Re: Civil Disobedience

[Joe Shaw <jshaw () insync net>]

On Mon, 15 Oct 2001, White Vampire wrote:

>       Let the punishment fit the crime, comes to mind.  It is not
> defined clearly enough to limit to cleancut illegal behavior.  It could
> affect computer professionals involved in the computer security world,
> at least that was my impression.

With an already overcrowded prison system and an overworked FBI,
especially in the face of the recent attacks in New York, where and how
are they going to find the manpower to go after web page defacers and
virii writers?

>       That is definitely of concern.  It is
> unconstitutional.  Regardless, there are multiple angles that must be
> considered.  The infringement attempts and successes upon freedom in the
> United States as of late are outright disgusting.

Yes.  Never let the unconstitutionality of something convince you that it
will be found as such.  The Fourth Amendment is being eroded because of
"The War on Drugs."  The Second Amendment is being eroded "because of the
children."  The First Amendment can't protect you if you criticize a
Federal judge.  We all understand free speach, the right to be secure in
our posessions and on our property, and the right to defend ourselves if
attacked.  But who here thinks that most Congressmen know the difference
between a SYN scan and a TCP connect(); scan?  Or the difference between a
buffer overflow and a format string attack?  These people, most of whom
are grossly ignorant of what is being proposed to them, will be the ones
passing these laws, and they will pass any laws they want to if they
think that the people will support them and the President will sign them.
Sometimes unpopular legislation is tacked on to bills almost guaranteed to
pass or in an effort to kill them, and nothing is more sinister as the
"rider."  Then, after the law is passed and people are prosecuted
under it you have to run test cases through the judicial system
until you ultimately arrive at the Supreme Court and they decide the
outcome.  This can take years, which you can spend locked up in Federal
prison, and which you can never get back.  I may not like Mitnick, but I
certainly think his case shows that he was not treated fairly, especially
in light of his real crimes.

As an NRA member, contacting my elected representatives is not new to me.
The HCI crowd may hate us, but any politician will tell you that NRA
members are very active in politics and they do listen to us.  The NRA
only has 4-5Million members.  How many members does the EFF have, and if
you're not a member why haven't you joined?  Politics is a dirty game, but
the lack of political muscle is worse.  The EFF sounds like the perfect
organization for fighting this type of legislation.

Yours in freedom and liberty,
--
Joseph W. Shaw II
Network Security Specialist/CCNA
Unemployed.  Will hack for food.  God Bless.
Apparently I'm overqualified but undereducated to be employed.