Date: Tue, 7 Jan 92 23:44:19 -0800
From: Jon Pugh <jpugh@APPLE.COM>
Subject: File 6--Law Enforcement, the Government & You

I would like to point out one thing in defense of the "zealous" people
involved in law enforcement efforts that have been discussed recently.
These are people who have accepted the job of tracking down criminals,
and that's what they do.  Just as we live computers, or whatever, they
live law enforcement.  It is important for them to remember that not
everyone is guilty, just as it is important for us to remember that
they are simply _looking_ for criminals, so they tend to focus on that
goal.  If you were assigned to track down computer criminals and you
didn't know a bit from a scuzzy disk controller, where would you start
looking?  On bulletin boards and at computer club meetings, of course.
The citizenry needs to remind the authorities that not everyone is a
criminal and that we _are_ in America (where the Constitution can be
construed by some to say that it is better to let a guilty man go than
to punish an innocent one).

On a different subject, I firmly believe in accountability of the
government.  If these allegations connecting the October Surprise to
the Inslaw software case are even remotely true then the truth
definitely MUST be known, regardless of whether we have to wake Ron up
or take the President down.  Arguments of the type "We must protect
the image of the Presidency" are bogus.  The President is a man, like
us.  Prone to the same failings as us, only more so because of his
power.  We have already seen how the pressure and power affected
Richard Nixon.  Personally, I do not believe that the president was to
blame in Ron's case, unless it was simply through negligence.  There
are many career officials assisting the president and others, and it
may be time for a purge.  These people seem to have formed their own
underground organization, which ostensibly seems to be intended to
protect and promote a Republican president.  Oliver North was willing
to take the fall for the presidency, but has now recanted.  What does
this say about the way these people treat each other?

There is really only one thing I can do though, and I encourage others
to do the same thing.  Ask questions and talk about this.  Make sure
that everyone you talk to knows about the Inslaw case and the the
October Surprise.  Tell them that nothing is proved, but much is
implied.  Tell them to ask questions and tell _their_ friends.  All we
can do is pay attention and make sure that _they_ can't slip one past
us.  Of course I would be very willing to help anyone who _can_ do
something directly, but I don't really want to end up slashed to death
in a bathtub.  That's what the allegations are in the Inslaw case, and
if only for that reason we must all obey the song which still rings
true:

Stop, hey, what's that sound?  Everybody look what's going down.

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