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At 11:06 -0700 9/25/97, Brock N. Meeks wrote, quoting me:
Underlying all this is the threat of a presidential veto. What pro-crypto legislation can survive it? That will give the FBI/NSA more leverage when pushing for their kind of "compromise." Especially because of the slothful speed of the Senate, the process will take close to a year, probably.
Yeah, well, except that there isn't a year left for this Congress. If it doesn't get done before the next recess (in which we don't see Congress again until it becomes teh 106th, next year) the slate is wiped clean and we start from ground zero.
That's not right. The 106th Congress doesn't begin until January //1999//, after the elections. The slate is not wiped clean in 1998; we don't start from ground zero. Bills will carry over to next year when Congress returns in January for the second session of the 105th. That's why it may take close to a year -- perhaps until next summer -- for Congress to finish compromising away your rights to use whatever encryption software you like. -Declan ------------------------- Declan McCullagh Time Inc. The Netly News Network Washington Correspondent http://netlynews.com/