It just might be time to have a little fun with the NSA

With all the news about the NSA spying on us (in just about every way imaginable) it might be time to have a little fun with it.

Supposedly one of the things being used are supercomputers to break encryption.  Suppose folks started encrypting messages with portions of The Constitution and The Bill of Rights, encrypting them, and sending them to friends?  Even mundane things like "How's the weather there today?" Can you imagine the number of pissed off wanna be spooks when they decrypt and read a message like that?

If you really wanted to have some fun, type a bunch of gibberish and then encrypt it so it looks like an encrypted message within an encrypted message,  That would drive them nuts.

 I think I may have to start doing some of this  :-)

What A Difference A Day Makes

Yesterday I posted my opinion that we would never have checkpoints where we would be told "Your Papers, Please" because checkpoints aren't needed as our cars and cellphones tattle on us about where we've been.

Today's revelations about NSA's PRISM Program makes it even worse.  Intercepting our emails, voice, texts ... hell, the NSA knows not only where we've been but where we're going.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/prism-collection-documents/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/07/prism-tech-giants-shock-nsa-data-mining

It's even worse than I thought.

Why American's Will Never Hear "Your papers, Please" here in the U.S.

In this article from The Guardian (UK) Newspaper, it is reported that the NSA is collecting ALL data on phone calls.  Not conversations, but the metadata (read the article).   Couple that with NSA's new Data Center and ability to capture "the complete contents of private emails, cell phone calls, and Google searches" (quote from this article ). So basically ALL of your electronic communications are going to be captured and stored. Let's not even mention Cops using your cell phone GPS data to track where you've been.

What about your travels?  Our country is more and more being covered with traffic cameras, red light cameras, even cameras coupled with radar to catch speeders. Enter the Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) and it's ability to capture images of passing license plates, and police agencies who store the data indefinitely. Story here.

Most new cars now come standard with satellite GPS.  Do you think it's only one way? Cars are Bluetooth enabled, Satellite Equipped (OnStar & the like), and over 90% have "black boxes".

While the unconstitutional (in my opinion) DUI checkpoints are an established fact of life, unlike Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany, we don't have to worry about checkpoints where we show ID and tell where we've been and where we're going. 

Our cars and phones are telling on us.

Happy Easter

More GMO food coming to your table

Apparently, the US Senate feels getting GMO foods on your table is more important than making sure they are safe.

Read the story here

The Gun Control Vote Is Happening!

President Obama's new catch phrase is "Gun control deserves a vote."  He uttered it at the State of the Union Address, he's been saying it in all his stump speeches as he travels the country to push his gun control agenda.

Hey Barack, take a look around the country! People are voting on gun control every day! They are voting with their wallets by buying up the inventory of available firearms and ammo all over the country.  They are voting with their feet by spending hours in lines at gun shows hoping to find what they are looking for.  Manufacturers are voting by letting State and Local governments know that if anti-gun measures are passed they will move their operations to more gun friendly locations.

So Barack, the gun control vote is happening! And BTW, your side is losing!

Zombies

Did you ever consider that while many of us "normal folks" think of the government as being full of a bunch of zombies, that maybe that is how they look at us?

Maybe it's a good thing Obama won...

Given all the furor right now over banning "Assault Rifles", can you imagine what might happen if we had a "friend" in the White House?

Mitt Romney is no conservative, nor is he a friend of the 2nd Amendment or the Right To Keep and Bear Arms.  Check his record in Massachusetts.  MA has very restrictive gun laws.  Had Romney been elected, I think a new AW Ban would be on the fast track.  After all, he's a Republican, right? He favored the original AW Ban.  So if he's in favor of it, it must not be a bad thing!

Sometimes when things don't go the way we wanted, it is really for the better!

YEAH Niners!

So the San Francisco 49ers are going to the Super Bowl!  It's been a long time coming for the Niners to return! Congrats to The San Francisco 49ers!

What is a "Prepper"?

Or maybe I should ask, "What do you think when someone is called a Prepper?"

I find it interesting that many people think of a person preparing for "The End Of The World As We Know It (TEOTWAWKI)."  I think this negative connotation has been brought about by the images presented by the media.

Think about something.  The person who makes the maximum contribution allowed to their 401(k) plan, has a little in a savings account, a little more in mutual funds and maybe even other diverse investments will tell you they are planning for their retirement.  Aren't they prepping? Aren't they preparing for the day when their income from employment (self or otherwise) disappears?

What about the advice we are giving from our government?  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommends everyone have a 3 day supply of food and potable water, along with a radio, flashlights and batteries for them.  Wouldn't the person making sure they have that and all in working order, be considered a "Prepper"? Maybe a "Prepper Light".  :-)

When you go to the grocery store aren't you "prepping" in that you're laying in enough supplies until the next trip?  For most folks this is done on a payday cycle.  Wouldn't that be "micro-prepping"?

I believe a lot of the negative connotation surrounding being a prepper these days is brought about by shows such as "Doomsday Preppers" and news stories of folks who are stockpiling food and ammo for a catastrophic event.  Despite what the shows and reports may portray, these people are not wishing for the end of civilization.  But they're prepared if it happens.

Ask the folks recently impacted by Hurricane Sandy.  Many are still living in survival mode.  My sister was without power for 10 days.  She was fortunate in that she was able to stay with my step-mother during much of that time.  She did lose a lot of food because of the loss of refrigeration.    Others lost more, up to and including their homes. When a hurricane flattens your house, there's not too much you can do to prepare for or prevent that.  But when your house make it through the storm with little or no damage and you're losing food and having to stay elsewhere for lack of electricity, I bet a generator seems like a good idea.  When you're sitting in line for gas for hours, I bet you wished you had heeded the warning and filled up before the storm hit (and maybe filled a couple 5 gallon gas cans too). When you're looking for food & water in a store that's been stripped of items, I bet you wish you had bought a little extra every week and made a small stockpile.

No one can prepare for everything.  But a person can be prepared to take care of themself and their family, taking into account the types of disasters they might encounter where they live. It can be done a little at a time, without breaking the family budget.  Think about it, think about where you live and what you might encounter and plan accordingly.

To twist an old soft drink jingle, Wouldn't you like to be a prepper too? :-)