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The online gambling provision is paternalistic and would be a pain for the banks, but isn't it illegal in the US already? At worst, this portion of the bill is redundant, and it seems it's being dumped in favor of the Senate version of the bill.

you can go here:
http://feingold.senate.gov/ in order to email the senator directly from his page and give him props for what he's done. He was so majorly outvoted, im sure he'd love to hear it.

I interviewed with the Senate Democratic Technology and Communications Committee -- the group that does all the tech and tech support for Dems in the Senate. The amount of support they offered to senators was extensive. The setups for communications are fairly standard--POP3 and SMTP servers on both Mac and Windows, web hosting, scripts to automate web mangement tasks. Some fancy video production equipment as well. No setups I was aware of to do more than the mail filtering that's currently available to everyday users. They're tech savvy folks, at least at the DTCC.

That's not where the problem lies.

I used to work for a nonprofit that had as mission educating congressmembers on technology issues, back when the net was not on Oprah. This nonprofit had a series of demonstrations on constituent issue/contact/request tracking software--a system for staffers to look at correspondence received by the congressmember, enter key facts about it into a database, and then be able to generate reports on how many people wrote this month about a or b or c, who wanted a flag flown in memory of so-and-so, etc.

The software worked, and well. What didn't was the fact that the rate of adoption of this technology by the congressional offices was very disparate. Each congressmember's office has a different amount of money available to it for expenses, and this has to do with many factors including state population, the amount of financial support that the state gives its federal representative, the seniority of the congressmember, the amount of money the congressmember raised during the campaign that s/he decides to use for things such as serving constituents, what the party (tech, as most other things on the hill, are party based) allocates for it, etc.

Which means that the software to do this fancy mail management stuff specific to congress is there, but congressional turnover eliminates the possibility of continuity, the cost makes it harder for the smaller offices to use, and . The amount of money that the federal government gives congressmembers for staff, supplies, equipment and such is fairly tight. Organizations like the DTCC end up having to provide it out of general funds raised by their party. That's where some of the party fundraising goes to, folks. True, it also might pay for dinner cruises on the Potomac, but really folks, cynicism can only take you so far before you become fascetious.

So, what do we do as everyday citizens to improve our ability to influence our congresmembers, using technology?

The answer to everything--open source.
Create a toolkit for anyone in congress to use, free of charge, to track and respond to constituent issues, or issues of importance to the nation as large whether or not from constituents. Make it a free, point-and-click installation, that runs on whatever they use and that can, because of the way it's designed, give the congressmember not just a view of what's out there on the issue front but also what has been there. Make the code open and available to all so that it becomes both a public good and something we can all supervise

It's OUR government after all. Let's treat it as such. As long as we continue seeing it as this big old enemy out to get us, those out there who treat it as a buddy that wants presents will get more out of it than we will.

My girlfriend is a Legislative Correspondent for her congressman. Here's how it all works.

Most every representative and senator has at least one "Legislative Correspondent". This staffer is responsible for dealing with mail and responding to it.

IF YOU ARE NOT A CONSTITUENT, DON'T EXPECT A RESPONSE. They're not going to waste time/money on you; it's S.O.P. for all congressional offices.

If you are a constituent, your letter/email will be assigned to an issues category and have basic information from it entered into a database (which keeps track of who you are, where you live, what other letters you've sent, basic stuff like that). If a letter exists which addresses your issue, it'll get printed out and sent back to you. If not, either the legislative correspondent will write a letter on it -- which can require a good deal of research -- or, especially if it's an important, popular issue, will have a "Legislative Assistant" write the letter, typically someone who knows more about the particular issue. The new response letter typically will be read by the "Legislative Director", the chief of staff, or even your congressperson.

Once the letter is revised and approved, it will be mailed to you. Some offices reply via email -- if you emailed them; other offices always issue snail mail. Always, always, always include your mailing address in your letter.

In my g/f's office, email has the same status as written letters. I don't know if this is a universal practice. I do know that their email system and database software is universal. It's best to submit your email via your congressperson's web site (http://www.senate.gov/, http://www.house.gov/), because it's easier to get info from it into their database.

Once your letter/email has been responded to, they will file a paper copy of it and that will be that. Whether it has an effect is entirely dependent upon your congressperson's politics, campaign financing interests, and staffers, and upon the political wind, and upon how reasonable and articulate your correspondence is. If you sound crazed at all -- and remember that congressional staffers majored in poly sci, not CS; their passions are not your's -- they'll think you're loony.

