Withholding Consent

Today, upon browsing through my news links, I was greeted by an op-ed (thanks, matt2) where a former deputy homeland security adviser to President Bush was arguing that governments, of all stripes, must be allowed back doors into communications systems. It included this lovely quote:

governments should not be timid about using their full powers to ensure that their law enforcement and intelligence agencies are able to keep their citizens safe.

Nowhere in the piece does Mr. Falkenrath acknowledge any right of the citizen to keep information from the state. Instead, he makes charming statements like “no provider of information services is exempt from the power of the state” and “governmental intrusion into ostensibly private communications offends liberal sensibilities”.

Mr Falkenrath’s piece would not be so troubling if it weren’t symptomatic of a larger problem. We have long passed the point where public officials recognize any legitimate restraints on the ability of government to do whatever the hell they think is necessary. Falkenrath is applauding the actions of a repressive monarchy in forcing a Canadian company to bow to demands for data access irrespective of any sort of due process or safeguards. He also points out how many in the US government, and I’m guessing himself included, wish similar actions could be taken here. Moreover, he’s not doing this in a backroom conversation with his intel buddies. He’s doing it on the op-ed page of the New York Times. What the hell, who needs the 4th Amendment and the idea that our government is one of limited powers? Not Kenneth Falkenrath. The danger of terrorism and smugglers and human traffickers is so great and so over-whelming we must use any means at our disposal to fight them! The idea that putative public servants who swore an oath to defend the Constitution feel free to advertise publicly their open disdain for same should cause some reevaluation.

However, he’s not alone, or by any means the most severe symptom of the problem. He’s just the guy I happened upon this morning. Examples are numerous and well-documented. We go from congressmen who believe there are no meaningful limits to federal power to courts who agree and to an executive who then acts with impunity, secure in the knowledge no one else in the .gov will disagree with the means even if they object to the ends. Taken all together, I’m led to an inescapable conclusion: the government of the United States is no longer acting in my interests. In fact, most of the actions the federal government takes are detrimental to me and mine.

So, what to do? My first instincts trend towards the simple and bloody. However, absent the willingness towards same from a substantial amount of the populace, any attempt is doomed to failure. It is infeasible, for a number of reasons, to simply pack up and move elsewhere. Another glaring issue with voting with the feet is that everywhere else is worse on many significant issues. Dropping off the grid entirely poses a number of practical problems as well. I firmly maintain the belief that the best way to hide from the government in this day and age is to get lost in the noise. If your data trail looks like every other data trail, you’re not going to get noticed. A lack of a data trail is just as noticeable, in some aspects, as an unusual data trail. So far the only answer I’ve reached is to hide in plain sight and figure out how to avoid getting the grosser excesses of the state aimed in my general direction.

I don’t have answers for some questions, like how little can you comply with the government and still stay off the radar. I also don’t know if the situation yet warrants something more active than civil disobedience and general non-compliance. I’m still working through some of the issues and practicalities, but in general terms, I’m withholding my consent. The government is illegitimate and can piss off.

Random Friday Thoughts

Pantera + Thomas Jefferson = Eternally Fucking Hostile?

When the majority of your job consists of using a computer, when the IT department starts jacking with your computer, it seriously cuts down on your productivity for the day.

As punishment for my laziness in not taking down the Christmas lights last weekend, I now have to do it when the temperature is in the low 30s. Yay!

Why do Cat5E jacks cost more if they're blue? Is adding blue dye to the plastic that much more expensive than adding the white dye?

Self Control

I'd just like to congratulate myself for managing to make it through the POA Board Meeting without using profanity or calling any of my neighbors ignorant, stupid, or otherwise genetically predisposed towards suboptimal cognition.

Out loud, anyway. My usual approach is to sit with my lovely co-blogger and take notes on my netbook. My notes are primarily a form of entertainment for me, with actual information content being secondary. A lot of my note taking is more note passing, with me typing my snide commentary and observations to J. You're not going to see the unfiltered version, as I'm already making enough new enemies in our new neighborhood. You'd think I was a rude, abrasive, unpleasant individual. Hmm.

Anyhow, it's late and I'm going to bed. Further notes on the meeting tomorrow.

Fat Chance

As a follow up to last week's post about maintenance, I was looking at an online BMI calculator. I know BMI is a flawed system and doesn't work real well, but it's quick and easy.

Of course, it gives results that say I should weigh 166 pounds. A bit of perspective on that is necessary. I'm 6' 1" tall and rapidly approaching 40. I weigh about 215 - 220 lbs. I haven't shrunk any since I was 22, to my knowledge. When I was 22, I was on active duty in the 82nd Airborne and probably in the best shape of my life. I weighed about 180 then. I'm sure as hell not going to weigh less than that now and be any kind of healthy.

Maintenance

Stingray points out some obvious truths far too many of us neglect. I might mention that there's a reason the Army had us all running around around and doing physical training every morning. Mens sana in corpore sano, and all that jazz, right?

Of course, that leads one to ask what those of us who are slightly lacking in the "mens sana" department should do. I think I'll keep working out in the mornings anyway. Craziness is no excuse for laziness! However, procrastination and apathy might be. I'll get back with you on those two.

Rejoice!

It is once again the anniversary of my birth. In lieu of presents, links to amusing content are gratefully accepted.

Celebrate

Today, for the unaware, is Veteran's Day. This kicks off Veteran's Awareness Week, in which you are supposed to be more aware of veterans or something. I don't know, I didn't really read the memo. I'll make the same suggestion I always make. Buy a veteran a drink! Yes, this is a shameless and transparent ploy to get people to buy me drinks. Well, it would be if I had any plans involving leaving the house today. Since I don't, that drastically decreases the opportunity for anyone to buy me drinks. Failing that, you could always thank your local veteran(s) for their service. That always seems to go over well.

You, Yourself

I am, as I’m sure most of you are, saddened to hear that some whack-job decided to take out his frustrations on other people at Virginia Tech yesterday. The comment was made that we should not use the opportunity to try to score cheap political points, or more poetically, don’t dance in the blood of the dead. I figure that’s still good advice, although the people who push gun control as a solution haven’t really restrained themselves. Nor, I am sure, have some people on my side of the issue.

Me? I got no political points today that you can’t find elsewhere. Gun control failed, so the usual suspects will propose more gun control. Rational thinking is not going to be a part of the coming debate. Instead, we’ll continue with the infantilization of young adults by saying something needs to be done to protect the students. Given that I was in the Army at 17, I have this funny idea the students are adults and therefore have the obligation and ability to protect themselves.

Segueing neatly into my next point, if you depend on the police for protection you are a fool. The police cannot be everywhere all the time. They can only respond to a situation once it starts. Until they show up, you’re on your own. It seems to me that placing the campus on lockdown, while useful for maintaining order and making the cops’ job easier, did nothing to protect the greater population of Virginia Tech. Here’s where the “you are responsible” meme comes in. If it occurs to you that sitting passively and waiting for danger to come closer might be a bad plan, do something about it. Mount up and clear the AO by any means necessary. You are ultimately responsible for your own safety. Not me, not the cops, not a university, not the government. If your assessment of the situation means disregarding what some authority figure tells you, ignore them and do what you have to do.