or Islam. We stop suddenly, momentarily afraid that our words might be taken out of context, then we laugh at our paranoia and go on. But our demeanor has changed, and our words are subtly altered. This is the loss of freedom we face when our privacy is taken from us. This is life in former East Germany, or life in Saddam Hussein's Iraq. And it's our future as we allow an ever-intrusive eye into our personal, private lives. Too many wrongly characterize the debate as "security versus privacy." The real choice is liberty versus control. Tyranny, whether it arises under threat of foreign physical attack or under constant domestic authoritative scrutiny, is still tyranny. Liberty requires security without intrusion, security plus privacy. Widespread police surveillance is the very definition of a police state. And that's why we should champion privacy even when we have nothing to hide. And a point rarely mentioned: what if you DO have something to hide? You're an undercover cop. In Witness Protection. Fleeing an abuser. Were the victim of a crime. Had prosthetic surgery to correct a harelip. Were treated for depression after losing a family member. And "the data will be protected" is silly. Look up the UK experience with their RIPA data. Originally, the data was limited to a very few law-enforcement and/or anti-terrorist government organisations - but after less than a decade, hundreds of agencies get access - for fighting such horrible crimes as putting out your rubbish bins the night