************ http://cgi.pathfinder.com/netly/afternoon/0,1012,1670,00.html The Netly News / Afternoon Line January 6, 1998 When Sonny Turns to Blue Rep. Sonny Bono, a Congressman better known for his songwriting than his lawmaking, died yesterday in a skiing accident. He was 62. Bono built his show-biz career on being the butt of Cher's jokes and found that he played a similar role in Washington, a town where self-deprecation is reviled, not admired. Washingtonian magazine once dubbed him the dumbest member of Congress, and commentators criticized his informal approach to lawmaking on the buttoned-down House Judiciary committee, on which the California Republican tackled Internet legislation. Early last year he staunchly opposed the FBI's demands for increased government snooping power but then backed down. He told me in September that at first he had not been "aware" of the details surrounding the encryption debate and there are others "we have to be concerned about." Bono also sponsored H.R. 1621 and H.R. 2589, two copyright extension bills currently being considered by Congress. --Declan McCullagh/Washington