An important fact to keep in mind is that some congressional offices have months' worth of backlog. It will take TIME to get a response, especially as there's a lot of mail pouring into the Capitol these days. My g/f's office strives for two weeks turnaround, max, and that's a very good number.

---

Congressional correspondence is important, obviously, but you may be able to be more persuasive by talking with the right legislative assistant. Call up the office, explain to whoever answers the phone that you'd like to talk to the appropriate legislative assistant about your issue, and if the right LA isn't there, leave your phone number. If you take this tact, however, it's very important to know about the issue and to be prepared to talk about it in a reasonable and personable manner. Think soft sell. Be prepared to concede some points. Be prepared to prioritize sub-issues, what's non-negotiable for your vote, why you feel that way, and also what you could live with. Be prepared to demonstrate the ramifications of possible legislation, how it affects you, and how it affects others (especially other constituents). If you're a business leader, or work for a notable employer, or are an influential and/or notable and respected citizen, your voice will carry some impact. If you can be a source of reliable information and input for your congressperson, his/her staffers will be grateful.

Got it?

Good.

-- Jon

• Email is better than saying nothing.
  
• Email can index the compentency of your Congressperson to legislate internet use
  
• Email is fast. Did your letter in opposition to the USA Act arrive on time?
  
• Some Congresspeople actually use email.
  

PleasePleasePLEASE take 5 minutes to write down how this will affect you as a consumer and as a technology worker. Emphasize the rights you loose. Be explicit about why this won't stop content piracy. Drop a note to Senator Hollings. Just as importantly, drop a note to your own 2 senators. Tell your elected representatives who you are and what you do. Tell them you won't vote for them if they support this, and be sure to follow through if necessary.

Contact your senators. It's easy, if you don't know what to say, just be polite and paraphrase some lines from the Red Hat press release. Tell him/her how the bill could directly have an effect on your life, and maybe an example of how it could effect the Senator's life too. All the webpages have web forms to send emails, so type something up first, run spell check and then paste it in the form. It couldn't be easier. On more thing, make sure you put your real name and address, if it's coming from a real person, it has a better chance of being heard.

KidA

There are some good links to finding names, addresses and phone numbers for your reps/senators in D.C.
THIS LINK has Senate information.
THIS ONE leads to House of Representatives information.
AND THIS ONE at Project VoteSmart is about the only central repository for FAX numbers.
We need a database of all this information in some easy-to-use format like MySQL or Access (shudder) so that popping off letters and faxes is as easy to do as possible. Email is easy. Snail mail is most effective. If we can't get rid of paper entirely - and this would appear to be the case for effective communication with congresscritters - we need to make it as painless as possible. I have found that the biggest pain in snail mail is NOT the cost of the stamp or the tedious activity of putting folded paper in envelopes. Instead, it's collecting all the relevant addresses and/or FAX numbers in one place. I can't believe no one has done this yet. I've made a small database for maybe a dozen people in Washington, but to do it for every elected rep. and senator would take more than a week. If we could agree on a common format (or formats) then one person per state could get it done in no time at all.

Special interest groups and political action committees have these tools. It's basically targeted spam, but it gets the best results.

Goto senate.gov And search for Bill "H.R. 2975"

This proposal from the Senate Subcommittee of Science and Technology gives all of us a chance to use our brainpower for something other than maintaining corporate networks or communication systems and surfing for pr0n. We actually may have opportunity to help save lives and ease the pain of those affected in times of crisis. I dont know about you, but giving blood and money just wasnt enough for me. I wanted to help in a more direct way as well as giving my financial and "biological" support. I humbly suggest that you let your senators know of your desire to help. http://www.senate.gov/senators/senator_by_state.cf m

I've done some work today, suprisingly. But I can't seem to stay away from Slashdot. The fat fucks who run this site need to get laid and start thinking about where they will go when VA Linux closes.

If there's one thing we've learned this past month, it's that we must stick together. As computer users, we must stand together on this issue. This includes writing your state representatives in the U.S. Congress and Senate, since they will ultimately be deciding the fate of this bill.

Write Your Representative
Write Your Senator

Keep our rights alive!

http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index_by_state.cf m

Here is some info on Congress...

