by Karl Denninger, Market Ticker:

Is it 1984 yet?

Oh wait…. we’re a bit past there….

The Department of Homeland Security wants to track the comings and going of journalists, bloggers and other “media influencers” through a database.

The DHS’s “Media Monitoring” plan, which was first reported by FedBizOpps.gov, would give the contracting company “24/7 access to a password protected, media influencer database, including journalists, editors, correspondents, social media influencers, bloggers etc.” in order to “identify any and all media coverage related to the Department of Homeland Security or a particular event.”

Naw, there’s nothing wrong with this.

Trust us, this won’t be abused to…. disappear someone they don’t like.

Or lots of someones.

Oh, it’s not just content either. It’s reach (who you reach), geographical spread, etc. — with weekly overview “dashboards” sent via email, along with “alert” functionality.

And not just on a desktop either. Mobile app required, with push notifications.

‘Cause when they’re about to kick your door in it’s real important to see the latest updates “from the field.”

Oh, and the deadline for completion?

Online within 5 business days of handing out the contract which means it already has been built and is operating right now, but you haven’t been told one thing about this, there has been no public debate or disclosure, and someone, or a bunch of someones, already have it running and vacuuming up the data — including the mobile component complete with push notifications.

In other words the option to stop this through peaceful political activity has already expired, the weapon has already been built, tested and is in use right now, almost-certainly by multiple parties without any disclosure or political debate. The scope of work laid forth constitutes tens if not hundreds of man-years of effort at minimum; it is not a trivial undertaking.

Someone, or more-likely a bunch of someones, has expended millions if not tens of millions of dollars, or even more, building this weapon and they have done so in complete secrecy with foreknowledge that this “bid” would then be solicited for their work and thus they would be able to be paid for same. It is flat-out impossible to conclude otherwise given the contents of the request and deliverable deadlines.

It is 100% certain that all of the existing “social media” platforms know about this and have already executed whatever “agreements” were necessary with the government for this weapon to be built, tested and be able to operate.

Every single one of those firms and every employee therein with knowledge of this, which have to number in the hundreds if not thousands, have remained silent during its development. What leverage (threats) was used to keep all of said people quiet?

Congratulations folks; it’s time to give up any pretense that any sort of truly independent media will be allowed to exist in America, ever again.

The NRA and other organizations, along with individuals, have for decades allowed the pretense to continue that the 2nd Amendment doesn’t need to mean what it actually says. The lie that the 2nd Amendment is mostly about hunting or even defense of one’s person against a singular rapist or home invader is popular, pressed by such organizations along with politicians including Donald Trump and is factually dead wrong. At the time the 2nd Amendment was written the founders had just finished doing the unthinkable — taking up arms against a rogue government and driving it out, and many of them had died or been rendered penniless in the process. The founders knew the only deterrence against this sort of event ever happening again in the future was for the people at large to individually own weapons of reasonable parity with those that an oppressing government would possess.

They won because they had them, including rifles of military grade and a few even had the means to buy, and did, own canon.

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