At 12:41 AM 8/2/95 -0700, Timothy C. May wrote:

So, hearing that "Pat Robertson is warning against a digital cash society" is not too worrisome to me. I suspect he means the stuff about Big Brother tracking us and the Number of the Beast, and so on.

Correct. I have in my hot little hands a book called "Racing Toward the Mark of the Beast -- Your Money, Computers, and the End of the World" by Peter & Paul Lalonde (hosts of "This Week in Bible Prophecy") published by Harvest House. They relate the story of their attendance at 1993's "Solutions for the Global Frontier" card technology conference in Washington, DC which happened to be held during the Waco Inferno. "This Week in Bible Prophecy" and CNN were the only electronic media represented. Waco encouraged discussion by the participants for electronic tracking of cult members. The book hits all the high points of privacy invading technology. But has nothing about our sorts of privacy techniques presumably because we are not yet well known in the Christian community. Chapters: 1. Boy, Have I Got Your Number 2. Kiss Your Cash Goodby 3. What's in the Cards? 4. Your Body: The Only ID You'll Ever Need 5. Will That Be Hand or Forehead? 6. If You're Not Paranoid, It's Because You're Not Paying Close Enough Attention 7. Bringing the World On-Line 8. 666: The System Is Born 9. The Chosen Generation 10. Where Will You Stand? I have generally found "Fundies" to be better informed about privacy problems and more protective of their own privacy than any other discrete group. DCF "60 million job changes per year + Federal Job Licensing (The Jordan Commission proposal to require employers to verify SS#'s) + the 25% error rate in the SS#-Name database = 15 million legally unemployable for a total unemployment rate of 18%."