Locate Your Representative (House)

Search by House Committee

Search by Senate Committe

Search Senators by State

Hope this helps!

Here is some info on Congress...

Locate Your Representative (House)

Search by House Committee

Search by Senate Committe

Search Senators by State

Hope this helps!

You do realize that you can find this information on, of all places, the web, don't you? Here's where to start:

http://www.senate.gov/senators/senator_by_state.cf m

http://www.house.gov/writerep/

From there you can go to their individual web sites and find contact information for their various offices (if no mailing address is listed, then you'll have to send an e-mail instead and mention the lack of a mailing address). Is that accessible enough for you?

Senator John Edwards of North Carolina is a strong proponent of privacy. You can contact him via his web site. Suggest he align himself with Rep. Bob Goodlatte. Edwards is a good man and he actually reads his email...

You seem to be forgetting who owns the mainstream media (among other things).

Senator Hollings official bio says, " Hollings uses his seniority, experience and know-how to fight for South Carolina. The state now receives $1.16 from the federal government for every $1 it sends to Washington."

... Hollings embraces Inglis' charges that he's a pork-barreler: "He calls it pork. This is government." He has spent 32 years wangling roads and airports and sewers for South Carolina, and he doesn't mind reminding voters about it. Inglis' spokesman derisively calls this Hollings' "I got you ... I got you ... I got you ... I got you ... I got you ..." speech.

Hollings introduced a bill to tax the Internet: 1999: New 5 percent Web sales tax proposed.


The CIA trained Osama bin Laden: What Should be the Response to Violence?

1. Write (with real paper, not email!) a firm but polite letter to your Congressional representatives in the House and in the Senate.
   
2. Help support Clean Elections.
   

BTW, you can find any senator's web page in the member directory from this page.

BTW, you can find any senator's web page in the member directory from this page.

I saw you speak on a cable news show this morning (Thursday, 9/20/01)
about upcoming legislation you are seeking to implement to counter the use
of computer encryption by criminals. I'm glad that you are willing to
stand up and take a proactive stance to solve the problems the FBI is
facing in their information gathering efforts, however your legislative
ideas unfortunately will be ineffectual in meeting the ends the FBI hope
to see. I hope you will find my thoughts insightful and helpful, and they
will lead in some small way to more effective laws.

The targets of your legislation are American software firms that develop
encryption-related technology, the main idea being that if their products
are designed to have a sort of master key that law enforcement agencies
can obtain in the event of an investigation, the good guys can decrypt
communications they otherwise wouldn't be privvy to, leading to
prosecutions and crime deterence. The assumption in this argument
however, which when disproven unravels the efficacy of the legislation, is
that the American firms have control over the availability and quality of
encryption software.

In reality, the technology behind almost all encryption tools (i.e. RSA
public-private key technology) is already available for free, and is
widely distributed around the globe, independent of any American or
foreign firm's oversight. Essentially, the technology is in the public
domain, and is a mundane, irrevocable part of the computer technology
landscape.

A large reason for the universal availability of the technology stems from
high-grade encryption algorithms historically really only being proven
effective by being tempered and stress-tested in a public way by
cryptographic academicians and enthusiasts around the world. The
development process is open, public, and scientific in nature, rather than
corporate and proprietary. The very process of developing strong
encryption is such that the resulting technology can't really be recalled
at a later time or altered to be weaker. This has resulted in mature,
near-perfect encryption software in use now on millions of machines.
People trust it, so they use it. The idea that people honestly interested
in keeping their data private will switch from these free, high-quality,
and secure solutions to non-free, non-secure solutions, and that passing a
certain piece of legislation can hope to lead to such a goal, is more
likely to give a false sense of security, and not create any new
protection.

Their marketing departments probably wouldn't highlight it, but what
software companies more typically are responsible for creating are only
the comfortable, easy-to-use interfaces, and the enterprise administration
tools that larger organizations can find useful. I personally don't care
for the bells and whistles, and like many other security professionals,
don't often see a reason to buy encryption software. I think it's only
realistic to assume likewise that the terrorists and criminals who are
smart enough to use encryption are also smart enough not to pay to use
software with keys that the US government control, when they can download
stronger, untampered stuff for free. The software companies add usability
features some people and companies need, since it can make their lives
easier and therefore save them some money in the long run. But regarding
strong encryption itself, in the real world the cat is already out of the
bag, and has been for some time. This needs to be faced as a basic truth,
rather than a dilemma that can be directly fixed with a new law.

