Why the Trump era is the perfect time to go long on freedom and short on surveillance

Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/01/12/why-the-trump-era-is-the-perfe.html

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Until privacy itself becomes probable cause.

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Is it not already considered suspicious to turn off your phone?

I mean, other than briefly for system updates, isn’t turning off your phone for hours or days at a time seen to be prima facie evidence of skullduggery :question:

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If the Trump presidency becomes the fascist shitstorm that it is sizing up to be, it will tarnish the Republican brand for years if not decades. I am predicting some serious buyer’s remorse in the next few years as we are moving in the direction of being serfs to the one percent.

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No it won’t. The Republican brand is already tarnished and that’s why most straight-ticket Republicans call themselves “independents” or “Tea Partiers” (even though anyone out of that bubble sees it as the Astroturf it always was) or “Libertarians”.

The GOP won’t see any significant pushback, no matter how deep the grift. They’ll just say Trump didn’t follow their “values” and call him a New York Democrat in disguise.

Bush didn’t kill the GOP, Trump won’t either.

The GOP will remain enriched and in power and there will be zero pushback from within, because guns and abortion and “emails”.

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Probably cause? No, the trajectory is towards privacy being flat out illegal.

It will be like the DMCA. Breaking your surveillance will be punishable. This way there is no technological war to be fought. All they will have to say is trying to avoid surveillance is illegal.

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Which is precisely why people should adopt a widespread practice of turning off their phone at random times for random durations. A half hour here, and hour there… for no reason other than to create noise.

Someone should write a phone app that periodically suggests doing so.

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Well, then I might be in trouble. I regularly let my battery drain and don’t realize it until I need to make a call on Monday morning.

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Damn fine idea, good sir, especially the suggestion of an app for that. I like the way you think.

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Because when it’s peons in court, criminality can be safely assumed (“intent to distribute”).

It’s only when the aristocracy are challenged that we need to prove intent to a psychic degree (pretty much every corporate fraud and negligence case ever).

Chelsea Manning will die in prison if not belatedly rescued by Obama. A horrific percentage of Black America are spending decades as an imprisoned workforce. Meanwhile, the people who caused the GFC, the people responsible for Deepwater Horizon, the people who poisoned Flint…they’re not just walking free, they’re richer than ever.

And that whole situation is about to get much worse.

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The one redeeming grace may be that Trump is literally too stupid to manipulate or use the CIA and NSA effectively. He’ll rile up the security services to the point that they leak against him in order to get rid of him.

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Or using Tor… Or not having an active social media life…

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Of course, he doesn’t need to do so… these organizations already function just fine… he just has to ask for reports on what he wants.

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