Privacy and Government Data Collection

Many Americans are worried about their privacy – at least as far the government is concerned. Yet, as a nation, we seem totally oblivious to all the information about us which is collected by a variety of private businesses. And, most of that information is readily available to anyone willing to pay for it.

Long ago, I worked for a company which routinely conducted “background checks” (for lack of a better name) on individuals and businesses seeking a business relationship with us. This was long before the Internet. Someone from my company would contact our “research” company, provide the information we had, and request a report. There were different “levels” of reports offered, from a very basic look at publicly available records, on up to a “full detail” report.

The “full detail” reports on individuals were very detailed, including not just financial information, but also the names and ages of family members. They included a narrative of a researcher's visit to their homes and places of business. Frequently, they would include a summary of private interviews with the subject and/or their family members and/or their neighbors (which were conducted using some kind of ruse to hide their purpose). I gained a healthy respect for the amount of information available – for a price - back then.

These days, much of the same information is readily available online. Not long ago I went looking for “lost” alumni so that a reunion committee could contact them. Using names from 40 years ago, and the location of the school as a starting point, I was able to find 9 out of the 10 people I searched for - without paying a dime to a third party “information consolidator” or "researcher."

If I can find “private” information about former classmates, I've got to believe that the government can do so also, augmenting their information with freely available online information. Or, if they want more in-depth information, they could pay a “private research” company to provide a report (requesting it through a “shell company” to hide the fact that the government is paying for the report).

So... Do I worry about my government collecting all the numbers I dialed (or received calls from) last week on my phones? No. My phone companies already have all the numbers in their databases. And, they may have already "mined" them for their information value.

If my phone contacts can help in catching a terrorist, so much the better. 

Hell, on the right day, I might even be more than willing to just turn over my mother-in-law's name, phone number, and street address directly to the government for their investigation.

But that's a story for another day.

Abortion Politics

Republican Vice Presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, announced today that her 17 year old daughter, Bristol, is 5 months pregnant. To reassure her core special interest groups, she stressed that her daughter had decided to keep the baby, and would be marrying the father.

She is quoted as saying: "We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support. Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family."

Clearly Ms. Palin seems to be a loving - if somewhat misguided - parent. After all, she's opposed to sex education in schools, even though it's been proven to be an effective deterrent to teenage pregnancy.

There's no word on whether sex was openly discussed in the home before the pregnancy occurred. And there's no word on whether the young couple has been given the option of not getting married, as teenage marriage often ends in divorce.

What is wonderful to hear from a strict anti-abortion supporter such as Ms. Palin is that her daughter had a choice. Ms. Palin and her husband were proud of their daughter's decision to have the baby.

What's troubling is that Ms. Palin, John McCain, and the Republican party would deny the same choice to millions of American woman to satisfy a special interest group. Instead of offering unconditional love and support to all families, she would demand adherence to the views of religious special interest groups.

Ms. Palin has asked for privacy for her children. This, too, is ironic. Ms. Palin, and the Republicans, want to keep government out of our lives - except when it comes to sex. She would have the government regulate who can marry and whether or not a pregnancy must be carried to term.

Sure, Ms. Palin's family deserves some choice. But, so do the millions of American families who are under constant assault from the anti-gay and anti-abortion special interest groups.

Republicans need to stop selling themselves to such special interest groups, and concentrate on unconditional support for all Americans instead.

That's a change which is long overdue in this country.