George Gleason writes:

Agreed with Phil here. Clipper can't have been developed since Inauguration Day; it has to be a hand-me-down from the Bush administration, and I'm willing to bet that Clinton has been sold a bill of goods to get his support. Now a lot of folks on this list are ideologically committed to

It's clearly stated that the program is at least 4 years old and that, for example, the contracts with VLSI Tech and Mxxxxtronix (I keep forgetting the name of the previously obscure So. Cal. defense contractor) were let 14 months ago, that production of the chips has begun, blah blah. No argument that the program started under Bush, and perhaps under Reagan (recall his various NSDDs and the Computer Security Act...). This doesn't mean the proposal will be casually tossed aside by Clinton as some objections are raised. Most policies of this sort percolate up through the entrenched bureacracies in Justice, State, Defense, NSA, etc. In this case, the AG, Janet Reno, was a well-known drug warrior in the Miami/Dade area....undoubtedly she made use of wiretaps, seizures, etc. She also probably understands the issues of law enforcement pretty well and fully understands what the proposal means. So, I don't think Clinton will easily change this policy. A firestorm of proposed civil disobedience, scoffing at the Clipper, etc., *might* have some effect. But I don't favor concentrating on legislative fixes. Give me technology any day. -Tim P.S. However, I'm trying to find the net address to send ersatz "protest" letters to Intergraph Corp about "Clipper." Clipper is the name of their 32-bit RISC chip--my thought is that enough indignant letters to Intergraph, deliberately confusing the Clinton Clipper with their product, will get Intergraph's lawyers to file a protest with the Administration! Perhaps even a name change will be ordered....a minor embarrassment, to be sure, but a stick in their eye nonetheless. -- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^756839 | Public Key: MailSafe and PGP available.