From: nobody@REPLAY.COM (Anonymous)
Date: Wed, 2 Jul 1997 05:38:29 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: NRA and National Online Records Check bullshit
Message-ID: <199707012111.XAA01109@basement.replay.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



Kent Crispin wrote:

> However, the issue is very complex.  "The system" has a number of
> discretionary points -- variable sentencing regiems, time off for good
> behaviour, probation, parole -- all involve different levels of
> constraints on rights, all constitutional.

  No doubt the laws resulting in people going to jail for the
rest of their life for a "third felony" (i.e. - a $10.00 bad
check in Texas) are "constitutional."
  After the (black, go figure...) person was given a life
sentence for a $10.00 bad check, someone quoted the standard
justification, "It's not a _perfect_ system, but its the
best one we've got." (Hint: It was not the defendant who 
said this.)
  The rapist/murderers that we hear about being released
because of a lack of prison space wave cheery good-byes to
their marihuana smoking and bad-check writing pals as they
drive away from the prison.

  And the way this relates to encryption is...
  ...the rapist/murderers of the future might well be waving
goodby to the cryptographers, as well, since they rarely use
encryption, and thus might well have a shorter sentence than
their crypto-devil cellmate.

TruthMonger