gnome@oliveb.UUCP (Gary) (09/30/86)
I'm disgusted about the ram-rodding of the Electronic Communication Privacy Act through the House and Senate. Seeing as how they have been dodging opposition and pushing it through as quickly as possible, I have some questions. Would it be libelous to ask whether the "representitives" who sponsored this repressive bill have free cellular phones in their cars, boats, bathtubs and briefcases? Do they have HBO, Showtime, and other premium satellite services in their homes "on an indefinite trial basis"? How many of them are guaranteed work as "consultants" for these industries, once they retire? I'd hate to think that our basic civil rights are being sold so that our "elected official" will be able to have free in-home screenings of Rocky 12... I figure it'll be about another week before the Senate unanimously votes this bill (S2575) into law. The manufacturers of radios that cover the frequencies mentioned in the bill have already changed their product lines to avoid trouble. The older units on the market are going for up to 2X retail price. During prohibition, people used to go to "speakeasys". Maybe, with more laws like this, we will start seeing "listeneasys" -- places where you can go to covertly listen to "forbidden radio". Why does this remind me of those old commercials for Radio Free Europe? Gary PS- I have misplaced my on-line copy of S 2575, could someone please mail me a copy over the net?? (allegra,hplabs,ihnp4,glacier)oliveb!oliven!gnome