Government is watching

The Orange County (Calif.) Register: In the post-9/11 world, our government spies on us. A once-unfathomable concept has now become almost expected for the average American. Many rationalize this imbalance favoring security over privacy with the assumption that if they have nothing to hide, they have nothing to worry about.

However, it continues to surprise just how often, and when, the government chooses to intrude on everyday life. News of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s mass surveillance program is only the most recent reminder of the extent to which everyone is being watched.

A license-plate tracking system originally conceived to keep tabs on gun runners and drug traffickers along the southern border has morphed into a nationwide compendium of America’s highways and byways, and those who use them.