6 ms·

Secrecy is key. In any conceivable circumstance, where one branch of government operates in total secrecy from the other two, the spirit, at least, if not (but

Secrecy is key. In any conceivable circumstance, where one branch of government operates in total secrecy from the other two, the spirit, at least, if not (but most likely) the letter of the Constitution and its explicit power checks have been violated. When one starts writing and interpreting its own laws in secret from the other two, well... I don't see how it amounts to anything less than a (non-violent?) coup, where one branch has gone completely rogue. But as time and again, no heads will roll, no one will go to prison for making the Free World significantly less free. And I'm pretty sure domestic surveillance now is significantly more advanced than it was back when this letter was written. Is there anything left to hold on to? Edit: I should stop reading. I'm starting to believe that ignorance is indeed bliss.

deleted 11y ago
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AnthonyMouse 11y ago
These things have clear patterns. King George abuses his subjects so they kick him out and adopt a constitution prohibiting the things he did. From time to time, usually in response to some kind of hyped up threat, they crop back up. Hoover's FBI, The House Un-American Activities Committee, Nixon and now the response to 9/11. They go too far and eventually get shut down, but often not before a decade or more. Then we try to pass a law to prevent what they did from happening again, hopefully this time learning from our mistakes and making the law against it airtight. Our major mistake last time seems to have been allowing the process to be secret.
- matt_wulfeck 11y ago
  > Then we try to pass a law to prevent what they did from happening again, hopefully this time learning from our mistakes and making the law against it airtight. We have evidence in countries like North Korea that government can keep total power and control against their population for a very long time. I know you don't intend it to be, but your response seems kind of like a "things will sort themselves out so let's not worry ourselves". It's this sort of apathetic response to wrongdoing that is the precursor to many evils in history.
  - AnthonyMouse 11y ago
    You're right, it's quite the opposite. This has happened before and now we have to do it again, but we actually have to do it again -- we now have to stop it and pass new laws against it and hopefully do better this time. In other words, it's likely to happen, but only if we don't say "it's likely to happen" and then not try to make it happen because we assume it's inevitable. The fact that your side is right and usually wins in the end doesn't mean you can win without fighting. We still need to raise hell until the work is done. "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance."
  - kabdib 11y ago
    The oppression in NK is one of the things that the second amendment is for. As it stands, the people of NK have no options. Arms in the hands of citizens is not a guarantee against abject oppression, but it's a deterrent. Banning general ownership of arms is a step that a despot must take. Naturally, a lot of people think the insurance is not worth the risk. And at the level of national politics it can be hard to separate the honestly concerned, the secretly malicious, and the useful idiots. ---- With crypto, it's pretty easy. The folks who want to ban crypto have an agenda to spy and control, or they are co-opted. Well, there are also a few useful idiots, too . . . .
nitrogen 11y ago
I should stop reading. I'm starting to believe that ignorance is indeed bliss. Ignorance is only bliss until your well-intentioned life accidentally runs into a law you didn't know existed that is now too late to change.

deleted 11y ago

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AnthonyMouse 11y ago

These things have clear patterns. King George abuses his subjects so they kick him out and adopt a constitution prohibiting the things he did. From time to time, usually in response to some kind of hyped up threat, they crop back up. Hoover's FBI, The House Un-American Activities Committee, Nixon and now the response to 9/11. They go too far and eventually get shut down, but often not before a decade or more. Then we try to pass a law to prevent what they did from happening again, hopefully this time learning from our mistakes and making the law against it airtight. Our major mistake last time seems to have been allowing the process to be secret.

matt_wulfeck 11y ago
> Then we try to pass a law to prevent what they did from happening again, hopefully this time learning from our mistakes and making the law against it airtight. We have evidence in countries like North Korea that government can keep total power and control against their population for a very long time. I know you don't intend it to be, but your response seems kind of like a "things will sort themselves out so let's not worry ourselves". It's this sort of apathetic response to wrongdoing that is the precursor to many evils in history.
- AnthonyMouse 11y ago
  You're right, it's quite the opposite. This has happened before and now we have to do it again, but we actually have to do it again -- we now have to stop it and pass new laws against it and hopefully do better this time. In other words, it's likely to happen, but only if we don't say "it's likely to happen" and then not try to make it happen because we assume it's inevitable. The fact that your side is right and usually wins in the end doesn't mean you can win without fighting. We still need to raise hell until the work is done. "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance."
- kabdib 11y ago
  The oppression in NK is one of the things that the second amendment is for. As it stands, the people of NK have no options. Arms in the hands of citizens is not a guarantee against abject oppression, but it's a deterrent. Banning general ownership of arms is a step that a despot must take. Naturally, a lot of people think the insurance is not worth the risk. And at the level of national politics it can be hard to separate the honestly concerned, the secretly malicious, and the useful idiots. ---- With crypto, it's pretty easy. The folks who want to ban crypto have an agenda to spy and control, or they are co-opted. Well, there are also a few useful idiots, too . . . .

nitrogen 11y ago

I should stop reading. I'm starting to believe that ignorance is indeed bliss. Ignorance is only bliss until your well-intentioned life accidentally runs into a law you didn't know existed that is now too late to change.