their local newspaper. The honest should have their social security numbers and birth dates on their checks, along with their names and addresses. The honest should write their PINs on their ATM cards. I think we can imagine a world where being "honest" as in these examples would be, shall we say, "differently clued." I also think that world could easily look a lot like the one in which we live. Virtue is a defense, and a good one. But virtue is a defense against false accusation -- not victimization. One would think the FBI could tell the difference. That I use encryption does not mean I am a criminal. It means I recognize that there are people about who are, or could be tempted into being, less than perfectly honorable. This recognition has a name. It is called "prudence." It is a virtue. What I find truly amusing, though, is that while the FBI argues that I must be a criminal if I use encryption, the Privacy Act of 1974 requires that I use it if I interact with the government. The Privacy Act of 1974 imposes the legislative requirement on all government agencies to: establish appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to insure the security and confidentiality of records and to protect against any anticipated threats or hazards to their security or integrity which could result in substantial harm, embarrassment, inconvenience, or unfairness to any individual on whom information is maintained. The Federal agencies, of course, in turn impose this requirement on their vendors. For example, the Health Care Financing Administration, through its rule making body, requires all health care organizations accepting Federal funds (including Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Program) to use, at a minimum, 112 bit symmetric key encryption and 512 bit asymmetric key encryption. The FBI says only a pedophile or terrorist would use encryption of this strength. When information is confidential, using encryption is not furtive: it is responsible. We do not normally confuse "prudent" and "criminal," or "responsible" and "furtive." That the Clinton administration consistently cannot tell the difference between these when it comes to encryption is curious. That the Clinton administration feels the need to convince the rest of us that there is no difference is absolutely fascinating. The only explanation that springs to mind is that the Clinton administration has a difficult time distinguishing between "public" and "private," or imagining that anyone could have a legitimate secret. Given the number of Clinton administration illegitimate secrets that have been exposed -- certain adult activities in the Oval Office, and certain failures to notice espionage by foreign powers that happen to make large campaign contributions, for example -- I suppose I can understand this point of view. I do not agree with it, however. It may be that the existence of a pair of underwear may give the Clinton administration an uncontrollable urge to rummage around in them. I can imagine the sympathy the Clinton administration has for someone who really wants to rummage around in someone else's shorts, and cannot. But I believe most people would understand that an urge to rummage around in someone else's underwear should be suppressed, not made a "right" under law. Maybe after they outlaw encryption, they will outlaw belts -- after all, belts block access to people's shorts. "Only someone with something to hide would use a belt. What is wrong with them? Are they ashamed of what is inside their pants?" I do not have to be ashamed of what is inside my pants to decline to show it to you, thank you very much. It says right here in the Constitution: "The right of the citizen to be free of others rummaging around in his or her shorts shall not be abridged." Well, actually, it does not say that, but apparently it should. Perhaps that would be language the Clinton administration could understand. Ah, but, the argument goes, encryption may

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2695
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)