Forwarded message:
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 22:55:02 -0400 From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com> Subject: Crypto-ban will pass Commerce cmte next week, from Reuters
So much for the millions of dollars industry wasted on crypto-lobbying. The lobbyists (and high-tech executives) should have realized long ago that legislatures often are enemies of civil liberties. Civil liberties are anti-majoritarian, and usually unpopular, by their very nature. Look at what happened with the CDA -- it took the Supreme Court to undo Congress' bad work.
I think you are confusing 'blatant self-interest without regard to others' with civil liberties. There are no 'gay rights' or 'womens rights' or any other sort of 'minority' rights, there simply are rights that each and every human being holds. All this special interest crap is just that, blatant self-serving crap at the expense of others. Civil liberties are inherent rights human beings have by simply being human beings. They are not a statistical effect or dependant upon who happens to hold the current reigns of government. Their respect however, does depend on not only the minority but the majority realizing it is in their best long-term interest to support them. The bottem line is that it really doesn't matter what kind of government it is, as long as everyone goes along reasonably willingly. What truly amazes me is that, for example, the anti-gun lobbiest have not pushed modifying the 2nd Amendment. Shows a serious lack of character and follow-through. Oh yeah, that would get either the states or the people directly involved...imagine that. Seems to me that the best way to play poker with an equal player is to go for table stakes. Perhaps the answer is a Crypto Amendment movement, take the political ante all the way...why mess around with some pansy-waisted politicians in Washington...lets get 50 governors or several hundred million Americans involved. You'd at least get PSA's and 'equal time' out of the deal. It'd probably cost less to influence 50 governors than several hundred congress persons. ____________________________________________________________________ | | | The financial policy of the welfare state requires that there | | be no way for the owners of wealth to protect themselves. | | | | -Alan Greenspan- | | | | _____ The Armadillo Group | | ,::////;::-. Austin, Tx. USA | | /:'///// ``::>/|/ http:// www.ssz.com/ | | .', |||| `/( e\ | | -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- Jim Choate | | ravage@ssz.com | | 512-451-7087 | |____________________________________________________________________|