Big Cousin?

Re: http://foxyurl.com/N1R and http://foxyurl.com/N1V

Not only does Uncle Sam have nearly un-restricted access to "shoot first and ask questions later" via the Patriot Act, but now companies you and I pay--companies that are in service to us--are selling our private information: where we web surf, our GPS locations, what our shopping habits are, what we like to watch and who we associate with, to the government without having first committed a crime. There is no due process or reasonable suspicion; no checks and balances between the agents of the executive and the judicial.

The Constitution prohibits the government from invading the privacy of us citizens, but when organizations we pay are doing it for them, is there a conflict of interest? Is there no more privacy? Can not an average citizen expect a modicum of privacy anymore?

Should there be a law forcing these companies to disclose what information and who they're selling it to, so we as consumers can make more informed decisions? I suggest we all contact our senators and congressmen about this: ask them if the Constitution no longer has any sway in American society or if it's just a piece of parchment in a museum.