Real ID, the Patriot Act, and the Funeral of Your Privacy

Oh, don’t act surprised. We were warned—loudly, clearly, and repeatedly. Orwell handed us the script back in 1949 with 1984, a chilling tale about a dystopian future ruled by tyrants armed with technology. The only thing he got wrong? The date. He was off by a few decades. Welcome to the show.

Then came Ted Kaczynski—yes, the Unabomber—whose 1995 manifesto Industrial Society and Its Future actually predicted with disturbing precision where this tech-obsessed world was headed. Sure, he mailed bombs (horrific, wrong, and indefensible), but buried in that 35,000-word screed were truths that our Silicon Valley overlords would prefer you ignore.

Fast forward to 2013. Edward Snowden peeled back the curtain and confirmed what Orwell and Kaczynski both hinted at: the government is watching you. All of you. All the time. The NSA was hoarding your phone records, digging through your emails, cozying up with big tech under the warm blanket of “national security.” The public screamed, Congress clutched its pearls, and then—poof—nothing changed. The programs didn’t end. They evolved, quietly, like a virus with a better PR team.

Enter Real ID—because apparently, the government didn’t know enough about you already. Now, if you want to fly or walk into a federal building, you’ll need your government-approved tracking badge with a shiny star. Why? Because the state needs your “valid” home address. They don’t want to just know who you are—they want to know exactly where you sleep at night.

Remember when driver’s licenses had no photos? When Social Security cards said “Not to be used for identification”? Those were quaint little relics of freedom—back when Americans were citizens, not livestock with barcodes.

And don’t get cute with burner phones. The feds can trace those right back to the 7-Eleven where you bought them. They’ll pull security footage, tag your face, grab your license plate, and follow you home like it’s a hobby.

This isn’t about safety. It’s about control. And guess what? It’s only getting worse. Technology isn’t liberating us—it’s forging our chains. And Americans? Oh, they’re too busy scrolling and swiping to notice the prison being built around them—one app, one camera, one “convenience” at a time.

As for me? Keep your Real ID. I already have a passport, and that’s all the ID I’ll ever need. I won’t pay for my own surveillance.

Let the sheep line up. I’m walking the other way.

Rebecca Grossman Jury Misconduct is Unraveling

Van Nuys, CA—In every trial jurors are strongly admonished by the Judge to avoid press reports either broadcast, print or Internet.  I learned a long time ago that nearly 100% of the jurors ignore that admonishment doing what they damn well please.  With the Internet it’s so much easier for them to stray.  

It’s not normally a crime per se, but you can be held in contempt for any violation of that kind.  Contempt of court is usually not a big deal, but anyone covering it up or lying about it under oath is looking at a likely felony prison term.  

Investigating that activity was formerly very difficult but because of changes it is not. Such investigations are now doable, but time-consuming.  ISP data shows what websites and the length of the visits.  For any Grossman jurors caught in the dragnet it’s going to be a very nasty.  

I suggest that every Juror on the Grossman case contact the court and come clean while on this while they still can.  The ISP identification numbers on their smartphones and home devices have given them away.  

Jurors can look forward to subpoenas and examination by the court.  By then the penalties will be much more punitive.  It goes back to that old saying, the coverup is always much greater than the original crime.  Again, come clean while you still can.  It will be a lot cheaper than hiring lawyers.