I should add: I have been a politician... if you define "politician" as "someone who runs for office".

And I may be again; it depends on the circumstances. But one thing I can promise is that I would not be a "typical" politician. Yes, indeedy, I can guarantee that. I wasn't before and would not be again. See, lots of people in local politics don't like me because I have this one severe, undesirable trait: I like to tell the truth.

Um... pardon me, but Democrats had the Presidency AND one of the branchs of Congress -- at least until they screwed up so blatantly that people in the last election told them to GTFO -- and of course Republicans have been obstructionist in that sense because that's the way it works. You didn't bitch when the Democrats played (mostly bullshit and for show only) obstructionist against Bush.

BOTH of the "two big parties" have become a sad joke. If you don't recognize that, you haven't been paying attention.

I am not forgetting it, I am dismissing it.

A representative should be DOING the right thing, not doing the thing that looks right. That is the nutshell summary of what has been wrong with politics for the last couple of decades.

The big problem is that no matter how useful such services may be, there have not been enough (or strong enough) guarantees of privacy. Microsoft had this same idea, or close enough. They didn't have QR codes but otherwise the idea was the same. And it was a MAJOR failure. Nobody signed up.
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Unless there are very solid and enforceable privacy guarantees, people will keep NOT signing up.

No, but I was spelling and punctuating better than that when I was 6 years old.

But on to the point: except for this line

... which I missed the first time around, the rest of the article pretty much gives the impression that they are trying to enforce very old patents.

Jerk.

Haha. Got me. But I meant patents that are active and can be enforced.

Another good point. I would make that #3. And that brings up:

(4) Safety is not the end goal of all existence. You cannot make everything 100% safe without taking all the meaning and enjoyment out of life.

Your refrigerator will still have expired chicken in it.

Back To The Future will be the most-watched movie of all time.

Barack Obama will still be a dick-tator.

Apple will be convicted multiple times of engaging in anti-competitive business practices. Microsoft will, too, but less often than before.

Linux will be 40% or more of the desktop OS market, and 70% of handhelds.

Bugs Bunny will be appointed Secretary of State.

But there * IS * something wrong with 40-year-old patents.

Clarification:

There are 2 big issues here that the politicians need to start considering, much more than they have been:

(1) The fact that a certain technology CAN be used, and might even represent monetary savings, is largely a different question that whether it SHOULD be used.

(2) That improved technology works both ways: not only do you have the ability to move surveillance to the sky, but also: civilians have drastically improved ability to bring it down. And strong motivation to do so.