In case any of y'all actually care, my response (and others) to Young's essay is here: http://www.politechbot.com/p-02575.html -Declan On Wed, Sep 26, 2001 at 06:18:15PM -0400, Declan McCullagh wrote:
http://www.reason.com/cy/cy092401.html
September 24, 2001 Civil liberties may take a hit By Cathy Young
[...]
The movements of foreign visitors will be scrutinized more closely. Perhaps most alarming to many civil libertarians, it's likely that the government will expand its ability to monitor electronic mail, which has been a controversial issue for some time.
Do I like the idea of the government intercepting e-mail? No. But, as long as there's judicial oversight and due process, that's no different from its longstanding power to intercept regular mail.
Do I like the idea of people being able to encrypt electronic communications so that they are beyond surveillance? Frankly, I found it scary even before Sept. 11 - precisely because of the threat of terrorism.
It is said that there are no atheists in foxholes; perhaps there are no true libertarians in times of terrorist attacks.
Even in the Declaration of Independence, the right to liberty is preceded by the right to life.