At 03:56 PM 7/13/95 -0700, Timothy C. May wrote:
criminalizes groups which support This Year's Enemies. (Like the War with Oceania--or was it Eurasia?--the friend of today was yesterday's criminal organization. Wow! The Oceania folks haven't even raised enough funds to make a credible floating city, and already they're at war!? (Or, alternatively, No, Oceania's always been at war with _East_asia...)
Some would say this means Cypherpunks should step into the fray and become a lobbying group. I don't see us as having the structure or organization to become such a group. Those who wish to should probably form a real group to do this, with bylaws and elected officials.
There's already an EFF, and lobbying probably looks better with our EFF hats on than with Cypherpunks hats and non-exportable T-Shirts on. Cypherpunks is more for lobbying the public by putting out code than for lobbying CONgress.
Anarchies are great, but there's no way an anarchy can have a "spokesman," or a budget for travel and lobbying, or a hundred other things that a lobbying group needs. Cypherpunks--this list--is just not in a position to be this group.
Consensus-oriented coalitions can also work marvelously inefficiently :-) # Thanks; Bill # Bill Stewart, Freelance Information Architect, stewarts@ix.netcom.com