Demagogue

In yesterday's Washington Post, Al Kamen's column included this snippet:

Lots of chuckles on the Hill and at regulatory agencies over a Sept. 19 letter from Hewlett-Packard Vice President Gary Fazzino to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.).

The letter urges Frist to push passage of the Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006, which is intended to protect the personal information of consumers and employees.

"HP has long been an industry leader on privacy," Fazzino wrote .... Meanwhile, a House committee is investigating HP for authorizing an extensive spying operation on people inside and outside the company, looking for leakers. The company is alleged to have planted false documents, followed its board members and reporters, watched their homes and obtained phone records of directors, reporters and spouses.

Keep that up and it won't be "an industry leader on privacy" much longer.