[KLUG Advocacy] Re: [KLUG Members] Re: White House to Propose System for Wide Monitoring of Internet

Adam Tauno Williams advocacy@kalamazoolinux.org
Fri, 20 Dec 2002 10:38:29 -0500


>First off, much of this authority was already granted in Bill Clinton's
>1998 Executive Order.  I remember raising hell when he signed that in
>December of that year and no one listened to me.  This same order
>created Carnivore, which _everyone_ heard about later (just search the
>LEAP archives).  I have to give Bush some credit, at least he got
>Legislative approval before he did anything, but it's still the same
>damn ignorance.

I watched some congressional board interviewing representatives from the IT
industry about topics such as network security, virii, monitoring, etc... (Thank
goodness for CSPAN, for when network TV is just too intelligent to handle). 
These government policies are exactly what the "IT expurts", at least the ones I
saw, are suggesting.  I thought that dippy lady on the Tod Mundt show who talks
about home computers chronically exceeded her brief, but these "experts" where
just pundits peddling crap, FUD, and vagueries.  They referred to the 'teenage
hacker' archtype so many times I thought I was going to loose control and punch
out the TV screen.

>In both cases, I see the Clinton 1998 Executive Order as well as the
>PATRIOT Act and other Bush Administration legislative moves as
>detrimental to our lives.  Why?  Well, if they can justify their right
>to monitor the Internet because it is a "public means," when do they
>install a video camera in my car?  

They already have those on major intersections, whats the diff?  Except it is
closer and they might actually be able to see me flipping them off.

>Or a V-chip in my phone?

I thought the V chip was for TV?

>Benjamin Franklin, where are you?

He died.  Given the givens it was probably a wise decision.