When talking about acquisition (and retaining) of power...there rarely is such a thing as "enough control". The powers that be want nothing more than to be able to quantify every element of every being and manipulate that data which is gathered to gain evermore control.
Scary stuff that I always try to consider. You are 100% right that the tactics above are ridiculous (though ironically often effective).
They can be very effective. Being able to accurately describe the tactics and provide a reference link for other readers is the only countermeasure available most of the time.