Please, please season your legislation with more input from computer
professionals. I myself am not a NYC firefighter or a Red Cross worker;
I'm a computer guy, I develop secure networks to protect highly-sensitive
data in the pharmaceutical industry. If by way of this expertise though I
can be of some small service, and help to develop more realistic,
effective laws -- do my part -- I'd be interested in volunteering my time.
I'm sure there are thousands of other professionals in the country with a
similar willingness to put their knowledge to use for the greater good.
Please feel free to contact me if you or your aides care to further
discuss aspects of encryption technology.

Thank you for your time.

• Find your Representative here.
  
• Find your senators here.
  

Folks, a reminder -- arguing about this here isn't going to accomplish much. The people making the decisions aren't reading Slashdot.

If you have an opinion, then now is the time to express it where it matters. Send a calm, reasoned note off to your Congressperson, expressing your concerns. Postal mail generally gets more attention than email, but the sheer bulk of email can matter as well. As a reminder, you can find (and write to) your Representative via this page:

http://www.house.gov/writerep/

and find your Senators' email addresses from this one:

http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index_by_state.cf m

Personally, I recommend urging calm and balance at this point. If you come off as an extremist, odds are you won't be listened to. Most Congresspeople right now are feeling an enormous pressure to Do Something Now. Make clear to them that, while the people may well want action taken against the terrorist threat, we're also paying attention to what those actions are. The appropriate steps need to be carefully designed to have the maximum effect upon actual threats, while minimizing the effect on civil liberties. Legislators are used to compromise; if you make it clear that their constituency cares about both sides of the issue, it may get through to them that extremism here is a bad idea.

(I'm quite certain that at least one or two truly stupid laws are going to come out of this mess. But injecting a note of calm may help to keep the number and severity down...)

See: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/22462249 5

There are a lot of petitions like this floating around now. And everyone needs to pick they believe in and sign it.

And spend some time looking up your Senators at http://www.senate.gov and tell them what you think. And do it THIS WEEK!

Some say you have to do it snail mail. My Wisconsin Senators/Representatives HAVE sent me back (postal) replies to specific views I have shared with them in the past - it depends on your State, I guess.

The petition is rather vague. Letter-writing allows you to be more specific in their views. You can mention the cryptography and wiretapping proposals specifically, along with your views on what the U.S. response should be.

senate.gov and house.gov have all the information you need. Writing to legislators who do not represent your area of the country is not very effective. Legislators tend to listen much more closely if you can kick them out of office.

You can find contact information for your senators here, and your representatives here.

Shaun

Sigh. As soon as the shock wore off, I began to think: How long before Feinstein, Hatch and the other power-lusters in Congress would start dancing on the graves of Tuesday's victims in order to further their own poliical agendas?

Now I have an answer. Less than 72 hours.

Write your Representative and your Senator. Compose a well-reasoned letter and urge them to NOT trample on the freedoms of the People of America. This bill is simply a facade of terrorism detection plastered over a first step in the abolishment of the 4th Amendment. It will affect only the law-abiding citizens of this country instead of the ones it is being promoted to target. Funny how Hatch and Feinstein have a history of that, isn't it?

I live in Indianapolis, and I will spend a goodly amount of time this weekend composing a letter to Senator Richard Lugar. The Representative for my District is Julia Carson. I will also write to her as well, but she has spoken out against the Bill of Rights during her campaigning, so I am afraid I will be speaking to an enemy of the American people.

ANY law that is a blow against the freedoms of the people is a success for those who would destroy freedom, including terrorists.

Sigh. As soon as the shock wore off, I began to think: How long before Feinstein, Hatch and the other power-lusters in Congress would start dancing on the graves of Tuesday's victims in order to further their own poliical agendas?

Now I have an answer. Less than 72 hours.

Write your Representative and your Senator. Compose a well-reasoned letter and urge them to NOT trample on the freedoms of the People of America. This bill is simply a facade of terrorism detection plastered over a first step in the abolishment of the 4th Amendment. It will affect only the law-abiding citizens of this country instead of the ones it is being promoted to target. Funny how Hatch and Feinstein have a history of that, isn't it?

