Elder Abuse Of A Sort?

The last time I had a doctor's appointment, just a week or so ago, I was asked to come in early to do some paper work.  I figured it was the routine they do every year about making sure you address is the same as before, insurance, phone number - all that stuff.

But no.  It was four pages from medicare they were obliged to ask me to fill  out.  I raised a skeptical eyebrow as I read some of the questions like am I depressed, do I feel like taking my own life, and some that got really intrusive. Besides it was about the moment, short term, and I'm told it may happen every time I go in.  Why?

The gal at the desk was watching me.  "You can decline," she said. "Just write declined on each page."  I did just that.

Then when talking with the nurse who I know well enough and have a good relationship with asked me some really personal questions that I would have discussed with my doctor if I was so afflicted with symptoms or a condition.  Again I was told Medicare had directed them to ask.

It was government interference to the nth degree and I wasn't about to leave a signed paper trail for which who knows who would have access.  Big brotherism gone amok.

Now I see where in Obama's rush to inflict more gun restrictions, the people on Social Security may be prevented from buying a gun if incapable of handling their own finances.

I'm trying to connect the dots here.  First, at my age or minus ten years, if I'm going to have a gun I most likely already do. As far as finances are concerned I've had a lot of acquaintances far younger who "Could be in the club but couldn't be treasurer" because of their mathematical ineptitude. So nix that as a measure.

 Other boiler plate includes, subnormal intelligence or mental illness. Are we Social Security recipients the only ones with these maladies?  I haven't seen a senior citizen as a mass murderer of late, have you?

Incompetency, an unspecified condition or disease rounds out the qualifiers.  As determined by who?  The kids who want to rush us to an early grave?  Maybe the doctor who hasn't the heart to tell us he doesn't want us as a patient any more because Medicare doesn't reimburse enough to make us worthwhile?

Beware, its in the "mental health"  part of his latest executive over reach.

It's bad enough getting old and losing abilities like a slow dripping faucet.  I don't need the government sticking it's nose in my business, especially between me and my doctor, looking for information for what purpose?  So they, who one day will be in the same boat but aren't yet, can impose what they think is best for us?  Of course all those government types are well taken care of on our dollar so why should I expect understanding whats more common sense.

It isn't just about who can and who cannot buy a gun or who or who doesn't have to fill out mindless forms that will end up in the cloud waiting to be hacked.  It's about government sticking it's nose into every aspect of our lives whether or not we want it or need it but had best toe the mark or suffer the consequences.

It's going to be a very long year.

A Dogwalk Look Into The Future

A while back a reader, who works for a government agency, told me to be careful.  I was being watched.  For what? This blog? I find that hard to believe.

However, with the recent news, which really isn't "news", of phone record surveillance and now computer content oversight, I guess maybe I am.  Not the way the pundits were worrying themselves over on all the shows last evening.  Governmental data mining isn't looking for me personally, but rather whether or not the patterns of my activity might indicate I am a terror threat.

I doubt it.  I'm just an aging malcontent that is having trouble adjusting to a changing country.  Heck, every time I turn on my computer the information from the time  I sign on to the sites I visit go into someones data bank.  Why is everyone so surprised the government is doing it?  Are we more afraid of our government knowing as much about us as Google or Facebook?  I'll leave that as a question.

I will suggest this is nothing new.  It just gets massaged different ways depending what they want to know.  Since the President has told us the war on terror is no more, it's curious why this continues, but then we know the truth about that war, now don't we.

So what's down the road?  My crystal ball shows me something like the identity chip that was in my dog.  I expect before the next generation gets to be my age, similar chips will be placed in all of us at birth with the history of every preceding relative of the new born embedded in it.  "They" will be able to track every move we make from that point until death.  Unless we figure out how to disable it but there will be technology to prevent that from happening.  Just think what fun hackers will have when they figure out how to alter those chips to make us all electronic age Manchurian candidates.

Before that I wouldn't be surprised to see the national identity card become a reality.  After all the government already has access to the information we so fear them getting. Okay, if they make those cards a national driver's license I'd not mind.

I understand and don't disagree with a certain amount of flexibility to search data for patterns that might lead to a national security risk.  The problem is any such activity is open to abuse which is why it's making headlines now.  When we're told the government is so large and unwieldy at this point that the President can't possibly know what's going on I wonder why we need him?

Obviously we can't depend on our government officials - either hired, elected or appointed to act responsibly.  That being the case it seems a pretty good arguement for shrinking government back to a size of which the President can keep track.

Unfortunately that idea isn't appearing in my crystal ball no matter which party is controlling the computers.  I wonder what are adversaries are doing with their electronic skills. Are they ahead of us or behind us?  If they have their secret organizations and courts and permissions like or better than ours I wonder if they can make us switch our mind set?  Nah.  That won't come until the chips do.