13.10.1. The backroom deals in Washington are flying...apparently the
Administration got burned by the Clipper fiasco (which they
could partly write-off as being a leftover from the Bush era)
and is now trying to "work the issues" behind the scenes
before unveiling new and wide-reaching programs. (Though at
this writing, the Health Bill is looking mighty amateurish
and seems ulikely to pass.)
13.10.2. We are not hearing about these "deals" in a timely way. I
first heard that a brand new, and "in the bag," deal was
cooking when I was talking to a noted journalist. He told me
that a new deal, cut between Congress, the telecom industry,
and the EFF-type lobbying groups, was already a done deal and
would be unveiled so. Sure enough, the New and Improved
Digital Telephony II Bill appears a few weeks later and is
said by EFF representatives to be unstoppable. [comments by
S. McLandisht and others, comp.org.eff.talk, 1994-08]
13.10.3. Well, excuse me for reminding everyone that this country is
allegedly still a democracy. I know politics is done behinde
closed doors, as I'm no naif, but deal-cutting like this
deserves to be exposed and derided.
13.10.4. I've announced that I won't be renewing my EFF membership. I
don't expect them to fight all battles, to win all wars, but
I sure as hell won't help *pay* for their backrooms deals
with the telcos.
13.10.5. This may me in trouble with my remaining friends at the EFF,
but it's as if a lobbying groups in Germany saw the
handwriting on the wall about the Final Solution, deemed it
essentially unstoppable, and so sent their leaders to
Berchtesgaden/Camp David to make sure that the death of the
Jews was made as painless as possible. A kind of joint
Administration/Telco/SS/IG Farben "compromise." While I don't
equate Mitch, Jerry, Mike, Stanton, and others with Hitler's
minions, I certainly do think the inside-the-Beltway
dealmaking is truly disgusting.
13.10.6. Our freedoms are being sold out.
By Tim May, see README
HTML by Jonathan Rochkind