From the looks of some of the laws that have come out of Washington, D.C., recently, you'd think that when it comes to technology, none of our so-called leaders know what they're doing.

In most cases you'd be right. The Communications Decency Act is the most obvious and most public case in point. The debate in several other areas of technology law including encryption standards and wiretap laws indicate very strongly that when it comes to understanding technology, Washington is so far behind the learning curve, they've lost sight of the road.

There are, of course, a few exceptions, and I ran into one of them on the Internet last week. Rep. Rick White, R-Wash., met with Top Lappin, an editor of Wired Magazine for an Internet-wide broadcast at Hotwired's Feedback site.

Their conversation was broadcast live on the 'Net via Real Audio. They also took questions from those jacked in to Hotwired's Club Wired site. It was just like a call-in radio show, but better.

If you have Real Audio (if you don't you can get it at www.realaudio.com) you can hear White's comments for yourself. You can play the entire hour-long broadcast from the site at www.hotwired.com/wiredside. If you're worried about a long download - don't. Real Audio makes it possible to hear the sound file as it transmits, and the entire sound file only takes up 2k of disk space.

Of White I can only say that it's not often that I find myself saying "right on" to a Republican. What surprised me even more is his position on the CDA - he opposes it.

The problem as he sees it, is that most congressional members couldn't tell the difference between a modem and a toaster (except that a modem takes longer to make toast.) This lack of understanding of the nature of the Internet, White said, ultimately resulted in a misguided law.

The solution, White said, is to get congressional leaders educated so that they can cast informed votes on technology-related bills when they go before committee. To that end he has formed the bipartisan Congressional Internet Caucus. Among its members are Idaho's own Republican Sen. Larry Craig (www.senate.gov/~craig).

You can read all about White's new organization on his web page at www.house.gov/white/welcome.html.

"The government should have a minimal role on the Internet. And any rules governing it should be as broad and as unobtrusive and as limited as possible," he said.

In the case of the CDA, which is an amendment to the mammoth Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996, White said that Congress overreacted to last summer's sensationalistic press coverage of the Internet as the best way for kids to get dirty pictures.

"Congress is reactionary, sometimes with bad public policy," he said.

White said he fully expects the CDA to eventually be struck down by the Supreme Court, which is almost certain to hear the case regardless of the ruling from the lower court, which is expected this week. But if it's upheld, he said he'd be willing to push for a repeal.

"When you take your kids for a walk in Times Square, you don't rely on the government to protect your them from what they might see there," he said.

It's good to see that at least someone in Congress knows what he's talking about when it comes to understanding technology, and who also understands the Jeffersonian axiom that "The government which governs best is the government which governs least."

Arik Hesseldahl covers business and technology for the Idaho State Journal. Send your comments and suggestions to ahess@nicoh.com or to isjrep@aol.com. Through the Keyboard is archived on the Internet at www.nicoh.com/cyberkol/.

This column appears courtesy The Idaho State Journal and NICOH Net, Inc.