I live in Indianapolis, and I will spend a goodly amount of time this weekend composing a letter to Senator Richard Lugar. The Representative for my District is Julia Carson. I will also write to her as well, but she has spoken out against the Bill of Rights during her campaigning, so I am afraid I will be speaking to an enemy of the American people.

ANY law that is a blow against the freedoms of the people is a success for those who would destroy freedom, including terrorists.

Write your senators. NOW.

List of Senators and Contact info

You can email Senator Gregg at

mailbox@gregg.senate.gov

or you can fill out a form at

http://gregg.senate.gov/body_e-mail.htm

If you are a New Hampshire resident, you can get a reply snail mailed to you.
Remember, New Hampshire natives, we are his constituients;
let him know what our interests are so he can better represent them!

You can email Senator Gregg at

mailbox@gregg.senate.gov

or you can fill out a form at

http://gregg.senate.gov/body_e-mail.htm

If you are a New Hampshire resident, you can get a reply snail mailed to you.
Remember, New Hampshire natives, we are his constituients;
let him know what our interests are so he can better represent them!

Gregg's speech (scroll down almost half-way, or search for Gregg)

If you feel strongly about this, do send hand-written, original mail to him. It still makes a difference even if you aren't from New Hampshire. His web site:

http://gregg.senate.gov/

The real funny thing is that the Taleban were funded by the US for years to fight the bad commie Afghan government. Now the flames have come home into the house where they once were fueled.

If you were capable to read in 1992 instead to look at comic strips only, you would know it. But today nobody seems to care. Pray on folks but don't expect too much from it. Instead intelligent foreign policy might help. But as it seems, idiots don't learn too fast.

Now snake bites its masters hand. Anybody surprised?
Blame those criminals who are responsisble for this development.

The writing was on the wall since 1992.
Nobody cared to read it. And even now nobody cares.
Praying isn't enough when it comes to decision making.
Thinking may help. Better the US may chose friends more
carefully next time. But as it looks, the next explosive relationship
is ready to go.

Please send this letter or something similar to your representatives in Congress. Email is largely ignored, so I recommend printing and mailing. You can find your senators' mailing addresses at http://www.senate.gov/senators/senator_by_state.cf m

Dear [Senator],

People in Egypt and other countries were filmed celebrating the September 11 attacks on America that destroyed thousands of lives.

These countries receive billions of dollars in foreign aid from us--paid for by those whose lives were destroyed or altered forever by the attack. Their celebrating of these horrible acts show total disrespect and disregard for human lives, not to mention a complete lack of appreciation for the support that has continued to benefit them.

I strongly urge you to stop financial aid to these countries.

The money should instead go to victims and their families, not to those who celebrated their untimely deaths. And, of course, the money should be used to rebuild the destroyed properties and pay for the expensive investigations and other actions that must take place.

The hard-earned money of those who died should NOT go to those who celebrated their deaths.

Encourage your family, friends, coworkers and neighbors to do the same. Billions of dollars will be needed to rebuild the damage. Donating money is a good deed, but the United States must use these billions that we now need, not send it to those who celebrated carnage and destruction.

I am taking a pre-emptive strike against that, and I invite you all to join in. The fun part is, it's all completely non-violent and legal. All you kill are trees.

I am writing my congressman and senators. I ask other Slashdotters to do the same. You can find them and their mailing addresses at www.house.gov and www.senate.gov.

You will want to snailmail them on this one. Snailmail seems to have more impact on legislators than email.

Come up with your own wording, or use my words below as a template (or even literally--I don't mind).

This day has seen a tremendous tragedy. We must remember, however, to be deliberate in how we react to this horror.

There has been a lot of political pressure lately to get on a "tough on crime" bandwagon. This bandwagon believes that we must give up certain constitutional freedoms in order to better protect ourselves. Thus we have attempts to limit ownership of weapons, attempts to legislate the internet, attempts to criminalize the civilian use of cryptographic privacy, and so forth. There is a knee-jerk reaction, whenever the United States is attacked, to trade basic American freedoms for supposed security.

I am writing to plead with you to fight this bandwagon. Yes, we must be tough on crime. Yes, we absolutely must discover who did this to us and take whatever steps are necessary to neutralize the threat. But to attempt to do so by removing our freedoms is doomed to failure and destructive to America as a whole. To do that would be to cooperate with the terrorists who wish to destroy us.

