Forwarded from: Robert G. Ferrell <rferrellat_private> > Mitnick's had a ham radio license for about 25 years, and he > applied two years ago for what's normally a routine renewal. He's > not accused of making any illicit radio transmissions or any > offenses that fall under the FCC's jurisdiction -- it's just that > official Washington firmly believes computer hacking must be an > unforgivable venal sin. Sometimes when I look at the government and its treatment of people like Kevin, I get the unmistakable impression that I've seen this behavior somewhere before, but I can't quite put my finger on where. Today, it finally dawned on me. I have four cats (it's okay--I live on 44 acres in Texas, not in an efficiency apartment in Queens). Two of them are males, and two females. The oldest female has assumed, much to her chagrin, the role of 'lowest creature on the food chain' in the local feline dynasty. What this means is that any time one of the cats is disciplined, the hapless female eventually gets the worst of it because all of the other cats take it out on her. This is an application of the 'trickle-down' principle, but in her case it's more of a 'flash-flood.' The point to this story (yes, there is a point), is that Mitnick seems to be the lowest creature on the government's food chain. Whenever some adverse event occurs for which the government can't immediately get satisfaction, it works out its anger by attacking Kevin or someone like him. As long as one arm of the government (the courts) is responsible for deciding whether or not another arm of that same government (FCC, et al.) is allowed to abuse what were once Mitnick's rights, this sort of thing will continue unchecked. Sorry about that, Kevin. I guess it sucks to be you. If it helps, my cat usually gives herself a bath to work out the pent-up frustration of being dumped on. At least you'll be one clean whipping boy. ;-) - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomoat_private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Dec 25 2001 - 05:55:02 PST