No need to get carried away (Score 1)

• Fear the kiddie porn addicts, live in fear that your Google searches will be misinterpreted.
• Make a mistake on your taxes, live in fear of an audit or jail.
• Carry a sign in protest, live in fear of arrest.
• Donate to the "wrong" political party, live in fear of not being allowed to do your job.

I can honestly say that I've never lived in fear of any of the above, even a little bit. I don't favor the overbearing attitude of the government towards entities such as Google, but I certainly don't worry that my 'searches will be misinterpreted.' Tax forms are a royal pain I would gladly alter in many ways, but I've never felt like the authorities were just waiting for me to slip up so they could incarcerate me. I've been involved in protests, some of which have been out of harmony with the Republican agenda, and done so with impunity -- The one guy linked to by the parent is a statistical outlier, as, I suspect, are those who feel they were denied opportunities due to the nature of their past financial contributions (according to 'sources', the Time article preview in question kindly enlightens us).

Yeah, the airport measures are an unecessary and expensive pain, and the associated terrorrist threat is much over-milked. The RIAA/MPAA are definitely freaking out in a bad way, and we can only hope they don't further mire us in a sea of onerous regulations in their death throes.

To be honest, the only time I personally feel any sense of fear towards a government entity is when I'm driving and I see a police car. I think this is somewhat telling -- I like to believe it's telling that our traffic laws and methods of enforcement are overly-restrictive and arbitrary, but it may be telling that I just need to slow down, depending on your perspective. When I see policefolk anywhere else, I actually feel good and get a sense of protection -- it's only in a vehicle that I get that sick feeling on seeing one of the State's finest, wondering if 6 mph over the speed limit is considered speeding today, or not. (Yes, I know if I just went the exact speed limit or slower, I wouldn't have to worry much -- but that's so slow... Plus, even if I don't think I did anything, just seeing a police car coming up behind is quite worrisome)