After hearing President Obama assure us that the NSA employees monitoring our phone conversations are lovers of the U.S. Constitution, I released a great sigh of relief.  It is good to know that the people spying on us cherish our liberties.

This caused me to reflect on the many other ways our government is now acting to keep us safe.  I believe we can all come together as Americans and gratefully acknowledge the many government programs designed to promote and preserve individual liberty while protecting our lives.  After all, we wouldn’t want to lose any of our precious freedoms to evil terrorists, would we?

Perhaps you will join me in expressing my deeply felt gratitude for these new measures? 

Speaking for myself, I feel safer because:

1) The government encourages people to spy on one another and report suspicious activities to government authorities.  Some people don’t like nosiness, but surely prying into your neighbors’ private affairs is justified in fighting terrorism?  http://www.dhs.gov/if-you-see-something-say-something-campaign

2)  If a crime is committed in my town, martial law/”Shelter in Place” can be declared, utilizing our militarized police forces, the National Guard, or the US Military itself – or all three – to secure the criminal or criminals responsible while temporarily suspending the Fourth Amendment and thus the need for search warrants.  This makes for efficient and effective law enforcement. 

3)  American citizens may now be arrested and detained indefinitely without a writ of habeas corpus or a trial (if they are deemed “enemy combatants”).  We cannot be soft on possible terrorists.  Remember the serial killer who lived next door?  The same principle applies to potential terrorists. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Defense_Authorization_Act_for_Fiscal_Year_2012

4)  American citizens can now be executed without a trial or public oversight.  Trials can be messy and reveal things better left unrevealed. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/05/us-targeted-killings-eric-holder_n_1320515.html

5)  The Department of Homeland Security has purchased over a billion rounds of ammunition for target practice.  They will surely be excellent marksmen when they encounter terrorists or bad people.  http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/05/house-votes-to-curb-dhs-stockpiles-ammo/

6)  Our tax authorities can target unpleasant people.  Why shouldn’t they pay more?

7)  The U.S. Military has granted itself the authority to intervene on American soil in the case of civil disturbances.  http://www.longislandpress.com/2013/05/14/u-s-military-power-grab-goes-into-effect/

8)  Our government imprisons more people than any other nation on Earth (to keep more bad people – a large percentage of them non-violent but nonetheless evil drug users – off the streets). 

9)  Our monetary system is run by an association of private bankers (the Federal Reserve System).  This encourages free enterprise by allowing private interests the power of issuing currency and controlling our money.

10)  If the bankers should overspend or engage in faulty financial practices, we can rest assured that the U.S. Government will not allow them to fail, thus preserving financial stability (and further enriching them in the process).

11)  The full might of the United States’ Military stands ready to defend these private bankers abroad – say, when a rogue country decides to stop using their currency (Federal Reserve Notes/dollars) in exchange for oil.  http://www.conservativenewsandviews.com/2011/05/12/money/petrodollars-war-peace-and-economics-part-1/; http://ftmdaily.com/preparing-for-the-collapse-of-the-petrodollar-system/; http://ftmdaily.com/preparing-for-the-collapse-of-the-petrodollar-part-2/; http://ftmdaily.com/preparing-for-the-collapse-of-the-petrodollar-system-part-3/; http://ftmdaily.com/preparing-for-the-collapse-of-the-petrodollar-system-part-4/

12)  That trillions of dollars are unaccounted for by the Fed, which is answerable to no one and has never been audited.  This helps protect their independence, since an audit would stop them from having a free hand to spend and inflate as necessary for the good of the people.

13)  That we are trillions of dollars in debt.  This allows us to live beyond our means and will teach future generations how to pay off very large debts.

14)  Along with monitoring the phone calls of American citizens, the NSA is building a massive data bank that will contain detailed information on all of us.  This should be a great unifying force for our people! If you don’t have anything to hide, you shouldn’t object! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Data_Center; http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/glenn-greenwald-us-privacy-92400.html#ixzz2VYkQvMC6

15)  DNA samples, per a recent Supreme Court ruling, can now be obtained by force from people only suspected of criminal actions.  Why wait until they’ve been convicted before invading their person or property?  Now we have the possibility of learning about other crimes someone may possibly have committed.  Invading someone’s body is a small price to pay for this.  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324063304578523123337256566.html

16)  Private corporations such as Monsanto are granted immunity from legal action should their products cause harm.  This encourages risk-taking by private firms for the benefit of us all.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmer_Assurance_Provision

17)  Private corporations like Monsanto enjoy a very close relationship with our government.  http://www.dagorret.net/monsantos-relationship-with-the-u-s-government/  If all of us could get along so well and profitably, the world would surely be a better place.  (Another great example of government-private business collaboration are all the companies such as Verizon, Google, Facebook, AOL, and Skype that provide private user information to the NSA.)

18)  The construction of internment camps has been authorized to house American citizens in the event of disaster or civil unrest.  http://info.publicintelligence.net/USArmy-InternmentResettlement.pdf  It is good to know that hiring for these camps is now underway.  http://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/browse-career-and-job-categories/legal-and-law-enforcement/internment-resettlement-specialist.html

19)  The danger of guns is vividly demonstrated by our government providing them to Mexican drug cartels.  Thank you, ATF, for showing us how dangerous guns in the wrong hands can be!  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATF_gunwalking_scandal

20)  Drone strikes abroad are killing evil terrorists!  (And those in their general vicinity, but since they may have been infected by terrorism, that’s probably a good thing.)

21)  Soon drones of various kinds will be patrolling our skies, keeping a watchful eye on us all (and eventually, no doubt, becoming armed and capable of killing bad people from on high).  http://www.washingtonguardian.com/drones-home; http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/15/faa-seeks-proposals-to-create-6-drone-test-sites/

22)  The U.S. Government no longer abides by the Geneva Convention, and freely detains and tortures people who may have information which could prove threatening to our security.

23)  We live in a country where whistleblowers like Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden can be imprisoned indefinitely or killed.  There was a time when such individuals might’ve been hailed as courageous heroes, but thankfully we now know that they represent a grave threat to national security,  and thus deserve the worst punishment our government can administer.  https://petitions, whitehouse.gov/petitions/pardon-edward snowden/Dp03vGYD