gsmith@garnet.berkeley.edu (Gene W. Smith) (10/13/88)
In article <225@obie.UUCP>, wes@obie (Barnacle Wes) writes: >Don't be ridiculous; assassination (and conspiracy to commit >assassination, which is what was taking place) has never been protected >by ANY part of the constitution. Here we are worrying about what is and isn't a good idea to do on the net, and you accuse someone of conspiracy to assassinate the President, which as you point out is a crime with severe penalties attached. Don't look now, but that sounds like libel. Or else why was no one arrested? > You might also note that >assassinating, or conspiring to assassinate the President of the U.S. >also carries the title of "High Treason." Treason is defined in the Constitution and I don't think can be redefined by act of Congress, but I'm no lawyer. Nor, I'll wager, are you. > You might think it quite a stretch to consider "joking" on the >net to conspiracy charges, but look at it from the point of view >of the Secret Service. There are a lot of wackos out there >trying to kill politicians, and they have to take EVERY threat >seriously. Why don't they do their damn job and check them out instead of trying to undermine the Bill of Rights and turn the country into a police state full of Good Germans like you, then? -- ucbvax!garnet!gsmith Gene Ward Smith/Brahms Gang/Berkeley CA 94720 Intolerance is a state of mind, rudeness is a way of life. -- C. Wingate