gov·ern verb
ərn
gov·ern·ment noun
1. the political direction and control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, or inhabitants of communities, societies, and states; direction of the affairs of a state, community, etc.; political administration: Government is necessary to the existence of civilized society.
2. the form or system of rule by which a state, community, etc., is governed: monarchical government; episcopal government.
3. the governing body of persons in a state, community, etc.; administration.
Recently a New York resident was informed by authorities that his firearm license had been suspended and was directed to immediately surrender all of his guns. Turns out that his was a case of mistaken identity - they notified the wrong guy! But, of course, it gets worse. This individual had his private medical records reviewed under a misinterpretation of a provision in Mental Health Law 9.46.
In fact, this appears to be a violation of HIPAA and Health Information Privacy policies at HHS.gov. If it is declared a violation, this becomes a civil rights issue. However, a broad interpretation of this statement from HIPAA just might allow the government to have instant access to the medical records and gun ownership records of anyone who is prescribed psychotropic drugs. Maybe not a bad idea but lets tread lightly here. There are roughly 40 million Americans using some form of anti-depressant and this in and of itself does not make them violent, nor by itself does it make them dangerous.
The man who was directed to turn over his guns reportedly did not exhibit any signs of violent or dangerous behavior. According to his attorney, the man’s doctor did not report any danger to the authorities. So, who did report it? Right now, we don't know.
Winston's neighbor Parsons could clearly empathize with this development (1984 character list)!
Winston's neighbor Parsons could clearly empathize with this development (1984 character list)!
So what's next? Rewards for turning in gun owners? Wait. What? That's already in place?
OK - lets get back on track.
We also learned this week that the IRS is monitoring social network sites and may be perusing your emails for signs that you have inappropriately avoided paying your "fair share". My feeling is this, social networks sites - if you post the information - you are giving it away; emails - they are private between the parties involved and should not be accessible without a court order. The IRS disagrees, citing current law which allows them to access opened or stored emails over 180 days old. This law was written in 1986.
And finally, as if we didn't have enough comparisons between The Fed and Big Brother, we are getting our first tidbits of new information on the Area 51 of government surveillance.
The Country's Biggest Spy Center
The NSA has become the largest, most covert, and potentially most intrusive intelligence agency ever.
The NSA has turned its surveillance apparatus on us, United States citizens. It has established listening posts throughout the nation to collect and sift through billions of email messages and phone calls, whether they originate within the country or overseas. It has created a supercomputer of almost unimaginable speed to look for patterns and unscramble codes. Finally, the agency has begun building a place to store all the trillions of words and thoughts and whispers captured in its electronic net. And, of course, it’s all being done in secret. To those on the inside, the old adage that NSA stands for Never Say Anything applies more than ever.
How much of our freedom will be governed away? Were our votes cast with the knowledge that our elected officials were going to restrain more of our freedom? Do we even care?
Do you believe our government would never secretly do anything that could harm us?
In the span of 60 years, 1984 which is currently classified as science fiction, must now be reclassified as history. No, don't think I ever want to read 1984 again.
No comments:
Post a Comment