from 'Buzz White':
More to the point, the question "Why Now?" comes to my mind.
So, I posit that this legislative swirl is an attempt to squash true "crypto for the masses" (via real commercial integration) before it gets out "into the world".
Anybody have a better analysis of the "Why Now" part of the question?
Good theory, but I think the major reason is more obvious. We have elected "representatives", led by a complete slimeball president, that want to usurp every bit of liberty we have. Money, soul, healthcare, private property, you name it. The sooner they can grab it, the more completely they can control us. Crypto, digicash, and remailers work against their attempts, so they try to stop them. The more they want something from us, the stronger our effort must be not to let them have it. They think we need their "help" to live our lives, and that without we would be helpless. They think we're all like those pathetic people in LA who had no clue what to do with their welfare checks when check cashing stores were torched during the Rod-knee King Bar-B-Q and Block Party. The sad part is that as more and more people are absorbed into the welfare state, fewer remain to assert our right to personal liberty and our right "to be left alone". We're likely to lose by attrition.