Though you are likely thinking along the same lines, I must point out that this was a difficult, professional attack that took elite personnel--something entirely different from the regular street crime our police face every day. They successfully hijacked three or four aircraft in one day, without one failed attempt. They bypassed some of the toughest security civilians are subject to. The caliber of terrorist that must have done this will be unfettered by attempts to control gun ownership, internet usage, cryptography or dozens of other laws. The penalty of law is irrelevant when you are willing to die in your attack. If you can get a weapon past security (which I must assume these people did), getting your hands on one in the first place is easy, regardless of how many laws are in place.

If we, as a nation, react to this by instituting laws "for our own protection" that stomp all over the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution of the United States, we will do no harm to those who attack us, but tremendous harm to our own law-abiding citizens.

Terrorism is a form of warfare that does not attack our military assets, but the spirit of the civilians. Though it looks otherwise, the war is not fought in New York, not fought at the Pentagon, not fought at Oklahoma City. It is fought in the halls of Congress. I ask you to stand tall and fight for the values that make America great against your colleagues who think it is safest to stay in our foxholes and turn the United States into a police state. This will not be popular, but it is needed.

I thank you for your time, your attention, and your courage.

Mark my words, my friends: today has been one small step for terrorism, but one giant leap for the police state.

Form Email Letter to John McCain Here.

Oh come on, what's with the lameness filter, this was such a cutting message a short while ago. (Pre lameness filtering)

For all of you folks who are thinking about funnelling money to the South Carolina Republican Party as revenge for Hollings' perfidy - stop. Notice the name of the other sponsor on the bill.

Ted Stevens is a big-gun Republican, not an outcast on the moderate fringe. If he's working with Hollings on this, it's not just some kooky imperial-state Democrat's idea. Merely elbowing Hollings out of his seat won't make this bill go away. Take a longer view.

As far as lobbying goes, here are a few more useful people to lobby than merely your local Senator. Write McCain. Even if you aren't an Arizonian - he's ranking Republican on Commerce. Is your Senator on Commerce? Find out and harangue them about it, too. Write Ron Wyden [D-Ore.] and George Allen [R-Va.], who are respectively the ranking Democrat and Republican on the Commerce subcomittee that handles these matters. And don't forget Rep. Billy Tauzin [R-La.] and Rep. John Dingell [D-Mich.], who are the chair and ranking member of the Commerce committee on the other side of the Capitol, in the House, and who have demonstrated considerable clues on matters technical in the past.

If this bill makes a floor vote, the battle is already pretty much over. Fix it so it dies a quiet, neglected death in committee.

For all of you folks who are thinking about funnelling money to the South Carolina Republican Party as revenge for Hollings' perfidy - stop. Notice the name of the other sponsor on the bill.

Ted Stevens is a big-gun Republican, not an outcast on the moderate fringe. If he's working with Hollings on this, it's not just some kooky imperial-state Democrat's idea. Merely elbowing Hollings out of his seat won't make this bill go away. Take a longer view.

As far as lobbying goes, here are a few more useful people to lobby than merely your local Senator. Write McCain. Even if you aren't an Arizonian - he's ranking Republican on Commerce. Is your Senator on Commerce? Find out and harangue them about it, too. Write Ron Wyden [D-Ore.] and George Allen [R-Va.], who are respectively the ranking Democrat and Republican on the Commerce subcomittee that handles these matters. And don't forget Rep. Billy Tauzin [R-La.] and Rep. John Dingell [D-Mich.], who are the chair and ranking member of the Commerce committee on the other side of the Capitol, in the House, and who have demonstrated considerable clues on matters technical in the past.

If this bill makes a floor vote, the battle is already pretty much over. Fix it so it dies a quiet, neglected death in committee.

For all of you folks who are thinking about funnelling money to the South Carolina Republican Party as revenge for Hollings' perfidy - stop. Notice the name of the other sponsor on the bill.

Ted Stevens is a big-gun Republican, not an outcast on the moderate fringe. If he's working with Hollings on this, it's not just some kooky imperial-state Democrat's idea. Merely elbowing Hollings out of his seat won't make this bill go away. Take a longer view.

