If Stephen Paddock Had Been Part of Al-Qaeda, He Would Have Been Stopped

Wall Street Journal columnist Holman W. Jenkins asks if wider use of technological surveillance, of the kind that is used against terrorists like al-Qaeda, might have done a better job in preventing the massacre allegedly perpetrated by Stephen Paddock. He writes:

This column has always been partial to Dean Martin’s theory of gun control. The singer was arrested with an illegal weapon in his car. When asked by a reporter if everybody should carry a gun, he joked, “No, just me.”

Unfortunately, this is not a realistic basis for legislating for 330 million people. Let’s stop covering our eyes with respect to the potential of big data. As a top U.S. intelligence official pointed out after 9/11, nearly every transaction and communication nowadays leaves an electronic trail—if we could only make use of it.

The information exists. It would be a job for algorithms, not human snoops, to rake through the unimaginable piles of data for the telltale patterns. Protection of privacy could be programmed into such a system, with rules specifying how such information can be surfaced for human consideration. So let’s at least be willing to find out what the potential is.

E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

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E.J. Smith is the Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH, where he completed course-work in Practical and Defensive Handgun, Conceal Carry Pistol, Shotguns, Precision Scope Rifle and Kidnapping Prevention. E.J. plays a Yamaha Recording Custom drum set with Zilldjian cymbals. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com. Sign up here to receive all the best content from Richardcyoung.com each week.