Last week a malicious hacker broke through my firewall and anti-virus programs destroying my computer utterly beyond repair. I had no choice but to salvage some hardware and junk the rest.
A week later they struck again, this time destroying a computer I had built with expensive components. Now I have only an old laptop as backup. This vandalism represents many gigs of lost files that I was working to present to the President”s upcoming conference on bio-ethics.
With hundreds of hours gathering and organizing data and a couple of thousand dollars in hardware, I was able to file a police report on the loss. It seems most of the resources dedicated to law enforcement are allocated to enforcing failed drug laws, cruising the Internet trying to find people watching illegal photographs, setting up fake prostitutes to arrest and book Johns and trying to catch revenue-producing traffic violations. Law enforcement should update and drop laws that enforce some particular groups morality and concentrate on the real problems facing us in the 21st century, such as online security and personal privacy.
Change is always difficult, as millions of private sector employees have discovered. But it”s essential to change with the times and update skills to meet the evolving needs of today”s world. Remove ineffective laws such as Carter”s war on drugs, Johnson”s war on poverty and affirmative action laws that have outlived their purpose. Use all available resources where they will be most beneficial.
Edgar Gillham
Hidden Valley Lake
