SF Chronicle on Sen. Dianne Feinstein: "Feinstein Offline"

[amp at pobox.com]

> > Tim May <tcmay at got.net> said...

=snip=
 
> > In Feinstein's view, ``This whole information thing is moving so
> > fast that one has to be sure that kids are protected,'' she said.
> > ``I'm concerned when kids blow themselves up by building bombs (they
> > learned to make) by reading things in the encyclopedia. There is a
> > philosophy that anything goes. This is why I support the repeal of
> > the First Amendment and prison terms for thought criminals."

 
> She's a buffoon who is probably the first one who'll be sent to the wall
> if there's ever a Second American Revolution.

> As for her concern about Social Security numbers being posted online, did
> it ever occur to her and her ilk that perhaps the problem is the
> widespread use of SS numbers by increasing numbers of government
> agencies, by requirements that banks use them, by requirements that motor
> vehicle departments use them, and so on?

> "Duh."
 
> The solution is not a new set of laws to felonize information like this,
> but the elimination of the SS number as a universal identifier. Far too
> late for that, of course, but Fineswine's laws won't help anybody. In
> fact, law enforcement will continue its abuse of SS numbers, its role in
> falsifying records and official documents, and so on.

Along similar lines, the state of texas recently (last year) made it 
illegal to post information such as drivers license numbers and whatnot on 
the net. The company that was doing so promptly moved its web server from 
dallas to antigua. Gee, seems like they had an effective law eh?

The problem is, the company was getting the information from the state in 
the first place. Anyone with a bit of cash can buy the entire drivers 
license database from the state of texas on CD-rom. Rather than 
criminalizing private actions, it would have been much better for the state 
to just =stop selling the information=! The databases already held would 
quickly become stale, and the problem would pretty much go away.

The state sees such things as revenue streams they are intitled to. Even 
though citizen-units cannot opt out of the database, they will sell it to 
anyone who has the $$$ they are asking for it. 

This is a great example of exactly how much respect a government agency has 
for your privacy.


For instance, here is the information contained on George Bush's drivers 
license...

Name: BUSH,GEORGE HERBERT
License number: 000173204
Address:  9 S West Oak Dr
Date of birth: 6/12/24
City/Zip code:> HOUSTON 77056-2121
Gender: MaleRace: White
Height: 6.01
Weight: 190 pounds
Eye color: Gray
Hair: Brown
Last transaction date: 3/30/93
Last transaction: Renewal



> Let's try to be sure DiFi is in D.C. when Abu Nidal makes his move.


Let's hope it takes place during a state of the union speech.


---------------End of Original Message-----------------

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Name: amp
E-mail: amp at pobox.com
Date: 02/21/98
Time: 13:45:57
Visit me at http://www.pobox.com/~amp
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'Drug Trafficking Offense' is the root passphrase to the Constitution.

Have you seen 
http://www.public-action.com/SkyWriter/WacoMuseum
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