Orwellian

This time there's no exaggeration.

This news article in the UK Daily Express brings to our attention plans by the British government to wire 20,000 households with closed circuit television cameras. Familes will be closely monitored to make sure that they are raising their children in the proper manner. Private security guards will make regular on-the-spot checks.

What will happen if a parent does not provide a home environment that aligns with government policy is unknown to me.

The idea is to change unhealthy homes so that the kids won’t fall into a life of crime. I’m sure that the UK government will only target familes where the parents have been acting up enough so they have come to the attention of the police. Or, at least, only chaotic homes will be targeted right now. What the future holds, who knows?

There are two underlying issues that really worry me.

The first is that crime, particularly youth crime, is so out of control in the UK that the government thinks it is justified in placing electronic eyes inside of private homes. After all, if it wasn’t en emergency, why spend hundreds of millions of pounds for projects like this? It certainly discredits government claims that crime is actually falling.

The second issue is the private security guards that will willfully enter private homes. Private security is now acting under the authority of the state? And in such a broad and undefined manner? How come it isn’t obvious that this is a really, really bad idea?

Ah, the state bringing back moral hygiene and this time using modern surveillance to ensure compliance.

And you gotta love the outsourcing of critical, invasive, government functions to a private company. Says interesting things about the reach of the UK state and its grasp.

Don't think that the US is immune.

Remember when Obama decried the "politics of fear"?

Change!

Scary chain emails and videos are starting to percolate on the internet, breathlessly claiming, for example, to "uncover" the truth about the President’s health insurance reform positions.

...Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.

(emphasis mine)

Now keep in mind, a lot of what people will term 'lies' are merely policy difference. Either way, Obama and his apparatchiks want to know about it. Personally, I'll be sending in that Linda Douglas video from below since she's lying about what Obama actually said.

Given this President's unseemly propencity for going after individual citizens (Limbaugh* and Crowley come to mind) not to mention the media's willingness to vet the hell out anyone who actual dares to question Obama (hello Joe the Plumber) this is more than a little creepy. It's also excellent fodder for the "imagine if Republicans had done this" file.

To mention another totalitarian movie. Suspicion breeds confidence!

Nice how dissident goes from being patriotic to snitch-worthy.