No really, they're datamining your credit cards.

Expansion to my earlier post here, which was about datamining bankruptcy filings. I said they most likely did it to -everything- but had no proof. We now hear that yes, they really do record credit card transactions and data mine them.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officials are seeking to monitor four out of every five U.S. consumer credit card transactions this year — up to 42 billion transactions – through a controversial data-mining program, according to documents obtained by the Washington Examiner.

A CFPB strategic planning document for fiscal years 2013-17 describes the "markets monitoring" program through which officials aim to monitor 80 percent of all credit card transactions in 2013.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 1.16 billion consumer credit cards were in use in 2012 for an estimated 52.6 billion transactions. If CFPB officials reach their stated "performance goal," they would collect data on 42 billion transactions made with 933 million credit cards used by American consumers.

In addition, CFPB officials hope to monitor up to 95 percent of all mortgage transactions, according to the planning document.

Well that's how many they "hope" to be able to monitor, so it says. How many did they already monitor?

The CFPB strategic plan shows that in 2012, the bureau was able to gain access to 77 percent of all credit cards and hoped to increase that to 80 percent in 2013. By 2014, the agency also hopes to monitor up to 95 percent of all mortgage transactions.

Why do all this? Well, why have a gun registry? So you can know who's got a gun, right? If you can capture all credit card and mortgage transactions, that's a registry of EVERYTHING. You have a record of every fricking thing that everybody in the country owns.

From that you can tell who's got more income than they are showing, you can tell who's got a mistress, you can tell who's a Republican. For that matter you can tell who's pregnant. From such a database its entirely feasible to decide from what books, magazines, clothing, tools, cosmetics, toilet paper or whatever people buy who is politically reliable and who isn't. And then make a list of the ones you don't like and send a DHS armored car around to their house.

Oh NO Phantom, that could NEVER happen! This is the USA! Home of the free lunch!

Lets review, shall we?

Is there any possible legitimate reason a government could have for needing to know all that? No. Not a chance.

Are there a wide variety of nefarious and evil purposes that such information could be put to? Yes indeed.

So friends, as you can see the toboggan ride toward the cliff is speeding up rapidly. Might still be time to stop before y'all go over the cliff, but it'll be pretty hard.