Re: IAB comments on Green Paper

[Karl Auerbach <[e-mail]>]

> If I were you, I would be worried that Mr. Magaziner will pull an
> Executive Order out of his pocket.  That's his legal trump card.

Please don't think that the President can just issue Executive Orders and
make things happen.

The President in the US has only rather limited intrinsic powers (mainly
military and international relations.)  Other powers come from statutes
passed by Congress in which various jobs are assigned to the President or
one of the various agencies.

As an example of the limits on Executive Orders, note that the recent
"Patients Bill of Rights" order was limited to only those things the
President could reach under his delegated powers -- medical care systems
which involve Federal people or money.

It's important to not let ourselves assign to governmental authorities
more power than they actually have. That path creates kings.

I, for one, do not believe that the people behind the Proposal are acting
in bad faith.  (I do believe that they are undereducated about the
issues and the technology.)

It is extremely that people who have opinions on these matters, or who
have good tutorial materials to help educate NTIA and other
government-critters, submit cogent materials to the NTIA.

(I'm expecting that after NTIA we will have another go-around or three
before Congress.  Then it'll go international.) 

		--karl--