On Wed, 5 Sep 2001, Adam Shostack wrote:
Is it even legal (in the US) to refuse to sell to the feds? I know
While I am unsure of the _current_ status, as of 1989/90 it was at least OK to place severe restrictions on *how* one did business with them. At that time I worked for a company that separate divisions, of which one was a [consumer] retail outlet (interestingly, the other division was strictly for Fedz contract work- oh, the irony!). During 1987 ('88?) the Fedz (in the person of IRS) made rather a lot of purchases via P.O., and was so "laid back" about [not] paying their bills, that the retail side of the house put in a strict cash-only policy on government purchases, and simultaneously placed a no-sale policy on them until their bills were paid in full (which never happened, and which means there were no further sales to the federales). -- Yours, J.A. Terranson sysadmin@mfn.org If Governments really want us to behave like civilized human beings, they should give serious consideration towards setting a better example: Ruling by force, rather than consensus; the unrestrained application of unjust laws (which the victim-populations were never allowed input on in the first place); the State policy of justice only for the rich and elected; the intentional abuse and occassionally destruction of entire populations merely to distract an already apathetic and numb electorate... This type of demogoguery must surely wipe out the fascist United States as surely as it wiped out the fascist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The views expressed here are mine, and NOT those of my employers, associates, or others. Besides, if it *were* the opinion of all of those people, I doubt there would be a problem to bitch about in the first place... --------------------------------------------------------------------