SPECIAL POST
I've had several posts about the gathering of citizens' personal information by the government. But, they are not the only culprits amassing huge treasure troves of information, sometimes with and sometimes without your knowledge.
Take Target Stores, for instance. They started a policy of swiping your driver's license into their computer system whenever you buy a nicotine or alcohol-related product. They insist that the information obtained and retained is only your name and date of birth, but those license stripes carry a wealth of information about you, including your full name, address, date of birth, social security number, and whether or not you are an organ donor. Additional information is included in some states. Once your license is swiped in association with a nicotine purchase, for example, that information could easily be sold to health insurance companies. Target swears they don't do those things, but Target is also the big box store that banned the Salvation Army bell ringers from its store fronts.
When you make a purchase anywhere using a credit card, a record of your purchases can be attached to your name and address and sold to marketing companies or used internally to send you special offers. Those lists could end up being sold to the government, which now knows that you buy 100 rounds of .45 caliber ammunition twice a month. I think that statement successfully plants the bug and starts the imagination about how much information is available to collect and how easy it is to do so in this digital age.
I think the databases on file for all American citizens should be make available for them to review at no charge, just like credit bureaus have to allow you access to your credit records once a year.
That's MY AMERICAN OPINION respectfully submitted.
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