Doug Barnes wrote:>

This means, for those not reading between the lines, doing something more than online ranting and petition-signing, such as getting out the checkbook and supporting those who are organized to fight these things, and actually getting off the dime and doing things like writing letters, sending telegrams, and otherwise harassing our elected beings through media that they understand (since, clearly, they _don't_ understand the Internet -- if they did, they wouldn't propose legislation like this.)

Yes, the "bad guys" can crank out unfriendly legislation faster than the "good guys" can fight it, but since we are clearly not ready to offer technological solutions this month, the "good guys" act as a valuable brake on this current swing of the pendulum.

Cypherpunks can do more by being cypherpunks. Your keyboards are better weapons than checkbooks in this case. Why isn't PGP so simple that every luzer on AOL will use it without thinking? Why hasn't the NetScape key been broken? Prove these proposed laws are just as silly and ineffective as they look by demonstrating it. Lots of people will attack these laws on legal grounds, and you should too if your conscience so moves you, but very few have the capabilities to attack them on technical grounds where their vulnerabilities are real, not just a matter of opinion. Buford C. Terrell 1303 San Jacinto Street Professor of Law Houston, TX 77002 South Texas College of Law voice (713)646-1857 terrell@sam.neosoft.com fax (713)646-1766