All Comments on 'Gerry Government and His Telescope'

Your story, while kinky, has no basis in reality. Taking pictures of license plates when someone runs a red light is a far cry from burning down someone's house if they break some sort of "moral rules" you think exist. Your essay contributes nothing of use to the debate on government's role in everyday life.

I don't know what to say, sack. ~Imp

I'm glad this has no basis in reality...for the moment. (at least in the US!) Have you forgotten the "elimination" of 6 million jews because they were not up to the moral and ethical standards of Hitler's regime? And the odd circumstances surrounding the fire in Waco, Texas? Fiction is sometimes not as far from the truth as you would think!

Personal privacy is one of the biggest issues facing us today but hell, I had to give you a 5 just for entering, something I thought you told me once you weren't going to do;) Nice job Sack! Join of the world of anonymous comments calling you a moron but offering nothing to rebut anything you've said. It's too bad because it's so easy to argue both sides of any issue by people of conviction.

For those who berate this tale as ludicrously over reactive, five years ago who would have ever thought the Congress would openly and publicly promote legislation infringing on the freedom of speech guaranteed inviolable by the Constitution? Yet, thanks to John McCain and Russ Feingold who so proudly and publicly sponsored the legislation and George W. Bush who signed it into law, we now have legislation on the books and upheld by the Supreme COurt which allows government censoring of certain political speech when it falls within a specified time fame of an election. The Republicans and Conservatives who have so adamantly argued over the years that the free speech provision of the Constitution was intended to protect political speech but not the smut of pornography were among the supporters of this vicious attack on our most basic freedoms.

In a democracy, there's this thing called elections. Unfortunately, far too few people in the US participate in it. In a democracy, the people are the sovereign, the government acts out that sovereignty on behalf of the people. If a government ever becomes the way you describe, it is not because "the government" is an evil, power-hungry entity. It is because THE PEOPLE handed it that power on a silver plate to great applause. Gerry Government isn't Gerry Government. He's John Doe next door.

Pretty funny way to look at the slow (or sometimes fast) encroachment by government into privacy. As has been pointed out by many others before me, it was only 35 years ago that JFK, a Catholic, was assuring the public that he would not be taking his marching orders from the Vatican. These days, a desire to legislatate your moral beliefs seems almost a requirement for office.

This story is right on target. Our freedoms are eroding, and we are letting it happen. If you are really interested in making a difference, join a local chapter of Electronic Freedom Foundation. There is a little known law written in the 60's that was written by a government official(Senator or Governor) from West Virginia, last name was Warner I believe, that encouraged 'behavior modification' programs of the population. Scary?

As always, sack.

10/10 !!

Well written, although (not yet) believable. Thanx, Sack

that such a thing is not unthinkable.

I think today I will have a kinky biracial homosexual affair~just to get it out of my system before it's too late!

Not too long ago the Comcast cable company announced that to 'protect' youngsters, the new cable boxes would have a camera like the ones in cell phones to check only adults were ordering adult pay per view... not a stretch to imagine the gov't monitoring us, for our protection, of course.

Only the bad people are against protection, right? Besides, a good citizen has nothing to hide. So, unless everyone is monitored 24/7, the terrorists win... "1984" is a state of mind.