From: Tim May <tcmay@got.net>
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 05:43:33 +0800
To: Declan McCullagh <cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: Re: SF Chronicle on Sen. Dianne Feinstein: "Feinstein Offline"
In-Reply-To: <Pine.GSO.3.95.980219125257.9768F-100000@well.com>
Message-ID: <v03102809b11253ad78b7@[207.167.93.63]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



At 12:53 PM -0800 2/19/98, Declan McCullagh wrote:

>Feinstein Offline
>Her law-and-order stance irks tech industry
>Jon Swartz, Chronicle Staff Writer
>Thursday,February 19, 1998

Or the version her innermost self expressed:

> In Feinstein's view, ``This whole information thing is moving so
> fast that one has to be sure that kids are protected,'' she said.
> ``I'm concerned when kids blow themselves up by building bombs (they
> learned to make) by reading things in the encyclopedia. There is a
> philosophy that anything goes. This is why I support the repeal of
> the First Amendment and prison terms for thought criminals."

She's a buffoon who is probably the first one who'll be sent to the wall if
there's ever a Second American Revolution.

As for her concern about Social Security numbers being posted online, did
it ever occur to her and her ilk that perhaps the problem is the widespread
use of SS numbers by increasing numbers of government agencies, by
requirements that banks use them, by requirements that motor vehicle
departments use them, and so on?

"Duh."

The solution is not a new set of laws to felonize information like this,
but the elimination of the SS number as a universal identifier. Far too
late for that, of course, but Fineswine's laws won't help anybody. In fact,
law enforcement will continue its abuse of SS numbers, its role in
falsifying records and official documents, and so on.

Let's try to be sure DiFi is in D.C. when Abu Nidal makes his move.

--Tim May

Just Say No to "Big Brother Inside"
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES:   408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^3,021,377   | black markets, collapse of governments.