As far as lobbying goes, here are a few more useful people to lobby than merely your local Senator. Write McCain. Even if you aren't an Arizonian - he's ranking Republican on Commerce. Is your Senator on Commerce? Find out and harangue them about it, too. Write Ron Wyden [D-Ore.] and George Allen [R-Va.], who are respectively the ranking Democrat and Republican on the Commerce subcomittee that handles these matters. And don't forget Rep. Billy Tauzin [R-La.] and Rep. John Dingell [D-Mich.], who are the chair and ranking member of the Commerce committee on the other side of the Capitol, in the House, and who have demonstrated considerable clues on matters technical in the past.

If this bill makes a floor vote, the battle is already pretty much over. Fix it so it dies a quiet, neglected death in committee.

For all of you folks who are thinking about funnelling money to the South Carolina Republican Party as revenge for Hollings' perfidy - stop. Notice the name of the other sponsor on the bill.

Ted Stevens is a big-gun Republican, not an outcast on the moderate fringe. If he's working with Hollings on this, it's not just some kooky imperial-state Democrat's idea. Merely elbowing Hollings out of his seat won't make this bill go away. Take a longer view.

As far as lobbying goes, here are a few more useful people to lobby than merely your local Senator. Write McCain. Even if you aren't an Arizonian - he's ranking Republican on Commerce. Is your Senator on Commerce? Find out and harangue them about it, too. Write Ron Wyden [D-Ore.] and George Allen [R-Va.], who are respectively the ranking Democrat and Republican on the Commerce subcomittee that handles these matters. And don't forget Rep. Billy Tauzin [R-La.] and Rep. John Dingell [D-Mich.], who are the chair and ranking member of the Commerce committee on the other side of the Capitol, in the House, and who have demonstrated considerable clues on matters technical in the past.

If this bill makes a floor vote, the battle is already pretty much over. Fix it so it dies a quiet, neglected death in committee.

don't worry, someone else is working on making those rights obsolete right now.

I saw first this on Radio Free Nation

The Security Systems Standards and Certification Act (SSSCA), is set to be introduced by Senator Fritz Hollings this fall. It makes it a civil offense to create or sell any kind of computer equipment that "does not include and utilize certified security technologies" approved by the federal government. It also creates new federal felonies, punishable by five years in prison and fines of up to $500,000. Anyone who distributes copyrighted material with "security measures" disabled or has a network-attached computer that disables copy protection is covered.

As noted there, the Long Line of Idiots Theory is looking better all the time.

Lloyd Doggett [house.gov]

You might want to write your senators, too. Kay Bailey Hutchison [senate.gov] and Phil Gramm. [senate.gov] Both Republicans, but Gramm and Hollings have a history of getting cozy, and Gramm has already annouced his retirement.

Lloyd Doggett [house.gov]

You might want to write your senators, too. Kay Bailey Hutchison [senate.gov] and Phil Gramm. [senate.gov] Both Republicans, but Gramm and Hollings have a history of getting cozy, and Gramm has already annouced his retirement.

Dead right. It would be interesteing to see if any of these fine young people ever read any of those documents. Or this bunch of gansters. And I would be extremely surprised if this promising young man ever managed to read it through.

Most of these guys went to law school, but I suspect they used more time on "networking" than their curricilum.

The University of Wisconsin provides us with a good example of how the Bayh-Dole Act is implemented. Early work by Dr. Thomson on non-human primates, such as Rhesus monkeys, was federally funded and therefore, the patent obtained on stem cells arising from this work is governed by this Act. In accordance with the law, the invention was disclosed to the NIH, a patent application was filed by the University, through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), and WARF licensed the technology to a small company (Geron). Because federal funds were used for this non-human primate work, the government has a non-exclusive, royalty-free right to use the patented cells by or on behalf of the government. This would allow the government laboratories and contractors the right to use the patented cells for further research. In addition, in handling this invention the University must ensure that the goals of the Bayh-Dole Act -- utilization, commercialization, and public availability -- are implemented.

You can have my keyboard when you pry it out of my cold, dead hands.

Cliches aside, I have been thinking for a while that geeks and the NRA now have a lot in common. The key to the issue is an interpretation of the constitution. Many of us believe that the DMCA is an abridgement of our first amendment rights. Let's do what the NRA does, let's lobby. Maybe we don't have the time or money to go to Washington, but we U.S. citizens can slashdot our senators and our representatives. My one e-mail may not make the difference, but if we all send a polite e-mail expressing our concerns, we can make a difference. Contact your senators and representative. Let them know. They are becomming aware that there is a growing population of the technologically savvy. If they hear from enough of us, they will listen.