It's been a while since I had a good story about Das Überwachenden. They've been fairly quiet lately. Or perhaps it might be more accurate to say that they've been less visible. Das Überwachenden never sleep.
So what are our Big Brother wannabees up to now? As one of Il Duce's henchmen said some months ago, "Never let a good crisis go to waste." Toyota is having bigtime problems with their vehicles. Not quite a crisis, but good enough for Uncle.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief David Strickland told a congressional hearing on Thursday that the regulator is considering whether to make "black boxes" mandatory for all new vehicles.They can capture speed? They can capture speed?!?!?!?!? Oh God no!
The devices can capture data on speed, braking effort and other details which can be vital in reconstructing accidents.
As the chagrined recipient of well over 30 speeding tickets in almost 37 years of driving, the LAST THING I want is Uncle Sam or Aunt Maryland keeping tabs on how fast I drive. They implement these black boxes and I might as well turn in my license.
Okay, all joking aside, I'm never surprised at the lengths government will go to in order to spy on its own people. Any flimsy excuse will do.
"Land of the free, home of the brave"? I think not.
