Re: My Blind Spot - Patriot Act II

From: Mike Lorrey (mlorrey@yahoo.com)
Date: Tue Mar 18 2003 - 11:25:17 MST

  • Next message: Noah Horton: "RE: My Blind Spot - Patriot Act II"

    --- Amara Graps <amara@amara.com> wrote:
    > Mike Lorrey:
    > >I would caution against making such a judgement. The ACLU is
    > notorious
    > >for putting an excessively left wing spin on any document they
    > publish,
    > >and they cherry pick which 'civil liberties' they choose to protect.
    >
    > This comes via the cypherpunks:
    > Subject: FC: DOJ quietly drafts USA Patriot II, includes anti-crypto
    > section
    > From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
    >
    >
    > Thanks to Joe for being the first one to submit this... Here's a
    > duplicate URL if the original is too slow:
    > http://www.privacy.org/patriot2draft.pdf
    >
    > Note the draft legislation creates a new federal felony of willfully
    > using encryption in the commission of a felony. "No more than five
    > years" in prison plus a hefty fine.

    Okay, let me get this straight: PAII proposes to make the use of
    encryption *while in the commission of a felony* itself a felonious
    act. Okay, so as long as I don't commit any felonies, I don't have
    anything to worry about.

    This is the difficulty, Amara, of raising real public concern. Those of
    us who are law abiding don't see it as a threat to us.

    There are many things which are constitutionally acceptable that are
    similar to the draft proposal. For example, the act of using a firearm,
    which would otherwise be constitutionally protected behavior, while in
    commission of a felony, is itself a felony. The act of using a phone,
    which would otherwise be a constitutionally protected behavior, while
    in commmission of fraud, is itself a felony. The act of using a ballot,
    an otherwise constitutionally protected behavior, while in the
    commission of election fraud, is itself a felony. The act of possessing
    or using a tone generator, an otherwise constitutionally protected
    activity, while in the commission of theft of telecommunications
    services, is itself a felony. The act of using a microphone, an
    otherwise constitutional behavior, while in the act of wiretapping two
    unsuspecting individuals without a court order, is itself a felony.

    There are many otherwise constitutional activities and technologies
    that, if used in an illegal manner, constititute crimes in and of
    themselves. That use of such technologies should increase the total
    penalities a convict should receive reflects the degree to which such
    technologies make it easier for such criminals to violate the rights of
    law abiding citizens.

    =====
    Mike Lorrey
    "Live Free or Die, Death is not the Worst of Evils."
                                                         - Gen. John Stark
    "Pacifists are Objectively Pro-Fascist." - George Orwell
    "Treason doth never Prosper. What is the Reason?
    For if it Prosper, none Dare call it Treason..." - Ovid

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