Is it possible for the government to collect too much information?

[kentuck]

And how would we know??

What information should the government not have access to? Keeping in mind that information is collected by people and people have friends and enemies.

Can you think of anything that you would not want the "government" to have?

Government and law enforcement collect information usually in pursuit of a crime. They do not collect information to see what is your favorite soft drink. At least, not yet. As far as we know.

[Pisces]

1. This question is moot. They have everything that can be tracked. GPS on phones and cars allows this

to track all your movements and establish a pattern that is put into computers with algorithims to tell them who to watch.
Your every key stroke, phone call etc. Movies like Enemy of The State may have seemed far fetched when made, but represent only part of what our government is doing and has been doing for a long time. Why people are surprised or shocked is the question we should be asking.

it is the world we live in. And yes, almost everyone has some blackmail material in their history that you may not want others to find out about.

I think a lot of people choose the blue pill and would rather not know the truth. It makes it easier. Snowden is reviled because
people don't want that red pill forced down their throats. We also don't want other governments ( even though they probably know
a lot themselves) to have all of our data.

Snowden isn't a hero or a whistleblower. He is an illusion buster.

[leftstreet]

7. You're talking about corporations

The gvt doesn't install GPS in cars

[kentuck]

18. Because it is the government that uses this info for "illicit" purposes.

In my opinion, the corporations have a more profit-motive purpose in mind. If you like this, then perhaps you want on of these-type thinking.

on edit: "illicit"

[leftstreet]

19. What 'illicit' things has Teh Gubmint done to seniors?

Between SS and Medicare, Teh Gubmint has been collecting quite a bit of data for decades




Profit making = good
Gubmint = bad

That's what all this hollering is about, you know

[kentuck]

20. Perhaps I should have put "illicit" in quotations also?

But I do believe businesses collect information for different reasons than the "gubmint" collects information? And some information is more valuable than others. All secret information is not of equal value.

[leftstreet]

21. Your blood pressure # is more valuable to PfizerInc than the gvt

Just sayin

[kentuck]

22. Agreed.

And your email address is more valuable to the gvt

[Gregorian]

2. Information gives control. That's all we need to know.

Privacy, to me at least, is binary. Either one has privacy, or they don't.

The problem is, people aren't conscious that their privacy is being violated much of the time. I've spent 20 years searching for a property with real privacy. It is extremely hard to find. I consider jets and the racket they make an invasion of privacy. Along the way I've met people who were totally unconscious until I told them. And then suddenly they heard the jets and cars. I'm just using this as an example of why people don't seem to care. They don't even know.

[kentuck]

3. Ain't it the truth!

[Rex]

4. No. They have to quantify and qualify every last thing in existance.

That way their super machine can tell them about future crimes with .001% accuracy.

[kentuck]

5. They are always looking for a crime of some sort.

Have you noticed that??

[Rex]

6. Yes! Even when, like the FBI, they have to talk someone into it.

It tells me they are desperate, in some ways, to justify this farcical 'war on isms'.

[kentuck]

8. It has happened.

No dispute there.

[Rex]

9. I also think the creation of the DHS was the biggest mistake made

in this new century and will be impossible to dissolve, like the DEA.

We have the NSA, CIA, FBI, federal marshals, precinct sheriffs, ATF, CIUs, state troopers and local cops.

Is that not enough?

[kentuck]

10. We also have the military...

Only if necessary, of course.

[Rex]

11. True and all their independent investigation departments.

How much is too much? I believe they went ahead and built their TIA super computer back in 2001. They want all this info, in the belief it will somehow be like a crystal ball and help them magically solve crimes.

[kentuck]

12. In their system, everyone is considered a possible "criminal"...

They do it because they can. If they had the technology to make you invisible, they would need that also. But it is all a clear violation of the 4th Amendment.

And they get the taxpayers to pay for it. Without the taxpayer dollars, they would all shrivel up on the vine. Congress needs to be made aware, instead of always playing politics with everything. In the final analysis, the power is still with the people.

[Rex]

13. The power is with us, but they are trying to tip the scale thinking

if knowledge is power, absolute knowledge is absolute power. We both know where that line of thought leads to.

[kenny blankenship]

23. They need to " keep us safe" in order to take our freedom

and they "need to take our freedom" in order to keep us safe.

[Waiting For Everyman]

14. i don't want them having anything unless they have probable cause first.

Not the phoney game-playing probable cause, but the actual, specific kind.

The advances in technology don't necessarily mean that we should approach this very much differently than we used to. Just because all the world's info can be scooped up, doesn't mean it should be, or that it's even of any legitimate use.

If universal info-vacuuming makes such a big difference in catching terrorists, then why didn't it catch the Boston Bombers? If it couldn't stop that, (of course it didn't) then it is worthless, and a fraud on the public. Not only that, it's a very expensive and dangerous fraud.

Btw they are collecting everything, the weasel clause (one of many, that is) is that they aren't reading everything, or accessing it, etc.

[kentuck]

15. I think your private information is your property.

If corporations can be people, why not?

[Waiting For Everyman]

16. I agree, we should have a default copyright to it.

[kentuck]

17. I like that idea...

It could be connected to your IP address on the Internet also.