From: Robin Whittle
Dorthy Denning is a boot-licking fasicist!!!
It may be emotionally satisfying to rail against (what for us may be evident as) the wickedness and stupidity of our opponents. [SNIP] If we nod our heads to "Dorthy Denning is a boot-licking fasicist!!!" then we too are succumbing to groupthink.
I must commend Robin for a well-said comment. It is truly counter-productive to insist on conspiracy theories and anti-government rhetoric. Sure, there have been conspiracies in the past. Sure, there have been more than our fair share of atrocities. However, the real issues are privacy, security, freedom of speech, and effective policy enforcement. When we start calling names like "jack booted thugs" and the like, we are sinking to the same low levels that Freeh and (more appropriately) Gorelick use when they cry wolf and foretell futuristic electronic meltdowns. More importantly, while the public is cynical and skeptical, it isn't exactly embracing the right-wing militia movements either. It would be a great disservice to the cause if cypherpunks were, in the minds of the public, tightly associated with the likes of Timothy McVey. Ern