To read this article in Deutsch, Francaise, Italiano, Portuguese, Espanol, copy and paste the complete URL("http://www.g21.net/news6.html") and enter it in the box after you click through.
Event #138: Visual Triggers
LAST WEEK's EDITION |
It is a truism in the horror movie sequel business that each new entry in the series must be noisier than the last: The chases become faster, more innocent people die, the acts of violence become more brutal and random. Only the sex deteriorates, quickly receding to a mere suggestion of moral failure warranting crude dismemberment at the hands of an ax-wielding maniac.
Our maniacs in Washington, not content to produce a horrific sequel, have become part of the movie they were creating. True to the genre, their efforts are becoming more frenzied and random as they seek to dismember the First Amendment in order to reduce sex on the Web to a mere suggestion of moral failing.
Much has happened since the first installment of this alert was submitted to G21 last Sunday (Oct. 4th): Chasing every spending bill that stands a chance of reaching Clinton's desk before the elections recess, Act-wielding members of both Houses - e.g., Coats and McCain in the Senate, Oxley in the House - are attaching Internet censorship bills to everything in sight.
I won't try to sort this out now - the language and provisions vary substantially among these proposals, and it's anyone's guess which will make it through Reconciliation. The dust will settle soon, and it's probably too late to have any influence over our elected officials for this go round. Suffice to say that all the bills have in common the major deficiencies already discussed:
However, I will take this opportunity to recommend another online resource which was a glaring omission last time: The Center for Democracy and Technology. I had incorrectly identified CDT with the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition (CIEC), which was very active during the original CDA challenge but has been behind the curve this time around. In fact, CDT's site is more up to date than most; their Policy Posts provide clear summaries of the latest proposals, as well as the Congressional legerdemain behind them; and they have a wealth of analysis, background materials and original documents. CDT also has an action system for identifying and contacting your elected representatives, called Digital Democracy. This may be preferable to the ACLU's action system, at least for now, as the ACLU has been slower to update their site.
One final tidbit for your reading pleasure. The full report of the House of Representatives on H.R. 3783 (the "Child Online Protection Act"), including detailed findings and "analysis", is available from the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Enjoy.
More later....
_________________________________
+++ The Previous G21 NEWS +++ The Next G21 NEWS +++
