It is a time of fear in the face of freedom, a time for the widening of previous roads and the opening of new paths, a time of an emptying country and swelling cities, yet a time when these paths are mined by knowing algorithms of the all-seeing eye. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.
 | Total Information Awareness, Totally Obscured, Three Years Later |
Remember the Total Information Awareness scandal of 2002? Remember the over-the-top logo?
Remember the so obviously Orwellian “Scientia ist Potentia” (Knowledge is Power) motto?
Remember how everybody was so upset because the government would be gathering all sorts of private information about as many citizens as it could, centralizing it in a database, using it to predict which citizens were likely to become an enemy of the state, and then “pre-empting” them before those citizens actually did anything?
Remember? We all were horrified at the prospect. Then the government retreated, abashed at how transparently it had telegraphed its moves with the name of the project, the motto, the logo? Remember how the Bush administration promised to dismantle Total Information Awareness?
What a relief!
Or, not.
It turns out that, literally speaking, the government did dismantle the Total Information Awareness program. It was a pilot program, after all.
In its place, the government has implemented countless data mining programs to do exactly what Total Information Awareness envisioned. I use the word “countless” intentionally and mean it literally, since the Bush administration has done everything it can to avoid disclosing the names and details of these programs. Oh, every once in a while details of Big Brother programs with ominous titles like The Matrix leak out, but mostly these programs have blossomed under a veil of silence and secrecy.
Over the past few days, however, some pesky congressional politicians, referring to themselves as “Representatives,” have been trying to pass legislative language that would require the Bush Administration to name the various data mining efforts it has put in place.
In response, the Bush administration’s Justice Department has been pushing a memo onto the desks of these so-called “Representatives,” pointing out why disclosure of the Bush administration’s Big Brother operations is a bad idea.
According to the Justice Department, disclosure of all citizen-snooping operations by the administration would be an “impossible job” because it would create “countless reports.”
Let’s say it again: the Bush administration says telling the American public about all its efforts to snoop on citizens would be an “impossible job” because doing so would generate “countless reports.” There’s just too much going on to talk about.
Big Brother has been ripped off the pages of Orwell’s 1984 and implemented in real life, and all under the leadership of a Republican Party that used to say (you don’t hear it any more, do you?) that it was the force for “small government.”
Yes, Big Brother is watching.
But hey, don’t blame me: I voted for Kerry.
Contact Us
I don’t think blaming this monitoring on the Republicans is entirely fair. This is a knee-jerk reaction by both parties as a result of the actions of terrorists.
Afterall, if 9/11 didn’t happen, none of this would have been proposed by either party.
Comment by Nonsense Nation — 7/24/2005 @ 1:00 pm
Perhaps you are partially correct. But the fact is that 9/11 DID happen…and, now, certain people in the Far-Right have used 9/11 as an excuse to implement all manner of crypto-fascist legleslation and “programs” that would have never been tolerated before in the USA in either political party. Now the Far-Right has an excuse…and anyone who objects is either summarily dismissed as somehow beneath contempt, or has their “patriotism” questioned. This database is the next logical step…and guess what comes next? Hopefully we will have a 2008 election, but I’m not too sure about 2012, the way we are going. And, it would seem, only a few of us seem to care. And most of us have already made the “list”.
Comment by Mike — 7/24/2005 @ 1:25 pm
Nonsense, Nonsense Nation. This policy is enacted by the Republican Bush administration and, while opposed by a few Republicans, is disproportionately supported by Republicans and disproportionately opposed by Democrats.
Mike, what does “crypto-fascist” mean? I’ve seen you use the term before, but I don’t know what you mean by it.
Comment by Jim C. — 7/24/2005 @ 2:17 pm
I agree. This is a Republican Party policy, supported by some weak-willed Republican-allied Democratic politicians.
The Republicans are all for this stuff. Most Democrats and all progressives are dead set against it.
Comment by Fruktata — 7/24/2005 @ 3:43 pm
Conspiracy theories implicating president aired at 8-hour hearing
Any applause for Rep. Cynthia McÂÂKinney?
Comment by zh — 7/24/2005 @ 8:42 pm
didn’t know they don’t allow links. cut n paste:
ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/0705/23natmckinney.html
Comment by zh — 7/24/2005 @ 8:48 pm
[…] n the next plane will hit are far behind us. On the other hand, there is no question that the government is using that […]
Pingback by Irregular Times: News Unfit for Print»Blog Archive » Five Shots Confirm Stupidity of Bush-Blair Anti-terrorist approach — 7/24/2005 @ 9:06 pm
Jim C, the term “Crypto-Fascist” describes a preson (or agenda), carefully hidden in a mainstream political party that, on the surface at least, sounds like something that represents our views on liberty, justice, and what we Americans have always considered our way of life. They typically represent the more conservative elements in government, and often mouth such slogans as Smaller Government, lower taxes, increased security,among others. They attract many supporters because they have people that sound very good and wholesome..their real agenda, however, is much more sinister. They seem to use periods of threat as a “Rally around the Flag” moment, focus all eyes on the “enemy” and point out those who disagree with, or, for that matter question their actionsas somehow “un-American”, and take the same approach toward their agenda and goal (a totalitarian government), that any other totalitarian regime has taken: A threat from without(real or otherwise), a massive propaganda campaign to make the majority of the people believe that what they are doing is not only right, but necessary, and a slow, often subtile, erosion of personal liberties that are, by this time, viewed by the mas of people as somehow threatening…eventually the mass of people buy this line and the rest of us are either deported, locked up, or killed outright. Sounds paranoid? Tell that to the good citizens of Germany circa 1930. They were saying the same thing. We came damned close during the “Red-Hunts” of the 50’s. If you give these sonsofbitches an inch, they will take the whole country…and, right now, we are teetering on the precipice. Take a good hard look. I have. What I see is frightening as hell. And, it would seem, nobody seems to care.
Comment by Mike — 7/25/2005 @ 12:28 am
Seems to me that all fascists wrap themselves in the flag and claim to stand up for traditional values. That would pretty much make all fascists “crypto-fascists.”
Comment by Ralph — 7/26/2005 @ 3:27 pm
i remember:
http://www.21cmagazine.com/issue2/iao_remix/index.html
it was remixed nicely. don’t forget to mouse over stuff in the popup windows.
Comment by mr. bollweevil — 3/2/2007 @ 4:54 pm
Hee hee, Mr. Bollweevil, that’s pretty good.
Comment by Jim — 3/2/2007 @ 4:58 pm
[…] Irregular Times - 7/24/2005 Remember the Total Information Awareness scandal of 2002? Remember the over-the-top logo? Remember […]
Pingback by » Total Information Awareness, Totally Obscured, Three Years Later 1MC.US — 5/25/2007 @ 5:34 pm