4 ms·

I think the government is fundamentally different than a private company or semi-public utility. Their control of law enforcement and military forces are the mo

I think the government is fundamentally different than a private company or semi-public utility. Their control of law enforcement and military forces are the most relevant here.

chris_mahan 13y ago
Which is why the Bill of Rights in the Constitution is so important, because there is no way for the citizenry to force the government to act or not act. The armed forces and law enforcement swear to uphold the Constitution for that reason.
- ballard 13y ago
  The last bit is the key point. There is zero accountability: it's asking the fox to guard the hen house. Mumbling words soon forgotten that can't be said with a straight face. In short: it's a real accountability gap by the people that preach ostensible "accountability" and "transparency." USG needs a 4th branch made of veterans, privacy and industry leaders (people that are both sharp and straight shooters) that have total access to surprise audit, defund and compel changes to any secret program. The only goal is to change behavior to "I probably shouldn't do [horrible thing] because [people more powerful than my CO/president] will find out." Even if it's just a phony whitehouse press release by the Yes Men.
ballard 13y ago
The government's monopoly on legal violence delegated to police and military (which are starting to blur together) + ubiquitous spying capabilities only bounded by technology limits, finding clearance-passable bodies to wade through mountain ranges of data, keeping the lies plausibly deniable in front of Congress and containing waste of a sprawling bureacracy + modern, horrible pattern of exceptionalism: disregarding any sense of morality, decency and/or due-process + USG executive branch's de-facto dominant power position = I'd agree at least until a single corporation has a market cap > 100% USG FY budget and/or the USG runs out of credit. Both seem essentially inevitable. (beware when private edifices and "defensive" capabilities rival the state's)

I think the government is fundamentally different than a private company or semi-public utility. Their control of law enforcement and military forces are the most relevant here.

chris_mahan 13y ago

Which is why the Bill of Rights in the Constitution is so important, because there is no way for the citizenry to force the government to act or not act. The armed forces and law enforcement swear to uphold the Constitution for that reason.

ballard 13y ago
The last bit is the key point. There is zero accountability: it's asking the fox to guard the hen house. Mumbling words soon forgotten that can't be said with a straight face. In short: it's a real accountability gap by the people that preach ostensible "accountability" and "transparency." USG needs a 4th branch made of veterans, privacy and industry leaders (people that are both sharp and straight shooters) that have total access to surprise audit, defund and compel changes to any secret program. The only goal is to change behavior to "I probably shouldn't do [horrible thing] because [people more powerful than my CO/president] will find out." Even if it's just a phony whitehouse press release by the Yes Men.

ballard 13y ago

The government's monopoly on legal violence delegated to police and military (which are starting to blur together) + ubiquitous spying capabilities only bounded by technology limits, finding clearance-passable bodies to wade through mountain ranges of data, keeping the lies plausibly deniable in front of Congress and containing waste of a sprawling bureacracy + modern, horrible pattern of exceptionalism: disregarding any sense of morality, decency and/or due-process + USG executive branch's de-facto dominant power position = I'd agree at least until a single corporation has a market cap > 100% USG FY budget and/or the USG runs out of credit. Both seem essentially inevitable. (beware when private edifices and "defensive" capabilities rival the state's)