Jeff Gostin: | Damn right you can't, because it starts a rather attrocious slippery | slope. Sure, right now it's phone calls. Next, corner "papers please" | checks. Finally, open random house checks, and thought police. Sorry, but | I didn't elect Orwell to be god, er, president. Of course, I didn't elect | Clinton either... Not that I'm a Clinton fan, but most of his orwellan proposals have been around, simmering, for a while. Both Clipper & Post Office national ID cards first came up under Bush. health ID cards are, of course, Hillary's. The problem is not any one particular idiot in office, but a strong public desire to give up a little freedom for a little security. My response to these concerns to to point out that we have one of the highest incarceration rates in the world right now, and more crime & problems than 15 years ago, when we had far, far fewer people in jail. Many, if not most of the people in jail, are there for selling drugs, often as a result of 'zero tolerance for pot.' (Interesting article on this, btw, in the current & upcoming issues of the Atlantic, titled 'Reefer Madness') reforming the laws so that violent criminals go to jail for longer than drug criminals should be pushed constantly. (Talking about *gasp* legalizing or decriminalizing drugs tends to be counter productive except with old style conservatives, far leftists, and libertarians.) Talking about violent v. non-violent crime often has better results in terms of opening peoples eyes. Adam -- Adam Shostack adam@bwh.harvard.edu Politics. From the greek "poly," meaning many, and ticks, a small, annoying bloodsucker.