Not once has Experian, TransUnion or
Equifax ever talked to me. They have
never called to verify if their data is correct or to question any account or
transaction, they’re tracking me digitally and feeding information about me
into a program that spits out a number that affects my life. I don’t see the repercussions on a daily
basis but subconsciously it’s in the back of my mind directing my
behavior. What if this concept were
applied in a different role?
Are you ready to step in to a world that’s only a key stroke away?
Listening the Sunday talk shows I caught a
few passing comments on the NSA data collection controversy. I didn’t catch who made the comments although
I suspect it was James Clapper (Director of National Intelligence).
“To search for
the needle in the haystack, we need the haystack first”
I came across a formula by Corey Chivers (a
statics specialist), he estimated given an accuracy rate of 99%, 1 in every
10,102 positive hits from the NSA’s algorithm would be an actual bad guy. If the accuracy were less than 99% the ratio
of bad guy to false positives could be 1 in 100,000. How many investigators would it take to go
through the backgrounds and activities of 10,102 citizens to identify the one
bad guy? How long would it take? What if the ratio is the less generous 100,000? The “Haystack” (data collected) is just too
much to be a feasible reason to gather and retain for the type of search they
have sited. So far defenders have
identified one instance of terrorist activity being thwarted by the program
that has been growing since the mid-2000’s.
Mr. Obama has referred to this program as a “Modest Encroachment” it
appears to be a modest encroachment that has netted modest results especially
since the one success they have touted was a follow-up inquiry after
human-intel initially identified the plot.
Later a question was asked, “What happens
to the data that doesn’t lead to the so called Bad Guys… Will it be
deleted?” “Oh No… We’re keeping the data we’ve collected”
The answer got my thoughts running, why in
the world would they want to keep data that only made it more difficult for the
PRISM program to do what it was intended to do… I’d want to clear the files so
I could focus on the objective, the “Bad Guys”.
Ok, they keep the data for whatever reason,
let’s look at what the various agencies could do with a few key strokes.
IRS: Are you a
productive citizen, contributing to the tax-base, also with their role in
Obamacare what is your healthcare consumption.
Are you in the plus column being “Productive” or the minus column a
“Burden” to society.
NSA (PRISM): Are
you a “Rabble Rouser” did you call your representatives office, did you visit a
political web page, did you re-tweet an opposing message, did you make a
dissenting comment on Facebook. (Do you get a plus or minus).
NLRB:
Are you a union member, of a friendly union. (Is “Card Check” dead? +/-)
DoD: How does your current/previous military
service stack-up vs. the current “Agenda”.
NCIS: Have you purchased a weapon at any time.
(Plus or Minus column)
DHHS: Are you living an approved life style…
smoker, a little overweight, diabetic (+/-)
This is just a short list of agencies that
are maintaining specific information on individuals, a list of agencies ripe
for “Data Mining”. The IRS has already
proven it’s willing and capable of skirting legality, just say the word, same
for the EPA, DoJ and who knows how many other agencies have done the same. How long till it’s not the credit score but
the Citizen Score System that’s tracking me digitally and feeding information
about me into a program that spits out a number that affects my life. How long till it’s the Citizen Score System
that’s subconsciously in the back of my mind directing my behavior. To quote Mr. Obama “We’re going to have to
make some choices as a society…” Well O,
normally the choices made by a “society” are done before you’re caught.
A wife’s call to her husband telling him to
“Pick-up diapers on his way home”, a student’s e-mail saying she’ll “Be home
for Thanksgiving”, even the politically inconvenient little story posted by an
old-coot in a cornfield, none of them present a National Security risk… DELETE
THEM! The retention of this data begs
for misuse by zealous political miscreants, something there seems to be no
shortage of. As the program stands in
its current configuration it is useless as a predictive tool but as an
extortion tool it could be almost 100% effective. Will there be an advertisement in the future
were somewhere towards the end of the advertisement they offer to come to your
rescue and fix a low citizen score… all for a nominal fee of course.
Now to blindside you, I like us having the
PRISM program, I like the intelligence agencies having the best tools to do
their job… But aggressive oversight is needed! More on this in the next post.
It’s Just A Key Stroke Away
The TOMCAT
Side Note: I’ve read several articles by
liberal/progressive reporters calling for accountability and transparency on
the scope of internal collection of data on citizens and the aggressive
investigation tactics used on reporters… Fellas’ you gave Obama a pass for 5+
years (counting his first presidential campaign), the child is spoiled, learn
to live with the BRAT you raised… the rest of us have.
Maybe in 3 years
you’ll get a chance to do what you should have done 5+ years ago, honestly vett
a Presidential Candidate.
The federal bureaucracy is so large that it is virtually impossible to manage it. Therefore we will always be exposed to renegade employees and the damage they can do. The solution is to cut this monster down to a mageable size.
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