I think I'd rather put up with the madness of the court's evaluation of each individual case of liberty, and whether or not they compromise the rights of others, than to have certain ones crossed off the list to begin with.

This is what happens when all eight little spider legs run in concert across the shag carpet, sock-footed, in December.

They keep the shrinking number of interested voting citizens involved in the political process, but set them at each other's throats in a no-win, us versus them bickering match.

Since both sides are evil, and the contestants takes turns winning every few years, the ruling class stays in power as you pretend your side is somehow different and better.

It appears to be a way around your aforementioned personal guaranteed freedoms, in say, a government-dictated need.

It sounds a little sketchy at first, unless you consider that at least the Canadian gov't was letting their citizens know right up front that it might be necessary to eminent domain your guaranteed rights... they were much less explicit with how things might work one nation south of there.

After being held accountable for, what to them, is tens of dollars in past due franchise fees, and then bribing gov't officials fully & legally right under our noses,

I would say their incentive to improve is infinitesimal.

Amazon: .1% operating margin.

Apple: 29.3% operating margin.

it is also relevant that drunk people believe they perform better on driving tests than they actually do.

While sexy during the courtship ritual, blind confidence is something of a fickle mistress in many other applications.

And the truly exceptional separate themselves from there: they always have a little more "try" in them than the others.

Entitlement and freedom from obstacles is magnus infitialis.

It seems certain if that if this were the case, in a representative democracy, someone's already scheduling a Congressional hearing to sort this out.

Crap! It's Superbowl week and the Congresscritters are busy commenting on some quarterback's balls.

As you sit comfortably in your home and life sheltered by a Western democracy, it is all too easy to take for granted the freedoms you enjoy. Stories like this are about the rest of the World's citizens, and what happens when individual rights go away.

Relish this when you have a moment, but never, ever, stop struggling to protect the erosion of these inalienable rights. Totalitarian regimes aren't all born beneath a single governing style or philosophy.

Not just who's first, but how many?

Silver lining? Perhaps some cool anti-UAV tech will trickle down to us civilians.

Certainly.

Unless it was an innocent mistake or a sinister scouting mission against defenses. In either of these cases, commotion would be quite the opposite of the reaction you'd be shooting for.