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To: kendall harmon who wrote (86500)	3/3/2000 11:14:00 PM
From: Adelle	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 120523

THOUGHT THIS WORTHWHILE TO PASS ON: On Thursday, May 27, 1999, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School Shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's sub-committee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness. The following is a portion of the transcript: "Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers. "The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used. Neither was it the 'NCA', (The National Club Association). The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart. "In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore, I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent. I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy. It was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best. This was written before I knew I would be speaking here today. Your laws ignore our deepest needs, Your words are empty air. You've stripped away our heritage, You've outlawed simple prayer. Now gunshots fill our classrooms, And precious children die. You seek for answers everywhere, And ask the question, "Why?" You regulate restrictive laws, Through legislative creed. And yet you fail to understand, That God is what we need! "Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, soul, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. "Spiritual influences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in doing so, we open the doors to hatred and violence. "And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs, politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to the erosion of our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. "The real villain lies within our own hearts. Political posturing and restrictive legislation are not the answers. The young people of our nation hold the key. There is a spiritual awakening taking place that will not be squelched! We do not need more religion. We do not need more gaudy television evangelists spewing out verbal religious garbage. We do not need more million dollar church buildings built while people with basic needs are being ignored. We do need a change of heart and a humble acknowledgment that this nation was founded on the principle of simple trust in God! "As my son, Craig, lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America, and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred regard for legislation that protects your God-given right to communicate with Him. "To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA - I give to you a sincere challenge. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone! My daughter's death will not be in vain. The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!"

To: kendall harmon who wrote (86500)	3/4/2000 2:23:00 PM
From: lee kramer	Respond to of 120523

Kendall: I have long felt that the "unexpected", something exogenous, would be the only thing to seriously take this market down. It might have been the Y2K concern; but that passed with hardly a ripple. But last night I was watching C-Span. The Senate was engaged in hearings concerning government computer security. Their primary "guest" was Kevin Mitnick, a well known "hacker" who got busted, and spent some time in the pokey. What he said scared me, and clearly scared many of the Senate committee members. Kevin told his story; he was a hacker, but hacked not for money (he claimed that he never made a dime) but for the intellectual challenge, because he was curious to see if it could be done. He did it, boy did he do it. Asked how, he said that the weakest link in the corporate and government "security" chain was people. He'd call a government agency (Social Security and the IRS) or hundreds of private corporations. He was soft-spoken, asked questions often posing as just another government employee or corporate employee or corporate vendor. He had no difficulty finding someone to talk to him. And he, (I don't know the tech talk he used) ALWAYS got in, got what he wanted. He said that TODAY, key government agencies, private firms and the entire internet can be shut down. He said further that firms are scrambling to secure their systems. But that until the "weak-link", people, are strengthened it will make little difference. He suggested that a video be produced, shown to all corporate and government employees...as a way to alert and perhaps prevent what he and other hackers do so easily. His biggest fear was that a foreign country might hire a hacker, for pay...perhaps a lot of pay, so that power-grids, communications, perhaps the NYSE and NASDAQ would be shut down. The consequences could be ominous. The entire U.S. economy, internet related and connected, might simply cease to function. He was not asked, nor did he offer, how long this might be. He said too that the internet was developed to allow people amd firms to "share" information. When asked, he said that the Linux system might be a better alternative because it was far more "public". I'm not sure what he meant by that. I was impressed by Kevin Mitknick because he seemed to know very well what he talked about; that he was a free man and had no ax to grind; that he seemed sincerely to want to help the Senate committee "solve" what they perceived to be a serious problem. He said too that punitive legislation designed to deter hackers was not likely to be effective. Perhaps you or others might consider and discuss this "problem". I am simply too low-tech to offer much. It was all I could do to understand, in a rudimentary way, that there was a problem...and one that seemed to deeply concern the Senate Committee. (Lee)