Category Archives: Old Posts

Miscellaneous items of interest.

March 15, 2023 SnyderTalk—The U.S. Government is Moving into Dangerous Territory

“Seek Yahweh while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to Yahweh, and He will have compassion on him. Turn to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon.”

Isaiah 55: 6-7

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The U.S. Government is Moving into Dangerous Territory

See “Massive Abuses of Government Power: Urgent Reform Needed of Data Privacy and Collection”:

  • [T]he NSA’s surveillance network “has the capacity to reach roughly 75% of all U.S. Internet traffic”… the NSA, working with the FBI, engaged in the bulk collection of phone records of U.S. citizens’ phone records. Other programs may allow for data collection from Google, Facebook, YouTube and other platforms. These are the alleged capabilities that have been leaked to the media and government watchdog groups. One can only imagine what the federal government’s more secretive and advanced programs might be capable of collecting.
  • We also must consider data collected by the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and from our constellation of spy satellites.
  • Then there are the other federal security and surveillance agencies such as the FBI, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security and the Internal Revenue Service, to name but a few.
  • [I]t is time for Congress to fully update the laws surrounding data collection and privacy. This also would give us the ability to see what still works, determine best practices to protect American security and civil liberties, and to end the things that do not — especially those that leave open a backdoor for abuse.
  • [W]e must examine whether the government has deferred to the rights of American citizens, or has utilized perceived openings to expand its reach and power.
  • Law enforcement has acted in a way that enhances its capabilities and erodes the rights of American citizens. Three examples include the FBI’s use of Section 215, where the FBI can get secret court orders for business records.
  • A second example is the use given the FBI of National Security Letters (NSLs). These can be issued by the FBI without a court order. The use of NSLs has expanded massively. In 2000, about 8,500 NSLs were issued. From 2003-2006 that number increased to 192,000. “Sneak and peek” warrants are also now being used more extensively. Without any notification, these allow law enforcement to raid and search someone’s home and computers, among other private property. The target may not be notified of the search for months.
  • In an investigation involving conservative attorney Victoria Toensing, the FBI used the sneak and peek authorization to gain access to personal records without notifying her, even though she was not a target of any investigation. After 18 months, the Justice Department notified her the case was being closed without ever identifying who was being investigated or even what the issue being investigated was.
  • With the advent of new technologies, and passage of legislation after 9/11 that possibly has not aged well, the legal framework protecting American citizens’ rights has been shredded. It seems abundantly clear that our government at multiple levels likely abused its powers, and the Select Subcommittee on Weaponization has a tremendous opportunity to set things right.

Things like that coupled with the government’s desire to move toward something like a cryptocurrency will give the government power over us that is unimaginable.

I’m not saying that the scenario I foresee will come to fruition. I’m simply saying that the government is moving ahead simultaneously with massive data collection and with changes in currency that resemble cryptocurrency.

The rest is speculation. Resistance to government actions can stall movement or cause the government to change course.

I know how to speculate without joining the wackos. I have a PhD degree in business strategy. Simply speaking, business strategy is about acting now to take advantage of opportunities in the future. The essence of wise business strategy is the skill to speculate wisely.

Business strategy is like an art or a craftsman’s skill. It’s developed over time with practice and hard work. That’s what I have been doing for the past 47 years.

Take it for what it’s worth.

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“I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”

John 10: 14-18

See “His Name is Yahweh”.