In article ,
"J. Clarke" wrote:

Personally I don't like anybody who lobbies for legislation that will
restrict my activities and give him a personal reward at the same time.

I can understand and empathize with that feeling to a certain extent. I
have a libertarian streak when it comes to things that are a personal
choice and do not affect other people. The recreational drug laws in
this country are (IMO) counter-productive and a restraint on personal
freedom. They also benefit those companies that sell legal recreational
drugs (alcohol and tobacco).

Are you using Linux? You're probably aware that Microsoft has tried to
get the government to ban open source software, claiming that it is not
as good as the stuff they are selling.

In some cases, I feel that if certain things are not required by law,
they are not going to happen to the detriment of nearly everyone. For
example, most coal companies did not repair the damage they did while
strip mining until the law forced them to do it. Timber companies seem
to be pretty good about replanting trees these days, but there was a lot
of clear-cutting of forests in the past.

--
Hank Gillette