Create a 'kiddienet' to protect children

11/25/2000

Once again I see that Congress has bills pending before it for the regulation of the Internet, i.e. insisting that libraries and schools receiving Internet funding incorporate "filtering" software. This won't work.

The software is too stupid and to make it smarter is a waste of time. The Internet is not for children; it's not a playground. It will never be a safe place for children.

If we really want to protect the children then we need to create a kiddienet or better yet create a ".KID" extension for all sites appropriate for children. (I'll let the legal eagles define what "appropriate for children" means.) The extension is an item that will allow filtering software to work correctly. Organizations with material appropriate for children can easily create a second set of pages just for the children. ISPs can easily block children accounts from everything but ".KID"sites.

As for adults, they deserve full access to the 'Net. Everything is appropriate for display. We cannot regulate it. We don't own the Internet, it belongs to everyone. The internet is the ultimate free-speech forum. It would be nice to have all porno sites have a ".XXX" or a ".SEX" extension so that they can be easily filtered out (or in) as desired. But this would have to be voluntary or it would kill the free-speech aspects of the 'Net.

THOMAS D. LYNCH, Jr.

Drummond Road

As chairman of the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments and mayor of the city of Port Clinton, I have had the great pleasure during the past several years of working with Jim Hartung, president of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority.

Mr. Hartung has provided exceptional leadership for the Toledo-Lucas County area as president of the port authority and is a strong advocate for transportation and regional issues as chair of the transportation council of TMACOG.

Jim's outstanding abilities and skills in working with government institutions and area public officials have been most beneficial to the progress of the TMACOG region.

Mr. Hartung is an exceptional regional leader and I commend his leadership and accomplishments. He has made a positive difference in the area.

THOMAS M. BROWN

Mayor

Port Clinton

President Clinton should have resigned on the day he called his cabinet together and admitted that he had lied to them about his involvement with Monica Lewin|sky. That would have enabled Vice President Gore to govern for a year and a half, and make the case for his own re-election, rather than having to distance himself from the President.

If (as is likely) Mr. Clinton's ego had gotten in the way of a timely resignation, then the top four cabinet officers - the secretaries of State, Treasury, and Defense, and the attorney general - should simply have told the President that "Either you are gone by tomorrow morning, or we are."

Had Mr. Clinton refused, it would then have been Mr. Gore's turn to say, "I will not be lied to; neither will I lie. Therefore, I have resigned the office of vice president. At the same time, I declare my candidacy for the office of president in 2000."

If he had done that, he'd have been elected in a landslide. The same goes for Sen. Joe Lieberman. His remarks about Mr. Clinton were like a stern parent, chastising his errant son, Willie, but later, when it came time to ground Willie and take away the keys to the family car, the senator choked and voted to acquit.

Whichever party loses the presidency will claim that it was robbed. If you liked the partisan politics that marked the Clinton administration, you are going to love the down-and-dirty politics of the next four years.

That will be Mr. Clinton's "legacy" to the country: He sacrificed his party and his vice president to his massive ego and his unhealthy lust for power. In the process, he made Richard Nixon look good.

ROBERT G. MORRIS

Manchester Boulevard