Your Citizen-Self

coach — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:34:08 +0000

Yesterday was April 15, which in the United States is a day of particular significance: Tax Day.

For most people Tax Day is a day of dread: they calculate (using increasingly complex rules) how much money they made during the year, how much of it was taxable, and how much money they owe the government. By midnight, the forms and money need to be postmarked and/or filed with the United States Treasury. After all, it’s “very expensive to run a government,” especially these days.

For nearly all of us, Tax Day also signifies our citizenship in the United States (our national identity) and of the state in which we are “domiciled” (where we live with intent to stay). Some parts of our lives that contribute to and define this identity:

Federal	State
Our voting registration and records, which are supposed to be anonymous but for the fact that we showed up at the polls Our passport, which allows us to travel out of the country Our social security number and records Our tax records Other records	Our Driver’s license Our real property, taxes and records Business and other licenses Other records

Coaching moment: What’s with the Other Records?

Various things (activities, circumstances, events) might result in our having other records with the government. These things may or may not be recorded with your knowledge. For example, have you ever applied for citizenship in another country? been in a public place where surveillance cameras are running? have the same name as someone famous? Sometimes it’s the crazy stuff that gets recorded. You might be interested to know about this other information that the government has on you.

You have access to government records through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).The National Freedom of Information Coalition has a great page with sample FOIA letters that you can use to find out who knows what. You’ll need to write at least a couple of letters–to the Federal government and to the state(s) where you have lived.

Knowledge is power. If you want to know what these agencies know about you, it’s worth your time to write some letters (keep track of whom you wrote) and find out what, if anything, they have about you. After all, this is Your Citizen-Self.

USACM’s take on Total Info Awareness (2003)

coach — Sun, 26 Jan 2003 03:39:06 +0000

Perhaps you’ve heard of TIA: the Department of Defense’s Total Information Awareness, a plan to gather all available information, from database everywhere, about every person in the U.S., ostensibly to counter “terrorism through prevention.” Heh. More like “government as a terrorist organization” these days, against their own citizenry.

The USACM, the public policy group of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM, a member-based professional organization), has written a great letter with an offer to help:

Because of serious security, privacy, economic, and personal risks associated with the development of a vast database surveillance system, we recommend a rigorous, independent review of these aspects of TIA. Such a review should include an examination of the technical feasibility and practical reality of the entire program. USACM would be pleased to assist in such an effort.

A good outline of why we should be worried about this Orwellian plan.

Coaching moment: Sometimes the government is doing the surveillance. Once it starts, it’s hard to go back. Note that this article was from 2003. What do you think the government knows about you? Can you correct information if it is wrong? Why might you want to?

Digital ID Coach » government

Your Citizen-Self

USACM’s take on Total Info Awareness (2003)