last Friday's In the Loop column from the Washington Post.
--
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43864-2004Aug5.html
Scales of Justice Weigh Naughty Words
Speaking of the beleaguered English language, the Justice Department
is reported to be monitoring employee e-mail traffic for naughty
words, according to an employees union.
AFSCME Local 2830 President Stu Smith said he learned last week that
an automated device known as the "MailMarshal" blocks messages when it
spots "unacceptable language, or inappropriate material." Two
employees got messages from the "net nanny," Smith said, telling them:
"Please clean-up or re-phrase the message and send it again."
This electronic program also apparently gives a numerical weighting or
score to each of the various bad words it discovers, he said, so that
the worse the word, the higher the score.
Smith, whose union represents folks in the Office of Justice Programs,
said he has asked officials what this was all about. "Is it for
disciplinary purposes?" he asked. "We don't know." But it seems clear
this is "not for security," he said.
Well, lots of Internet providers have smut filters so parents can
protect kids from dirty words. And the Justice Department is known to
be sensitive to matters of taste and morality. Attorney General John
D. Ashcroft spent $8,000 for a giant curtain so visitors would be
protected from the sight of a statue of a woman with one bare breast.
Smith says he has also asked for a list of the "bad" words but has not
received an answer. Maybe they've tried to send him the list, but for
some reason it just keeps getting kicked back?
--
No wonder Dick Cheyny never seems to send out email. It always gets
rejected by this net nanny.
BTW Al Kamen's column is strictly a news, humour and rumour column on
life in the Federal Government.
larry
On Mon, 9 Aug 2004 08:47:02 -0400, John Stanley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I think the Bush response to this letter would be as follows:
>
> A hurried gathering at the local church followed by a pig roast and a raffle
> whilest the elders meet in secret. Then your "friend" would be declared a
> seed of the devil and chased mercilessly throughout the land until cornered
> in a barn and immolated by the "righteous".
>
> Then Bush would proudly stand upon the ashes and speak
>
> "Today was a great day for the god-fearin' 'merican people. They no longer
> have to fear the attacks of this terrorist devil spawn. I say this with all
> sincerity, that the People of the United States are much safer with out
> Saddam Hussein in power. At any time he could have aligned himself with with
> this devil child and called forth the forces of hell itself to attack this
> great nation. We are only as safe as my competence allows. Thank you very
> much."
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: S. Isaac Dealey [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Defense of Marriage
>
> To: US President George W. Bush
> Subject: Defense of Marriage
> _____
>
>
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