propagandist for Al-Qaida, and his 16-year-old son.
Keep in mind that this administration now leaks with pride anything that makes Obama look like a war hero, including their kill list. This list, according to sources, is personally overseen by Obama, who selects those that are up next for execution. The liberal media would be having a cow right now if this came to light under any other administration. Apparently the liberal standard for how the law applies in politics is heavily influenced by how much good they feel it does for the image of their political idol.
That’s what makes these drones so scary right now. Their potential for abuse is huge and this administration has shown time and again their willingness to ignore the law when it doesn’t fit their political agenda. They did it when they sued Arizona for enforcing federal immigration laws, they are doing it by telling Florida they can’t purge their voter rolls of illegal aliens, and now, Obama has decided to ignore the law again and give practical amnesty to thousands of illegal aliens. And all this to hopefully capture the Latino vote in November.
Of course this is not new to our free society. The dangers of an overreaching government have always competed with personal freedom, especially during times of great crisis. Lincoln suspended Habeas Corpus during the civil war and FDR interned thousands of Japanese during WWII. For many, the Patriot Act after 9-11 was an over-reach. The difference is that this president actually takes an arrogant pride in his lawless crushing of the Constitution and considers it a boost to his campaign.
Even so, the sky is not actually falling. We still have our Constitution, the Supreme Court and the will of the people. And while drones are a threat, even now alert members of Congress are crafting bills that insure they are used in limited ways that protect the privacy of the people.
Americans have always had the strength to correct our wrongs and move forward, but we can’t sleep yet. Already the TEA party is getting back to work and I’m hoping the Occupy Movement gets active again. After all, they have proven to be a great visual example of leftist screwball ideas.
So relax this weekend. And if an acorn pops you on the head, it’s not the sky falling, it’s just time to wake up.

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