The Orwellian period is in full swing. Our wonderful, all exalted big brother is now taking into account not only where we travel but what we read or even what letters we write to the local newspaper and I presume what we write on blogs (some people's files must be getting thick):

The U.S. government is collecting electronic records on the travel habits of millions of Americans who fly, drive or take cruises abroad, retaining data on the persons with whom they travel or plan to stay, the personal items they carry during their journeys, and even the books that travelers have carried, according to documents obtained by a group of civil liberties advocates and statements by government officials. The personal travel records are meant to be stored for as long as 15 years, as part of the Department of Homeland Security's effort to assess the security threat posed by all travelers entering the country.

And it's all innocent, they're just trying to protect us, to make us safe from all those terrorists. It wouldn't be to intimidate Americans would it? It wouldn't be part of stifling of dissent would it? It would never result in a firefighter being questioned for letters he sent to his local paper would it?

Zakariya Reed, a Toledo firefighter, said in an interview that he has been detained at least seven times at the Michigan border since fall 2006. Twice, he said, he was questioned by border officials about "politically charged" opinion pieces he had published in his local newspaper. The essays were critical of U.S. policy in the Middle East, he said. Once, during a secondary interview, he said, "they had them printed out on the table in front of me."

And some of you are thinking that with that first name he should probably be deported. Sick. Why does it take until a family member gets 'interviewed' or arrested that we get how far the current Republicans will go to keep power. That's what this is all about. Staying in power by scaring us. This cancer of consolidating power by fiat in the executive branch is what is scaring. I'm a Democrat and I don't want any President, D or R, to continue down the road to total power. The abuse of power must be stopped before it gets much worse.