No Nanny State - Molon Labe!

Americans Should Be Outraged

From the JoongAng Daily:

An investigative arm of the Korean government has been secretly preparing a surveillance system for tracking Internet users and monitoring all activity on certain Web sites.

According to a top-secret report from the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office, obtained exclusively by the JoongAng Ilbo, the system would enable investigators to conduct round-the-clock surveillance of all activity at targeted Web sites, including sites based at the community Internet portals popular in Korea.

Investigators could also target individuals for total surveillance of their online activity.

This type of government intrusion into the lives of their citizens should not be tolerated. A free society would never stand for their employees - their government - to monitor the online activities of it's citizens without probable cause. Never.

All of this could be done without obtaining a warrant, according to prosecutors.

Well, it goes without saying that this is an outrage. In a truly free society, there is the presumption of innocence. If there is probable cause, a just government will make a request to the judiciary for a warrant. Only then is the government allowed to surveil it's citizens or their records.

Unless, of course you are a citizen of Korea. Or the United States of America.

This article could have been written about the US and our USA PATRIOT Act.

The FBI had it's infamous Carnivore/Eschellon system that was scrapped because of all of the political heat it received. It's mission was to read and process all email that was generated to and from the US. The system has since been terminated.... and will be replaced by a number of privately produced systems. Sound familiar?

And of course our illustrious USA PATRIOT Act grants government officials the ability to gather information on anyone as long as the agent certifies that the "information gathering" has something to do with terrorism. The agent does not have to provide evidence to the court, they just need to state that it involves terrorism.

Oh, and as long as the agent dots all of his "I"s and crosses all of his "T"s, "Upon an application made pursuant to this section, the judge shall enter an ex parte order as requested, or as modified, approving the release of records if the judge finds that the application meets the requirements of this section.". There is no ability to reject the request, because no evidence need be presented. In essence, there is no judicial oversight.

Read Section 215 of the Act yourself if you find that hard to believe.

Is this how a free society functions? If not, why are so many Americans "sitting on their hands" and not doing anything about this?

Hey, please pass the kimchee.

Can Forced Drug Ingestion Be Far Behind?

It seems as though our current Administration is not satisfied winning the hearts of Americans, it must now also win our minds. Or at least probe them whether we want them probed or not.

Congressman Ron Paul (R - Texas) is Nanny's worst nightmare. This guy keeps an eye out for all of us. His watchful gaze has caught another doozie. The Bush Administration has a little program called the, "New Freedom Commission on Mental Health" . The name alone gives me the creeps.

It seems that this commission has recommended that every kid in America have a mandatory mental health exam. No parental control. No parental input. Shut the fuck up, we're checking to see if your kid's a whacko.

As Congressman Paul more "gently" puts it:

This commission issued a report last year calling for the mandatory mental health screening of American schoolchildren, meaning millions of kids will be forced to undergo psychiatric screening whether their parents consent or not. At issue is the fundamental right of parents to decide what medical treatment is appropriate for their children.

Our Administration put forth this proposal - just like Bush did as governor in Texas - and "the mental health screening initiative received funding from House and Senate appropriators in the 2005 federal budget." Swell.

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) - a non-profit watch dog of the psychiatric industry - is pitching a fit over this plan. As they so clearly state, the "Diagnostic Screening Process" is nothing more than, "a Con-Game To Troll For New Patients". There is also some very good information about Bush's Texas program ("Texas Medical Algorithm Project" - TMAP) and how (gasp!) the pharmaceutical companies funded most of that boondoggle.

Not surprisingly, business interests are behind this national initiative, too. The Congressman continues,

It is important to understand that powerful interests, namely federal bureaucrats and pharmaceutical lobbies, are behind the push for mental health screening in schools. There is no end to the bureaucratic appetite to run our lives, and the pharmaceutical industry is eager to sell psychotropic drugs to millions of new customers in American schools.

A couple minutes on Google turned up endorsements by the American Psychological Association and others.

Congressman Paul is pissed off:

Forced mental health screening simply has no place in a free or decent society. The government does not own you or your kids, and it has no legitimate authority to interfere in your family’s intimate health matters. Psychiatric diagnoses are inherently subjective, and the drugs regularly prescribed produce serious side effects, especially in children’s developing brains. The bottom line is that mental health issues are a matter for parents, children, and their doctors, not government.

You should be pissed off, too.

The Congressman has introduced a bill titled, "The Parental Consent Act of 2005," or HR 181. Call or write every one of your federal Congressmen or women, and Sentators and urge them to vote for this bill.

I know, I know, it's free. But...

Sorry for the lack of posts (soon to be posted) but Blogger has been acting up. Saying that I'm doing all sorts of error-causing posting. It appears they have this cleared up. More posts to follow.