THEY TOLD ME IF I VOTED REPUBLICAN, THE GOVERNMENT WOULD PERSECUTE PEOPLE BASED ON WHAT BOOKS THEY READ IN SOME SORT OF MCCARTHYITE WITCH-HUNT. AND THEY WERE RIGHT!

U.S. agencies collected and shared the personal information of thousands of Americans in an attempt to root out untrustworthy federal workers that ended up scrutinizing people who had no direct ties to the U.S. government and simply had purchased certain books. . . .

It turned out, however, that many people on the list worked outside the federal government and lived across the country. Among the people whose personal details were collected were nurses, firefighters, police officers and private attorneys, McClatchy learned. Also included: a psychologist, a cancer researcher and employees of Rite Aid, Paramount Pictures, the American Red Cross and Georgetown University. . . . The unprecedented creation of such a list and decision to disseminate it widely demonstrate the ease with which the federal government can collect and share Americans’ personal information, even when there’s no clear reason for doing so.

There should be a lot of firings. But in this administration, how likely is that?