Gazillion [guh-zil-yuhn]: A very large, indeterminate number.Senator Rand Paul recently made an inquiry into what exactly the government has been doing to invade our privacy. In response, he and several other lawmakers were given a classified briefing detailing government spying on American citizens. Since the briefing was classified, as the guarded secrets of the State always outweigh the concerns of the citizenry, it would be illegal for anyone present at the meeting to discuss what they learned with the public.Judge Andrew Napolitano described this Catch-22 of classified briefings in an article that is making the rounds through the mainstream media today.  While government officials are required to answer all questions posed to them openly and honestly, those doing the questioning are barred from revealing any of the information they learned.  The result is generally of no net benefit to the public.  That makes Senator Rand Paul's response to the question of how many times the government has spied on us so brilliant.  One simple word:"Gazillions."Of course, the term "gazillions" is completely fictional and holds no true value.  At the same time, everyone that has ever heard the term gazillions knows full well what it means: a really, really, incomprehensibly large number.  So Senator Paul was able to convey the terrible truth of what he learned at this meeting, without technically revealing any classified information.  The government seemingly has a "gazillion" ways to spy on us - ranging from perfectly legal search warrants less scrupulous methods  to drones patrolling the skies to more high tech methods such as reading all of our emails and tracking our movements through GPS on our phones.   And no, I didn't make any of that up.  This is no longer just a wild George Orwell novel, it's real life.  As Napolitano writes:

The point here is terrifying. If the government derives its powers from the consent of the governed, how can it do things to us to which we have not consented? And when it does these things -- like send a drone over your back yard to learn who is coming to you Saturday barbeque or to see what fertilizer you are using in your vegetable garden or to take a peek into your living room or bedroom -- and when the laws the government has written prevent our elected representatives from telling us what it is doing, we are at the doorsteps of tyranny. The government gave Paul the distinct impression that it was afraid of our exercise of our personal freedoms, and thus it needs to watch us as we do so. This is the same government whose stated principal purpose is to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, and thus personal freedom.

One of the most often cited roles of government that is seemingly agreed upon by every both "sides" of the false left/right paradigm is that of protecting the citizenry.   But the fact is that government at all levels, be it the local police or the whatever empty suit happens to inhabit the oval office, is there to serve only one master: itself, The State.  Government cares only about preserving itself, and therefore naturally fears the citizenry, whose freedom and livelihood it is in direct conflict with.If government truly represented "the people" as so many claim due to our "democratic" system, why would it need to keep such a close, secretive eye on our activities?  It's time to accept the true role of government. It is not a protector, it is our master - so long as we allow it to be.Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!