[Editor’s Note: The following post is by Jim Karger, TDV legal correspondent]

By 2014, the US Department of Homeland Security will be able to scan you at the molecular level from 164 feet, and you won't even know it. Starting 2013, the US Department of the Treasury will be able to scan every bank and brokerage account you have in the world, save a few possibilities. In both cases, if the government doesn't like what it sees, they can make short work of you and your money.

Hello from Spokane, Washington,

I flew in a few nights ago through Mexico City and then San Francisco.  In SF I was forced at gunpoint to explain my reasons for being there.  The 20-something kid with a buzz cut looked me up and down and asked, "Who are you here to see?"  I replied, "No one."  He leered up.  "What are you here to do?"  I replied blankly again, "Conference".

He then began to type in the computer for about 20 minutes.  I can't even imagine what he was writing as I had only said two words... I'm not sure how that can be turned into a book.  But he typed away for what seemed like an eternity and then gave me my passport, "You can go."

Quick, can you name all the people who were in the room when you were born? Could you give the name and number of every supervisor you've ever had? Or tell me the address or addresses of both your parents one year before your birth?

If you have trouble answering any of the above questions, then the US government may deny you a new US passport. And simply in order to apply, you may be asked to divulge some extremely personal information, though I can't imagine any good reason the government needs to know whether or not you were circumcised.

PapersPlease.com reports: 

[Editor’s Note: The following post is by TDV contributor, Wendy McElroy]

I am not talking about spousal abuse. I mean the abuse heaped upon you by the United States government. The parallels are striking.