When I was in elementary school, I had a friend whose parents would rent movies and record them.  He used to make a big deal out of me keeping this a secret, because if word got out that his parents were doing this they would have to go to jail.  Like a good friend, I kept this a secret and enjoyed watching the movies with him.

why punish something so noble?

The other day on the radio I heard an advertisement for this organization: SIIA. This is a company who will pay regular citizens up to $1 million dollars for leads of people who are stealing various forms of intellectual property.  At first glance, this site creates various kinds of opportunities for those of us who know someone who is a modern pirate.  Whether or not we turn our friends in for money, we can at least perform various acts of extortion.  On the other hand, this company’s business model is a little disturbing.  Where the red light scameras that I mentioned in a previous post are an example of Big Brother government intrusion, everyone who has been a big brother before knows that little brothers can be just as insidious in their motives and annoying in their tactics.  Everyone who has ever been the victim of a tattletale younger sibling will know what I am talking about.  For as much as people worry about Big Brother government interventions, I would be more worried about the government employing, enabling, and encouraging little brother tactics.

Earlier this week Congress voted to expand Americorp with language in the bill that would require Americans to perform mandatory, voluntary service to the country.  What will these mandatory volunteers do?  I imagine that they become a quasi-militaristic snitch organization.  It isn’t too much of a stretch to imagine a group of carbon watchdogs who police how much their neighbors pollute -- especially given the fact that Obama appointed Van Jones as his special advisor for green jobs, enterprise and innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.  Van Jones started  a little brother snitch organization called Policewatch, and now his job is to make sure that America becomes more green.  

If you think about it, the idea of “green jobs” is pretty much a farce.  Since most forms of green energy aren’t economically viable enough to be profitable, the dream that a non-profitable enterprise will sustainably create jobs is laughable.  Of course, democrats and liberals don’t really believe in green energy production as Harrison Price so aptly points out in this blog about how Diane Feinstein in California wants to prevent solar power plants from being constructed in the Mojave Desert.  Democrats know that green jobs don’t mean people working to build solar panels and wind mills.  Green jobs mean policing the carbon emissions of other citizens and industry.  Liberals and Democrats don’t actually want to produce anything.  They just want to regulate what everyone else is already doing.  

A bill also passed this week that would protect 2 million acres of wilderness area.  Once again, this isn’t a bill that will encourage productivity or utilization of resources, but it will increase the numbers of jobs where regulators can go make sure that people aren’t using motorized vehicles in protected wilderness areas, and, of course, mining, logging, and energy production are completely off limits in these areas.  I heard an argument the other day that the astronomic rise in national indebtedness is mitigated by the fact that the U.S. still possesses hundreds of trillions of assets.  While this may be true, it doesn’t do us any good if our leaders vote to not use these assets to generate wealth.  It is so easy to justify burdening future generations with excessive debt, but heaven forbid that we cut down some trees that they won’t get to enjoy.  If you had to choose between enjoying a tree or not having any debt, which would you prefer?  You’ll notice that liberals are very supportive of the rights of children and the unborn when it comes to things like enjoying the environment or having healthcare.  However, when it comes to things like the right to be born, or the right to be raised in a stable home with 2 heterosexual parents, or the right to not be volunteered into a mandatory paramilitary organization, or the right to not start your life with $60,000 of debt, then the rights of children and the unborn aren’t that important -- probably fodder for a future post.

Tattletale little brothers are certainly annoying, but at least big brothers can bank on the fact that most of the time parents will see through the snitching.  Primogeniture would become far less advantageous if tattletelling wasn’t just encouraged but duly rewarded.  Of course, all big brothers know that little brothers are naive, and their tactics can easily be turned against them.  I am therefore going to suggest that if liberals want tattletale activism, let’s give it to them.  If you know someone who has supported Obama in the last election, I recommend you secretly get them to admit that they have illegally downloaded software or other media, collect the evidence, then simply turn them into SIIA.  This is completely anonymous and you’ll get paid.  Then we’ll see how proud these Obama supporters are of their vote to expand big government when they become entrenched in fighting government bureaucracy and the legal system for the rights they claim to hold so dear.  If anyone else can think of ideas of how we can rig cockfights between liberals and their beloved government, let’s hear them.