From: Alan Olsen <alano@teleport.com>
Date: Mon, 29 Jan 1996 05:54:56 +0800
To: "Rev. Ben" <cypherpunks@toad.com>
Subject: Re: Denning's misleading statements
Message-ID: <2.2.32.19960128214014.0091a098@mail.teleport.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


At 03:12 PM 1/28/96 -0500, Rev. Ben wrote:
>On Sun, 28 Jan 1996, Peter Wayner wrote:
>
>> I believe that David Gelerntner, the professor of computer
>> science at Yale University injured by a UNABOMBER bomb, is also
>> a supporter of the Clipper chip. This may or may not be
>> something that arose from the bombing. But I'm not sure how many
>> cavaets and things he adds to his position. He may have changed
>> it. But then he's not exactly a cryptographer.
>
>There's quite a few folks in the Yale CS department that are pro-Clipper
>or fence sitters.  They justify it in class by claiming that law
>enforcement needs these abilities if LE is to remain effective. 

I wonder if the same justifications were used for the Inquisition.  "We have
to use these methods in order for the Church to remain effective."

Currently we have a whole host of laws that are difficult, if not impossible
to enforce.  The response from law enforcement is that we have to use
stronger and stronger enforcement methods to shore up laws that are by their
nature unenforcable.  How they expect to do this and remain in a non-police
state is beyond me.

I expect that such enforcement methods will be sold to us the same way that
they sell us soap and presidents.  The media will give us plenty of
"reasons" as to why we have to accept draconian methods to resolve problems
from undefined enemies.  Already we get the "real life" cop shows showing us
a whole host of "enemies" who need to be hauled off to jail and the news
programs showing us the scare story of the moment. Expect the four horsemen
to get closer and closer as the shacles are ready to be put into place.

Such enforcement is self-defeating in the long run.  It is based off the
false perception that the governed cannot recognise that these laws are
unenforcable. Continued enforcement of "unenforcable" laws increases the
disrespect for laws in general. ("The imposition of order equals the
escalation of disorder.")

The question is when the bulk of the population will see what is being
prepared for them...  Probibly after it is too late.

Alan Olsen -- alano@teleport.com -- Contract Web Design & Instruction
        `finger -l alano@teleport.com` for PGP 2.6.2 key 
                http://www.teleport.com/~alano/ 
         Is the operating system half NT or half full?