IP: Stupid Senate Tricks

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1999 20:04:55 -0500
From: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>


[With all the attention paid to Al Gore's attempts to dodge the truth about
who created the Internet, it seems time to revisit what other politicos
have said. Many, believe it or not, are even more clueless. If you have
your own stories, please forward! --Declan]



http://cgi.pathfinder.com/time/digital/daily/0,2822,12500,00.html

                    Stupid Senate Tricks
                    By Declan McCullagh
                    September 5, 1997

                    What do you get when you mix discussions of
                    high technology and the Internet with the weak
                    minds of the aging techno-half-wits in the U.S.
                    Congress? Answer: a screwball dialogue that
                    veers haphazardly between the idiotic and inane. 

                    From the infamous father of the Communications
                    Decency Act to the California senator who
                    confuses computer mice with real rodents,
                    Washington lawmakers rarely have a clue about
                    the technology they try to regulate. Now that
                    Congress is back in session, the lawmakers will
                    once again be muddling through press
                    conferences and briefings with the help of hovering
                    aides. But sometimes they try to make a go of it
                    on their own -- and then the results aren't pretty. 

                    The "doesn't quite get it" award goes to former
                    Sen. James Exon (D-Neb.), who retired last year
                    after shepherding the CDA through Congress.

                    [...remainder snipped...]