DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE: There is still time to keep our autonomy, but we need to act fast

How many of you would have believed poison used on fruit and vegetables to keep them shiny and new would be the “in” thing for 2025?

Or who would have guessed using your ID to sign into YouTube or one of the other social media platforms would be mandatory soon?

It’s the tipping points folks, now or never. In the case of the ID game, will you let that become your leash?

Can you say “authoritarian control.”

I’m going to repeat myself for those who aren’t paying attention. This would have happened on either side’s watch. The rollout was just designed differently.

From “Flock” cameras that police departments use around the country and tout as a good idea playing big brother (oh, and they say they don’t keep your data), to TikTok having the hell censured out of it and you, to Palantir.

Palantir, that company that is being paid billions by the US government to provide software solutions for various purposes like national security, law enforcement, healthcare and stripping who you’re right out from under YOU.

So, NOT a good look, America.

MIND

Software these days is so awesome that it can do data analysis, predictive capabilities, and operational decision-making for you.

It can get right into your brain.

And Palantir is the ringleader. The company is big on working with the U.S. government in the world of defense and intelligence (i.e. building a super-database to take away what few rights you still “think” you have left).

If you’re not familiar with Palantir, I suggest you go down that rabbit hole immediately.

The Trump administration is excited about using Palantir for a fancy-smancy immigration enforcement and deportation agenda. While the level of illegals allowed in the US on Joe Joe’s watch was ludicrous, you must stop to wonder is this rollout really just the continuation of a plan laid down years ago?

Silicon Valley investor Paul Graham said Palantir was “building the infrastructure of the police state.”

Well duh, but the American people are letting it happen.

Why? Because there are so many distractions, no one is paying attention to the real threats.  The soothing flex going on as the government gently violates your constitutional rights and says, “Try to stop me.”

Before the blue folks start screaming about Trump though, remember it was Joe Joe who signed a contract with Palantir to manage the distribution of vaccines through the CDC.

And I guess the US brainiacs running the country on both sides of the aisle are still funding the Industrial Military Complex because according to www.cnbc.com/2025/08/01/palantir-lands-10-billion-army-software-and-data-contract, Palantir has inked a contract with the Army to the tune of $10 billion to meet “growing warfare demands over the next decade.”

Did we miss the memo about the fact we’re apparently going to continue wars and black budgets?

So yes, war, put that back on your agenda, because due to financial success, the game of war isn’t going anywhere.

And remember to add the antics of DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) to your list of “what can go wrong” as well as the patents on weather modification and natural disasters. It’s all magically man-made and viola, you have the makings of a perfect “American breakdown” storm.

BODY

Then in saunters little Billy Gates. A man with somewhat limited higher education.

Let me set this story up – pay attention.

Last year I walked into a Trader Joes while staying in Boston. I was looking for fruit and vegetables.

I walked out with nothing.

The fruit looked weird and shiny. One could tell it was horribly sick even though it looked more pristine than plastic fruit in a fruit bowl display.

Spoiler alert, the plastic fruit would have definitely been safer (and healthier) to eat.

Come to find out grocery stores like the Apeel option to contaminate fruits and vegetables in real time. They like the way Apeel keeps the fruit “shiny and pretty.”

Even more to the point, people who are shopping for fruit and vegetables do they even know what is happening?

Here is a list of stores who buy fruit poisoned with Apeel; Target, Albertsons, Walmart, Bristol Farms and Safeway, to name a few.

I have read Costco, Sprouts, Publix, Trader Joe’s, HEB, Central Market and Wegmans have pledged NOT to buy Apeel produce.

And as for organic, don’t think that’s safe anymore either.

Not since little Gates came onto the scene.

Take Apeel – now there is a version for organic food. This organic version is called Organipeel – and can you believe it is registered with the EPA as a pesticide.

And you know what’s even crazier than Bill Gates? The fact this poison is supposedly within FDA limits – wink, wink.

One doctor, a cardiac specialist who was talking about Apeel said, “Apeel is touted as safe and effective.”

So was COVID. In fact, “COVID 19” wink again, do you know what I heard that stood for (I might be wrong so keep that in mind).

COVID = Certificate Of Vaccination ID (COVID) and the 19 is the first and ninth letter of the alphabet as in AI.

I just love the way a good tall tale comes together.

SOUL

Finally, how do you feel about having your digital ID vomited by who knows who and where?

You do know your digital profile is being sold, traded and exploited into ad nauseam in the time it takes you to have another margarita, right?

Learn digital hygiene.

Here are a few things I’m going to mention. These are possible changes while you play the game of life on Earth.

Use Protonmail instead of Gmail.

Ellipsus versus Google docs.

Firefox or DuckDuckGo not Chrome.

Deep instead of Google translate.

Try Linux for your operating system because otherwise just be aware someone is watching you? Linux is more secure than Windows, with a lower susceptibility to malware. Distribution is free and open-source, eliminating the cost of a Windows license. Even though Windows-specific software may not have native Linux, popular applications do have Linux counterparts or can be run using compatibility layers like www.winehq.org. Try Invidious or newpipe to watch youtube privately.

Once you’ve lost your independence (as in your data and who you are), you won’t get it back.

As one man said on social media, “You’re not stuck – you’ve just not been shown the exit. There is a way out, but you must take the first step.”

If you don’t want to take that step, more power to you, I’ll love you just the same.

For those of us who do understand freedom comes through maintaining privacy, let’s find the exit door and live on this earth minus the hidden surveillance that every day manages to stripe away more of our human identity.

Rita Cook is a freelance writer for The Ellis County Press. She can be reached at rcook13@earthlink.net.