The right to privacy—the right to be let alone—is the most cherished right among civilized peoples. It was the right that gave birth to the American Revolution in opposition to British writs of assistance authoring petty officials to rummage through homes in search of contraband goods. Anonymous speech is scrupulously protected by the First Amendment. Pseudonyms were used by the venerated authors of the Federalist Papers. Statesman Benjamin Franklin admonished, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” The right to privacy, however, has surrendered to the American empire’s futile quest for a risk-free existence, i.e., former Vice President Dick Cheney’s ill-starred 1% doctrine: Treat as an absolute certainty, like the force of gravity, any minuscule risk that satisfies a 1% threshold. The 1% doctrine has fueled an Orwellian surveillance state featuring dragnet surveillance of the entire population—especially the “not yet guilty.” The 40,000-strong, multibillion-dollar National Security Agency has dossiers on all of us as potential terrorists. The revelations of Edward Snowden were only the tip of the iceberg. The goal is to cow the population into silence and induce citizen docility to a Leviathan state. The surveillance state is advertised as indispensable to the safety of citizens from international terrorist attacks. But as Justice Louis D. Brandeis warned in Olmstead v. United States: Experience should teach us to be more on our guard to protect liberty when the Government’s purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding. The United States Census Bureau shared confidential information with the U.S. Secret Service during World War II to track down 120,000 innocent Japanese Americans and hold them in unconstitutional racist concentration camps. The probability of government abuse of private data is manifold what it was in World War II because of the emergence of artificial intelligence. Some argue that Elon Musk and his callow musketeers have digitally “killed” hundreds of living human beings and brought havoc into their lives by recklessly brandishing AI. You could wake up tomorrow and receive a government email informing you of your death and ineligibility to vote or open a bank account. All this is prologue to the inauguration of Real ID on May 7, some two decades after it was recommended by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. It has been sold as a pivotal safeguard against a reprise of 9/11. But if that were true, why wait two decades during which no new international terrorist attacks on the United States occurred before mandating compliance with Real ID? Moreover, the risk of an international terrorist attack sans Real ID is less than the risk of dying because of a falling vending machine. Isn’t Real ID overkill? We’ve seen this rodeo before in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act amendments of 2004, the child of post-9/11 hysteria. Its provision for surveilling “lone wolf” suspected terrorists has never been used in 21 years. Credible evidence has never been forthcoming suggesting that Real ID would have thwarted 9/11. The Fourth Amendment exalts liberty and the right to be let alone above absolute safety. Just as we require proof beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal prosecutions because we believe it is better that no innocent suffer than a guilty person go free, so the right of privacy pivots on the conviction that is better that we risk some crimes going unsolved or undeterred than live in a police state where liberty is crucified on a safety cross. Real ID is another nail in the coffin of privacy. It is happening in plain view with no pushback. COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS.COM We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post The Right to Privacy Under Siege appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Ripped From The (30 Year Old) Headlines

“It is isolating and exhausting living in a world of strangers.”

The Senate moved quickly to confirm President Donald Trump’s Cabinet and several key sub-Cabinet positions, including the FBI director and the director of national intelligence. But now, it appears ready to coast through the spring while critical posts remain unfilled. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) could solve the problem in a week — but only if he’s willing to put in long days and late nights. This isn’t ceremonial work. These vacancies include essential positions, such as ambassador to the United Kingdom — just as the U.S. enters high-stakes trade negotiations with a key ally. The list also includes the undersecretary of defense and the head of the National Counterterrorism Center within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It shouldn’t be fantasy to expect a Republican-controlled Senate to work a full week — just once — to help the president build his team. It doesn’t stop there. The comptroller of the currency at the Department of the Treasury — a post responsible for monitoring the health of U.S. and global banks — remains vacant. So does the director of the Office of Personnel Management, who oversees hiring across the executive branch, including the White House. Roughly 30 nominees have cleared their Senate committees and now sit idle on the executive calendar, waiting for a vote. One of the most recent is Brian Burch, tapped to serve as ambassador to the Holy See. While the Vatican may not be the most strategic post on the geopolitical chessboard, the United States would be wise to have a representative in place when 1.4 billion Catholics prepare to select their next pope. The president can’t carry out the most ambitious conservative agenda in a generation without a fully staffed administration. Waiting until August — as the Senate reportedly plans — is unacceptable. Here’s the reality. The Senate’s constitutional role of advice and consent operates on two separate calendars: a legislative calendar and an executive calendar. Right now, the Senate is on the legislative calendar while it handles the budget and other bills. It can’t switch back and forth between calendars at will — unless it has unanimous consent, which it doesn’t. These days, switching to the executive calendar reliably burns 30 hours. That’s why Thune must act with precision. On a Thursday, before senators flee town for the weekend, he should bring up every nomination on the executive calendar. He should then file cloture on each one individually. That would tee them up for debate starting Monday. It’s not complicated. It just takes leadership and a willingness to work. Thune needs to level with his members: We’re staying until the job’s done. This will take time. Senators typically stroll into Washington late Monday and skip town by mid-Thursday — meaning the average Senate “workweek” barely stretches past two days. That needs to end now. Weekend plans can wait. Most of these pending nominations aren’t Cabinet-level or sub-Cabinet-level posts, so the minority’s power to stall is limited. Democrats can only hold up each vote for two hours. The Senate could start early, stay late, work overnight — whatever it takes. Even if Democrats drag their feet on every single nominee, the whole batch could be confirmed in roughly 70 hours. Will they dig in for the full two hours on all 30 nominees? Maybe. But more likely, they’ll cave after a few long days. Democrats have lives, families, and fundraisers too. If Republicans want to shorten the slog, they need to make the Democrats talk. That means showing up and holding the floor. Last year, Thune faced this same problem when he tried to advance the nomination of the Joint Chiefs chairman. Nine members of the majority leader’s own party skipped the 1 a.m. Friday vote! Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), for example, a rock-solid conservative but also no great friend of military brass, had tickets to the Masters Tournament. I get it: That’s a cool thing for sure, but the weekend tournament is over, so no more excuses. The dirty secret? Senators hate being on the floor. Despite the job description, they get fidgety, hungry, and thirsty — for more than just water. So make it fun. When I need a newsroom full of reporters to put in a 16-hour day — or just stay late — I use a trick that works every time: pizza and beer. It works across generations. Stock a conference room with food. Load the Republican Cloakroom with booze. Come on, folks — this is work, and it can be fun. They might even enjoy it. Until they don’t. Eventually, some senior (or just tired) Democrats will tell their colleagues to knock off the stalling tactics so everyone can go home. This doesn’t need to drag into Saturday. But Thune needs to make it clear: If that’s what it takes, he’ll go that far — and his conference will back him up. Remember, we live in a post-nuclear Senate. Thanks to the late former Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), confirmations now require only 51 votes. No filibuster, no excuses. Of course, Democrats could make this easier. If they agree to stop delaying the inevitable, Republicans can hang out in their offices all they want and still finish the job. None of this is easy. But it shouldn’t be fantasy to expect a Republican-controlled Senate to work a full week — just once — to help the president build his team. It’ll take cajoling. It’ll take Grubhub. It’ll take more than a few cases of beer and wine. But it’s doable — and well worth it. Sign up for Bedford’s newsletter Sign up to get Blaze Media senior politics editor Christopher Bedford’s newsletter.

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