Re: i don't know if it's been signed yet but pass this on

[Sharon Smith Hurlburt <medhbh@erie.net>]

At 02:11 PM 2/11/96 -0500, you wrote:

>If you have a better system for protecting our nation's long-term integrity
>by somehow protecting the children from destructive material, please 
>present it.  Something that will actually work, not some appeal for the 
>control of parents who are oftentime not there.  For myself, I look at the 
>world around me and though I may not personally agree (on principle) with 
>everything that I've said in defense of these controversial laws, I am 
>grateful to see and acknowledge that somebody is finally concerned for the 
>welfare of our future generations and is doing _something_ to protect them.
>

First of all, I do think it is necessary to try and do what is right by our
children.  But, my main point to that list of names had nothing to do with
their abilities a lawmakers, but more to do with the fact that a good number
of them have very different moral standards and if the government does
decide to set parenting standards, who's do they use and how do they present
controversial subjects such as abortion or homosexuality?
It also makes no sense to me to just just try and regulate the stuff in the
U.S. when children can acceses webpages anywhere in the world with equal
ease, which is not the case as far as TV and radio go.  How will that
protect them?  So do we try to regulate the whole internet?  Do we restirict
American acsess to other countries web sites? Or is there a better way?
Actually, there is a much better way.  There is software available that can
block certain types of internet material (specifically, offensive,
pornographic material).  Newsweek even reviewed four of the top- selling
programs a couple weeks ago (I can find the refernce for anyone who'd like
it).  Acording to the article, one is so sophisticated that can distiguish
between a question such as "What sex is your cat?" to a lewd statement and
another will allow parents to program in exactly what kinds of things they
don't want their children to see.  These programs seem a much better option
than U.S. regulation because, not only do they not restrict it for everyone
who uses the internet, they will keep our children from stumbling onto
pornographic material from outside the U.S.  

Sharon,
who finds it rather odd that children "stumble onto" this stuff easier than
the guy she works with who actually goes out and looks for it....