Individual freedom reducing rapidly

The state of Washington is considering having a mileage tax on your vehicles instead of gasoline taxes. Would they have the technology equipment available to do that? They already have had a black box in a majority of our cars since 1996. These black boxes are found in at least 60 million vehicles and are in 85 percent of the new cars sold every year. There are several reasons for the black boxes (mostly insurance and warranties).

Black boxes on our vehicles are just one of numerous methods that our government obtains through the Freedom of Information Act to find out information about our personal lives. The Wall Street Journal has uncovered the behind closed doors creation of a “government dragnet, sweeping up millions of records about U.S. citizens, even people suspected of no crime.” More ominously, the new policy will allow databases of U.S. civilian information to be shared with foreign governments for their analysis. Supposedly this is to look for clues that people might commit future crimes. Wow!

Those of you who use credit cards, business loyalty cards, telephone bills, etc., gives our government a way to know more about you that I believe, is reasonable.

This assault on privacy is just the latest in a long line of incremental steps designed to gut the fourth amendment to protect against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The government can keep entire databases about innocent U.S. citizens for up to five years. The Federal Privacy Act of 1974, created by Congress, has created a loop hole that allows the government agents to exempt themselves from many requirements by placing notices in the (Federal Register), the governments daily publication of proposed rules, “which are rarely contested by government watchdogs or members of the public,” reported the Journal.

We presently rank 10th in the world, as far as individual freedoms are concerned, but I believe that we will soon be rated further down the list!

Gerald W. Ray, Spokane