America: THE land of freedom, right? Well, economically speaking, we certainly are freer than most of the world, say countries like Somalia or North Korea. It terms of developed, civilized nations, we’re number 11.

Freedom Index 2016, Heritage.

Switzerland and Australia are numbers 4 and 5 under “free” by the way. Again, that’s economic freedom or the lack thereof – taxes, business regs, etc.

In terms of personal freedom America is nowhere near where it used to be. Those specific rights protected by the Constitution are all but a memory. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals just sided with the 5th, 6th and 11th Circuits to deep-six the Fourth Amendment and the protection against unreasonable searches of persons, papers, and things.

When law enforcement asks a company for cellphone records to track location data in an investigation, is that a search under the Fourth Amendment?

By a 12-3 vote, appellate court judges in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday ruled that it is not — and therefore does not require a warrant.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld what is known as the third-party doctrine: a legal theory suggesting that consumers who knowingly and willingly surrender information to third parties therefore have “no reasonable expectation of privacy” in that information — regardless of how much information there is, or how revealing it is.

Research clearly shows that cell-site location data collected over time can reveal a tremendous amount of personal information — like where you live, where you work, when you travel, who you meet with, and who you sleep with. And it’s impossible to make a call without giving up your location to the cellphone company.

This issue will likely make it to the high court one day where this precedent will be upheld. The developing theory is that no-one, outside of government criminals like Hillary Clinton, has any right or expectation to privacy – anywhere or regarding anything.

Google.

There are ways around such blatantly  Unconstitutional measures. However, the “law” has decided that taken such tactical precautions is evidence of wrong-doing all by itself. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Such measures also elude the technical capabilities of most people anyway.

The worn-out line of the sheep goes: “If you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about.” Two problems there: 1) you don’t know what they consider “wrong”, and; 2) how about when the government is wrong? What then? Move to a freer country? There are at least ten out there – one right next door to the U.S. Sit in your house and do absolutely nothing? That can be considered an indication of criminal intent or an invitation for a “welfare check-in” by the police.

The odds are you do not have anything to worry about. Obey the government in general, don’t make any waves, and they will probably leave you alone. Probably was not what the Founders had in mind with the Bill of Rights though. They desired protection from ALL government overreach.

Overreach is all the government does these days. I noted the other day that the FDA is out to kill off the cigar industry. The draconian regulations are about to begin. I’ve got a lot more coming on that soon. Please note thought, if you read my thoughts on a cellular device (or most any device) the cops may be watching. Worried about that? You should be…