Re: Fight, or Roll Over?

[stewarts@ix.netcom.com (Bill Stewart)]

At 03:56 PM 7/13/95 -0700, Timothy C. May wrote:
>criminalizes groups which support This Year's Enemies. (Like the War with
>Oceania--or was it Eurasia?--the friend of today was yesterday's criminal
>organization. 
Wow!  The Oceania folks haven't even raised enough funds to make a credible
floating city, and already they're at war!?  (Or, alternatively,
No, Oceania's always been at war with _East_asia...)

>Some would say this means Cypherpunks should step into the fray and become
>a lobbying group. I don't see us as having the structure or organization to
>become such a group. Those who wish to should probably form a real group to
>do this, with bylaws and elected officials.

There's already an EFF, and lobbying probably looks better with our EFF hats
on than with Cypherpunks hats and non-exportable T-Shirts on.  Cypherpunks
is more for lobbying the public by putting out code than for lobbying CONgress.

>Anarchies are great, but there's no way an anarchy can have a "spokesman,"
>or a budget for travel and lobbying, or a hundred other things that a
>lobbying group needs. Cypherpunks--this list--is just not in a position to
>be this group.

Consensus-oriented coalitions can also work marvelously inefficiently :-)

#                                Thanks;  Bill
# Bill Stewart, Freelance Information Architect, stewarts@ix.netcom.com