benluby wrote:If we let paranoia drive our lives, we'll miss a lot.
I'm not suggesting that you miss out on this technology. It's really too late to try and stay off the grid, so you might as well enjoy the things that are available to us. However, it is also logical to be aware of the fact that someone (not necessarily government) may be using you toys to follow you.
I figure the only people that need to worry about the law are the ones that break it, and I have no pity for them.
When I was a child, my grandfather told me something that remains with me today. He said that if he got stopped by the police he would always be very courteous because they can always find something wrong if they want to.
I'll bet if you let me track every movement, every e-mail, and every phone or other electronic conversation you have I can find where you are violating the law... doesn't matter who you are. Now, that isn't so much of a problem so long as the government is benign... it's a much worse problem in places like China. But, now, with the government of the U.S. actively going after some religious cults and certain political elements it stands to reason that it could really become a problem in the near future. Not paranoid, just practical.
I mentioned on another thread that when I saw the fraud presentation the guy made an important point. If the Feds are looking at Countrywide for their bad deeds and your appraisal is in there, they don't really know whether it's a good or bad appraisal... all they know is that it's in a questionable file. At that point it will be up to you to prove it is good. This guy also mentioned that they might be using the Carnivore system to look at e-mails involving real estate fraud. The logic that applies in many areas today is guilty unless you can prove you are innocent.
