LET THEM EAT CAKE! We've all heard it. But who really SAID it?

Fun Fact of the Day: Let Them Eat Cake!

        Marie Antoinette. Perhaps the most famous thing she ever did was lose her head. The most famous thing she ever said? "qu'ils mangent de la brioche", loose translation? "Let them eat cake." in response to the peasants complaining there wasn't enough bread to go around. But as it turns out, it was the most famous thing she NEVER said.

        It would have been out of character for a woman like Marie Antoinette, known for her compassion and kind-hearted nature, to say such a callous thing. After all, there are witness accounts of her helping a gored man, feeding the emaciated destitute, and even taking in an orphaned child! So why would historians say she uttered this phrase?

         France was on the verge of revolution and Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI (16th) had no shortage of enemies. Why not propagandize the woman? After all, its hard to hate an orphan loving homeless helping queen, but not so hard if you paint her cruel and insensitive to the needs of the people. The myth has been debunked by many historians now, the phrase was said, but most likely, not by her.

        The quote is actually attributed the Jean-Jacques Rousseau's treatise "Confessions" in the 18th century. Another working theory is that it may have been the wife of King Louis the XIV (14th), Maria Theresa, who actually did have it in her heart to say these words about the starving.

        However it is more believable that the phrase had nothing to do with either woman and is in fact straight from Jean-Jacques. The reason you ask? Confessions, as unreliable as an autobiography as it was, was written in 1765. Marie Antoinette would have been a mere 9 years of age. That would be pretty incredible for an adolescent? In the book the context of the anecdote was he wanted bread with his stolen wine, it had no political or social implications whatsoever.

        The phrase, spoken originally in French (obviously), also doesn't mean, let them eat cake, it actually means, "Let them eat an expensive, eggy-based luxury bread." called brioche, but admit it, "Let them eat cake." just sounds way better. 

Big Brother Is Watching You...Seriously

          What is privacy? Privacy is the expectation that confidential personal information disclosed in a private place will not be disclosed to third parties when that disclosure would cause either embarrassment or emotion distress to a person of reasonable sensitivities. Yep, that's more or less the textbook definition of privacy, but what you probably didnt' know is it isn't actually a guaranteed constitutional right. All you really have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Privacy is not actually included in the constitution. Go ahead, look it up.

          However, while it isn't a right, privacy is protected by law and honestly it's kind of assumed you'd just be left alone when in a private place.It's been around for quite a while now. In fact in 1890, Warren & Brandeis wrote an article, The Right To Privacy, and while that's considered the first documented attempt at privacy, the real protection acts didn't come into play until 1960 with Prosser's Privacy.But there are times when the law is rendered null and void. The Census Bureau and The Bureau of Labor Statistics can check in on it any time they want. If your google search results make you look like a terrorist, chances are the FBI, NSA, or Homeland Security could be scoping you out. Law enforcement agencies, congressional investigations, or other "administrative purposes" are just several of the reasons your privacy can be invaded. But you have nothing to hide right?

          So hold the phone. You may be asking yourself, 'well how exactly are my searches making me look like a terrorist?' Let's face it. Even if you're a crazy backwoods farmer from upstate Michigan not everybody is on the internet searching fertilizer, AK-47s, and detonators. I'm not going to lie, I've been known to browse and drool over large caliber artillery a time or two on the web, but I'm also not start a blog to recruit a militia. Just be careful how you search the internet and what you say on here. On the web, there is NO privacy. But we'll get back to that later...

          There's more folks. Do you own a cellphone? I'll bet you do. Some people have several for multiple purposes. Well guess what, each one of those cell phones comes standard with a small microchip in them. The only purpose for this microchip you ask? It's a GPS locator device. Every stalker's dream tool. It's honestly not that big of a deal though as it is quite simple to toggle the software on and off.  There is a small problem with that as well. Some government agencies have a counter-software that can turn that chip back on and reactivate your GPS from almost anywhere on the planet where they can receive a satellite signal. Now are they out to get you? Depends on your search history I suppose but more than likely no, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. Unless of course you are a terrorist, in which case all bets are off. We did make a Patriot act for you after all.

          So you may be asking yourself, what are the benefits of this technology? It just looks like they're trying to hunt me down and screw me over right now. I mentioned a few before with law enforcement agencies and national security, but how can we apply this and make it beneficial for use in today's society without feeling stripped of our freedoms and rights? What if I told you the police can use your OnStar to find your car if it were stolen? Or if your child were abducted, what if you could use it to find him/her before harm could come to them. I'm posing a lot of what ifs, so let's talk about that last one for a moment.

          Since 2005 cell phone carrier's have been required, by law, to include GPS tracking software in their phones. This technology proved vital in 2009 when 9-year-old Natalie Maltais was abducted by her grandmother in VA. Police contacted Ms. Maltais who said she would turn herself in. When she didn't, the officer, Todd Neale, hit on the idea of tracking Natlie's cell phone via the microchip. Because this technology was available, her safe return was possible, but what happens when the wrong people use this same idea for the wrong reasons.

          Two years ago, a U.S. state department estimated that more than 25,000 adults in the U.S. are victims of GPS stalkers annually. In 2010, Texas resident Mrs. Helwig was thrown to the floor and beaten by her husband. Not wanting this to happen again she packed her bags into her car and drove to a friend's house where she thought she'd be safe. The day after, her husband, Glenn Helwig, arrive and pushed her to the floor again. Even though he was apprehended it still didn't make Mrs. Helwig feel any safer. How did he find her you ask? In a statement he said, "At&T had this little deal where you could find your family member through their cell phone." Yikes AT&T...not exactly the kind of product placement you want to have. These are just two examples, there are many more accounts like these out there but it's time to move along.

          Do you have a facebook? Heh, it almost feels silly to ask that question anymore. Even 80 year old's who still remember their first computer (an abacus) are getting on there and adding their grandchildren, posting uplifting comments about how much Jesus loves them periodically. Have you ever posted a status update about what you're doing? Where you're going? How long you're going to be gone? Anybody browsing your facebook that's just a tiny bit seedy could very well be formulating a plot to rob your house while you're away.  Holy bad news batman! You just willingly allowed the world to invade your privacy! Snap!

          Ever heard of a company named HBGary? Want to know why? Because they got tanked allegedly by a cyber terrorism group known only as Anonymous. The head executive of the security firm, Aaron Barr, was convinced his new software could use social networking to track anybody down. He decided he was going to go head to head with Anonymous. He tracked a few supposed individuals down who even if they had been part of this organization were so low down on the chain they were useless to the investigation. Not to mention if I recall correctly, both of the people he tracked were minors.

          Well all this succeeded in doing was irritating Anonymous, which really isn't a cyber terrorism group at all but more or less enlightenment activists. What they do is illegal, but in a sense, it's mostly harmless. Besides, it shouldn't be illegal to deliver information to the general masses. Isn't that how we progress as a society anyway is by a shared collective of knowledge? So they lashed out by crashing all of their financials, destroyed Aaron Barr and his company, and even attacked a few of their outlying subsidiaries. Bottom line, this all could have been avoided by not invading their privacy. Also, if Aaron hadn't been so cocky and had tested the software first, maybe it could have actually worked, but I am still somewhat doubtful.

          So is Big Brother watching you? Yes. Is this some Orwellian dystopia? Not entirely. Chances are no one is stalking you and you probably won't be kidnapped any time soon. The government isn't routinely checking in on you to see how many kittens you watched doing flips on YouTube today. In all this you have one right that you can exercise any time you please. You have the right to turn the GPS in your phone off, and if you want to get away with committing crimes and foul play, go back to pen and paper. Nobody tracks those anymore.