We are now reduced from being Americans to being a string of ones and zeros:

The Pentagon pays a private company to compile data on teenagers it can recruit to the military. The Homeland Security Department buys consumer information to help screen people at borders and detect immigration fraud.

As federal agencies delve into the vast commercial market for consumer information, such as buying habits and financial records, they are tapping into data that would be difficult for the government to accumulate but that has become a booming business for private companies.

Industry executives, analysts and watchdog groups say the federal government has significantly increased what it spends to buy personal data from the private sector, along with the software to make sense of it, since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. They expect the sums to keep rising far into the future.

So what protections are being put in place to make sure people don’t misuse this information? With the growing number of “computer thefts” (like I believe they are really being stolen), more of our information can be made available for illegal activities.

Another protection that needs to be put in place is making sure this information is not made available to elected officials. It could quickly be abused by politicians hoping to gain the edge in targeting mailings and phone calls.

This is a program that needs very serious oversight by not only Congress but also the Judicial branch. It is the only way to protect our democracy from a sure demise.