--- "Jon 'maddog' Hall, Executive Director, Linux International"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Bryan,
>
> I have had more than one reference to this bill, from more than one
> person.
> I must admit that the inference about Disney paying Hollings money came
> from just the Linux Journal article, but whether the mouse paid anything
> or not is not the issue. The issue is that the proposed legislation is
> intollerable.
We're getting more evidence to support the claim that the threat is real
-- that's good, and it looks like there's enough to start a campaign.
BUT, as one who spends significant time in the political arena, I can say
that statements like the one about the alleged payoff from Disney to
Hollings are killers to a grassroots movement or any kind of political
campaign. If you cannot back up the claim, then do not distribute it. When
you (the general you, not you specifically) start playing hardball with
elected officials, they will initially perceive you as a threat, and
anything they can do to neutralize that threat will be done -- including
smear you for something you said even though you didn't say it. Add to
that the complicity of the media and they have just destroyed your
credibility.
It will be as simple as "well, they spread ugly lies about me that there
was a payoff, so how can you believe him?"
Linux Journal should take down the reference ASAP unless they can back the
claim. Otherwise, they could be part of sinking us all.
> So even leaving out the Mickey Mouse part, we should start to campaign
> against bills like this.
Absolutely agreed.
[...]
> Know that the companies behind things like DMCA are big ones with big
> bucks. And (quite frankly) they are very convincing that their arguments
> are valid ones to protect intellectual property and US companies'
> profits. These are things that the congress relates to, not issues such
> as "Open Source software".
The good news here is that votes are what get politicians elected -- money
is secondary. Money is necessary to getting the message out so you get
votes, but ultimately, in the end, votes are what matters. (Big surprise,
eh?)
We have a tremendous tactical advantage of having vast technological
resources most campaigns can only dream about, and we are committed to a
cause. We have lots of natural allies. We probably have lots of voting
leverage. You can do alot with a little if you so desire.
[...]
> There has been some discussion about whether this bill is just a "first
> pass" with a deliberate attempt to make it so bad that a major re-write
> will look like a "compromise" and get the basic part through. That may
> be true, and is why it has not been formally introduced.
This is a common legislative tactic, but it is usually done later in the
process. This could also be some legislative aide's pipe dream. Until we
know their intentions, we need to move with caution.
> Bottom line, we can not let one communities fear of losing some profits
> run over another community's right to have open source.
>
> And if that was not bad enough, the Nashua Telegraph reported today that
> US Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) is sponsoring (have a backdoor to
> all operating systems and software to allow US to de-encrypt any
> encrypted messages) is the one that deals with security. Both laws have
> the same side-effect of not allowing open source operating systems,
> since there would be a way around both of them using Open source
methods.
I sent a scathing [for me] letter to Gregg yesterday about this - I saw
him on FoxNews touting this proposal. I can forward it if you are
interested. It is clear that Gregg does not understand the issues.
[...]
> We have to get congress to understand that. And waiting until the laws
> pass is too late.
[..]
Agreed. A political maxim in campaigning is: "If you're not on offense,
you're on defense; and if you're on defense, you're losing."
So, what to do? This is a pretty extensive set of issues that will take
some time and talent to plan. Do you want to make it the topic of an
upcoming LUG meeting? Do you want to hold a special meeting? I suppose I
can teach Political Activism 101... I also know Gregg's political man in
the state who would come to a meeting if I invited him.
Every one of you has local elected officials - state reps, state senators,
town councilors/aldermen/selectmen, county officials, executive
councilors, Congressman, and 2 US Senators. Frankly, I would start by
discussing the issue with each one - find out where you get interest and
where you get a blank stare. Local officials talk to state officials, who
talk to federal officials. A Senator like Gregg will have several people
he calls to get advice from and to get the pulse on things. We need to
identify them (I have a couple of ideas) and get to those people. Most
often, they are local elected officials. I would bet Bernie Streeter is
one of them.
If you're serious about this, let's get moving. Who is in command, and
what are the orders?
Regards,
=====
Bryan Williams
Dominari Nolo
"Light the Lamp - not the Rat!! Light the Lamp - not the Rat!!!"
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