I.F. Stone famously told us that “All governments are run by liars and nothing they say should be believed.” It’s easy to write that off as tin foil hat fodder but, in truth, the facts support him. The latest such facts involve the Boston Police Department. Recently, investigative reporter Kenneth Lipp reported that despite promising to end the program, the BPD was continuing their liscense plate scanning program.
Fortunately, the liars are usually as incompetent as they are dishonest. In this case the BPD’s deception was discovered because they had the plates in a publicly facing data base. The police like to say that driving your car on public roads mean that you are part of an investigation. Those who are not members of the thought police are inclined to demur. Regardless, the police promised to end the program but continued to collect the data by other means.
Remember this when they tell you that you can trust them when they come asking for authority to stick their noses into your business. Don’t give it to them because they will abuse your trust. Always.