🚀 go-pugleaf

Hey! Cool, NOT! Joe the Troll has _followers_!

scary scary.

John M Atkinson wrote:
> 
> Thus Spake russotto@wanda.vf.pond.com (Matthew T. Russotto):
> 
> %}Something a little more obviously a long-term policy.
> %
> %RICO.  The War on Drugs.
> 
> I'm not familliar with conspiracy-nut right-wing bullshit.  What's RICO??

"Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations." It's a Federal law
designed to make it easier to break unions by alleging involvement with
organized crime. Actually it has served as a powerful wedge into those
unions which _are_ racketeer-influenced. But it's also potentially
usable against about anyone for anything. It's a sort of "one bad apple
spoils the whole bunch" and my admittedly hazy understanding of this is
that one criminal in a targeted organization can be used to take out the
entire organization. For instance, one felony conviction of one
high-level NORML member could be used as an excuse to have unlimited
wiretappings on _all_ NORML members.

Your ignorance of the existence of this law is astounding, but hardly
moreso than your immediate categorization of someone else's awareness of
a far-reaching Federal Law as "conspiracy-nut right-wing bullshit".

> 
> %}Any one who thinks taking down a handful of fanatics is just cause
> %}for revolt has mental problems.
> %
> %I wonder if General Gage said that about the Boston Massacre.
> 
> Are you offering to begin an insurrection?  Save the local cops the trouble, and
> shoot yourself in the head.

Save us all some trouble and cut back on espresso, okay?

The point is that those "fanatics" have the same rights as anyone. Thus,
anyone taking _you_ down wouldn't be just cause for a revolt. Or anyone
taking down an entire neighborhood because it was "crime-riddled" by the
same logic would not be cause for a revolt. Nor would, by extension of
this logic, would be the elimination of an entire class, ethnic group,
or race.

This is called a "slippery slope argument" (or failure to notice that
slippery slope, 'cause the angle is not yet acute enough to cause _you_
discomfort). The problem with slippery slopes is tht once you start down
them it's not real easy to get back up. When you defend the rights of
"fanatics" you defend your own. When you deny them those rights
guaranteed by the Constitution, you deny your own rights. Stop and think
about it before you go all jingoistic and start chanting "right-wing
wacko! right-wing wacko!".

> 
> Ignorant jackasses who don't know Roman history from their Victoria's Secret
> catalogues are the reason people like me (generally conservative to moderate,
> depending on issue) are a little queasy about the whole pro-gun, pro-militia
> lobby.

You presume much regarding anothers education! Nice casting of
aspersions there, got an substantive arguments or are you just
pontificating?

> 
> John M. Atkinson
> jatkinso@gmu.edu
> "A nation which despises its soldiers will all too soon
> have a despicable army
>                  --Jerry Pournelle

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