Alright, first watch this humerous flash animation on the proposal entitled "Matrix"
http://www.adcritic.com/interactive/view.php?id=5927
The following statement is from the ACLU
A dangerous program â€" ominously called the Matrix â€" is being proposed by a handful of states in conjunction with the federal government. Unfortunately it's no Hollywood invention -- this Matrix would compile your personal information into a giant database that law enforcement agents and government contractors can use to search through information about your private life and investigate your activities.
Our elected officials must stop this program from being implemented. They also need to ensure that our federal tax dollars will not continue to fund such invasive initiatives.
According to news reports and internal government documents, the Matrix (which stands for “Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchangeâ€) is an effort to combine state government records, such as driver's license information, with commercially available data to create a vast database capable of compiling and analyzing a profile of every American.
While the private company that runs the program has been very secretive about what data MATRIX contains, government sources report that it includes names and address of family members, property ownership, marine vessels, bankrupcies, liens and judgments, voter registrations, and criminal offender information. However, given the amount of information that is available in today's commercial databases, even more details of our private lives might be captured and catalogued. Indeed, the Matrix materials boast of having access to 20 billion records.
Only a handful of states are currently participating in this program. However, its implications are dire and we must ensure that our tax dollars are not being used to fund this dangerous program.
The database will collect and centralize an amazing array of your personal information.
News reports indicate that the database would include driver's license photographs, the names and addresses of family members, gun licenses, voter registration, court records and a vast array of other private details. And, just as there are errors in credit reports, this giant database will be compiled with information from a multitude of error-prone sources. Incorrect information could bring you to the attention of the authorities even if you have not done anything wrong.
The program is expensive, soaking up badly needed funds from more worthy causes.
At a time when state and federal budgets are facing hard times, there is little justification for spending scarce funds on this spying program. With an unknown total cost, this program diverts funds from more effective anti-terrorism initiatives.
The information will not only be used for fighting terrorism. Contrary to its proponents assertions, internal documents have shown that Matrix will be used for “datamining†of our personal records for law enforcement fishing expeditions. Creating a program to combine separate, independently available databases of information on innocent Americans is not merely a “technological advancement,†but a body blow to the core American principle that the government will leave people alone unless it has good reason to suspect them of wrongdoing.
So what do you think? I am currently opposed to this. It is a blatent invasion of privacy which was in my oppinion gaurunteed in the 1973 case Roe Vs Wade. I believe that giving and in fact collecting this information would cost too much and jeoprodize peoples futures on actions or problems from their past. This is in fact one step closer to tryany. What do you guys think?
Some of it isn't all that silly. It makes sense to have all your readily available information (stuff that can be found out about you just by going to the town hall and asking nicely) in one database.
But it DOESN'T make sense to have stuff like your commercial spending habits and things like that. That's just weird.
And what the heck were they thinking when they called it "Matrix?" Do they KNOW how many "It is a prison for your mind" references they'll have to put up with?
Smells like a hoax to me. But maybe that's just because, as Dragonrose mentioned, I can't believe they'd be stupid enough to call it "Maxtrix".
Hmmm...i think im against it. It is an invasion of your privacy
Redwall: this is quite real, it's been in the news (what little information they'll let the public have that is) for quite some time, and yes, it really is called the matrix.
There is no one more dead set agenst this then I. I am a law abiding citizen, I am a member of the workforce contributing to society, I pay my taxes and I'm generally an all around good guy.
I do not wan the government keeping track of how much and what kind of porn I buy, how much I drink, how often I buy condoms, how many traffic tickets I've gotten or any financial trouble I've been in and then packaging it up in a nice, neat commercial database that will be exploited and used agenst me just as fast as the money can change secret numbered accounts. Power currupts and absolute power currupts absolutely. This database would equal absolute power over the common citizen from the government.
Doesn't sound a whole lot like a democracy to me. Not to sound cliche: but this has 1984 written all over it.
C.
I really don't understand. My gullibility has already been proven in another thread, and I guess I'll know prove my naiveté, but... isn't this just plain un-constitucional, being a violation of privacy?
When I went to San Jose last week, I was amused as I flew in to SFO to have the Department of Homeland Secuirty video with Tom Ridge explaining that having my fingerprints taken by US Immigration protects my privacy.... I explained my thoughts on the matter to the immigration official and I must say that he was very good about it and the body cavity search was done quite gently.
Sometimes it would be handy for records to be linked. I found out in December that part of the Inland Revenue knew who my wife was and where she lived, but another part did not. This had meant that they were trying to charge her too much tax. It also apparetnly takes weeks for them to update their computer systems with the info. On the other hand, I wouldn't want my medical info in the same database as anything else, etc. But then , let's be realistic, credit reference agencies, insurance companies, etc often have far more info about you than the government does, and they aren't even vaguely democratically accountable.
Well... If this law passes it is safe to say that Americans are totally screwed.
And I'm not trying to be funny by saying that. Note the complete lack of smilies.
Although I agree with SSH that they will only be compiling information about you that's already out there, collecting all information in one place makes for a VERY vulnerable system.
Or let me put it this way: The fun kind of goes out of Monopoly when one person owns all the streets.
Argh... No more nasty pr0n without being observed by some CIA agent...
Actually... who cares?
/me wonders if someone can go to jail for visiting bestiality.com...
When younger, I liked all those jokes that made american officials seem very stupid. Now I see it in reality. I hope this trend aswell don't extend to the EU...
The man will probably spend eight hundred billion on this 'Matrix' and never quite develop it towhere it would function on any kind of a usable level. Then they would cut the budget to five and a half bucks so they could spend the other seven hundred ninety-nine billion nine hundred ninety-nine million nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-four dollars and fifty cents on some kind of new nuclear doomsday device, code named Ice Cream Sandwich. Then cut the funding for I.C.S., raise the taxes and spend the compounded results on themselves in the form of pay raises, upgrades to their health benefits, and patting each onther on the back while saying things like, "well done," and "excellent job Bob."
"What? the land of the free?, whoever told you that is your enemy."
America is turning into what it fears, facist. I'll bet they'll pay extra attention to "immigrants".
I see riots if this passes, if not MAKE ONE!!
I'm worried that Britain might copy it, like we always do.
Just noticed something about that document. It's an interesting read - for effectiveness, it basically states the same things many times over. Here's a summary of the paragraphs.
***
Matrix will end your privacy
You are paying for this monstruosity
Matrix will end your privacy
Matrix will end your privacy
You are paying for this monstruosity
Matrix will end your privacy
You are paying for this monstruosity
Matrix is MADE for ending your privacy
***
That said, it is very effective. It hammers the same basic points many times, but in different ways and different approaches. I, for one, found it quite interesting.
EDIT - Bleh. And as a result, I made a post in which I kept repearing how effective and interesting it was. :P
I noticed the same thing while reading, I just didn't give it that much attention... but the whole article could have been just three or four paragraphs very easily.
Thats from where I copyed it at the ACLU site, the bottom half was bullets and you cant copy bullets into the forum, but it is kind of repetative, but its for a good reason, althought the constitution does not state privacy at all, the supreme court ruled in Roe Verses Wade that it is our constitutional right to privacy.
Interesting...
So that's why the Republicans are against abortion.
If they overturn Roe vs Wade they also overturn that ruling on the 14th amendment about the right to privacy.
It's all coming together.
I'm just waiting for slavery to make a return, and prohibition to come into law once again. That way, our reversion into the dark ages will be complete.