it's important to realize that there is NO good resolution to this stuff. we believe that we are "free" people living in a "free" society. But in point of fact - when it comes to the information about us - we are anything but free. There is very little to stop BOTH governments and private organizations from collecting a LOT of data about our personal lives, and it goes well beyond any thoughts we might have about the political system.

Case in point ... advertisements on the internet. Did you ever decide to BUY something on the internet, you put the item into a shopping cart, but then you cancelled the purchase. then 4-5 days later - you are surprised to see adds about the exact same kind of item popping up on your computer screen. WHY? because there are "spam bots" that work for marketing organizations. they go around and watch ALL the stuff that people purchase. and they also watch all the things that you wanted to buy. and all the Web pages where you were thinking about buying something. and that info. gets SOLD. it is a commercial marketing business - and very big money. so your personal habits and buying tastes are all stored in the banks of data about YOU ... sitting out there in computers somewhere.

it follows that if commercial organizations can store and analyze this stuff ... the Government (actually governments plural) can do the same thing on a MEGA scale. Your personal habits can all be cataloged and categorized. Don't be surprised if this is exactly what is happening. After all, what laws really protect YOU? and who would ever enforce them, anyway??

the struggle between "control" and "freedom" is a never-ending battle. But in many ways "freedom" has already become an illusion.

Pete