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
wbt@cbnews.ATT.COM (William B. Thacker) (10/13/88)
In article <15403@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> gsmith@garnet.berkeley.edu (Gene W. Smith) writes: >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? Give it a rest, Gene. Why are you so rabid about this particular issue ? As you seem quite content to ignore the facts, I felt compelled to look them up. I spoke to Agent Montgomery of the Secret Service, who assured me that threats to assassinate the president, or his successor, are covered by the US Criminal Code (18USC-871-3056, or something like that) "Threats to the President or the President's Successor". A similar code covers threats against the family. >> 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? Gene, pinkos like you make me sick. THEY DO !! The Secret Service agent was quite clear on this. They get dozens of calls from bars, along with many other reports of threats. In order for the threatener to be prosecuted, the agent must be able to prove, among other things, that he was capable of carrying out the threat. (Agent Montgomery told me of one case in Washington where he went to visit a man who'd threatened the President. The threatener turned out to be a quadraplegic...). For example, if I threaten to run over Dukakis with my M1 Abrams, such a threat is obviously farcical, for I own no such tank. Similarly, threats made while drunk are usually ignored. In the case of a posting to Usenet, it seems apparent that many of the readers would be capable of carrying out an assassination. A broadcast threat of this sort must be taken seriously. Like I said, Gene, I don't know why you're so wound up about this issue. Maybe you just need a crusade to fight this week. You've even refused to discuss this via email, preferring to post this garbage across the entire net. Give it a break ! ------------------------------ valuable coupon ------------------------------- Bill Thacker cbosgd!cbema!wbt "C" combines the power of assembly language with the flexibility of assembly language. Disclaimer: Farg 'em if they can't take a joke ! ------------------------------- clip and save --------------------------------