From: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com (roc-digest) To: roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: roc-digest V2 #330 Reply-To: roc-digest Sender: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk roc-digest Saturday, April 29 2000 Volume 02 : Number 330 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 25 Apr 00 22:16:30 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: FREEDOM DIES AT LADY LIBERTY (fwd) On Apr 25, Huck wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] > Subject: FREEDOM DIES AT LADY LIBERTY > Date: 25 Apr 2000 17:08:15 -0000 > From: "Investigative Journal Alert" > To: List Member > > Investigative Journal Alert - http://InvestigativeJournal.com > > This is the FREE e-mail alert you requested. You may copy and send it to > others. Unsubscribe/subscribe at http://InvestigativeJournal.listbot.com/ > --- > > NOW YOU CAN AFFORD THE DENTIST - ARGUS DENTAL PLAN > FREE info: 1-800-695-0752 > http://InvestigativeJournal.com/argus.htm > > --- > 'FREEDOM OF SONG' THWARTED > Police muzzle high school choir singing to Statue of Liberty > > By David M. Bresnahan > © 2000 WorldNetDaily.com > > Shouting loudly over the strains of young > voices singing, a government policeman > recently stopped a high school choir's > spontaneous, patriotic concert at the foot of the > Statue of Liberty because the students did not > have a proper permit in hand that would have > allowed them to perform on public property. > > Members of the Viewmont High School Choir > from Bountiful, Utah, were so impressed by > their recent visit to "Lady Liberty" that they > began to sing the national anthem on the spur of > the moment, impressing bystanders, but not the > National Park Service rangers. The students > were forced to stop and were threatened with > possible arrest if they did not obey. > > One of the parents videotaped the experience > and captured the gruff voice of a park > policeman shouting above the music: "You can't > do that. You kids have got to stop that right > now." > > For the complete story, go to http://InvestigativeJournal.com [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Apr 00 22:14:26 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Fwd: [Lis-LEAF] COURT CALLS HEARING ON ELIAN MATTER FOR 2:30 PM TOMORROW (fwd)] (fwd) On Apr 25, Margi Crook wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] From: CHARLIE BELANGER Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 20:46:53 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Lis-LEAF] COURT CALLS HEARING ON ELIAN MATTER FOR 2:30 PM TOMORROW (fwd) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 18:21:35 -0400 From: Judicial Watch INFONET To: infonet@judicialwatch.org Subject: COURT CALLS HEARING ON ELIAN MATTER FOR 2:30 PM TOMORROW FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Kyle Key April 25, 2000 (202) 646-5172 COURT CALLS HEARING ON ELIAN MATTER FOR 2:30 PM TOMORROW Judicial Watch Moves To Uncover Truth Behind Reno s Raid (Washington, DC). Judicial Watch has filed a lawsuit to uncover the real reasons behind Janet Reno s and the Clinton-Gore Administration s bizarre action in backing Castro and risking life and limb in the Elian Gonzalez saga. This morning, the public-interest government watchdog filed an emergency motion before The Honorable James Robertson of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, asking that the Court order the immediate production of all documents by the Justice Department concerning the Elian Gonzalez saga. Judge Robertson has just issued an Order calling for an emergency hearing on Wednesday, April 26, 2000, at 2:30 p.m. in Courtroom 16 of the Federal Court House at Third and Constitution Avenues, N.W. Judicial Watch will invite Lazaro Gonzales and Marisleysis Gonzalez to attend the hearing. A press conference will follow on the Court House steps. The American people deserve to know all the facts behind this terrible moment in American history, where our government acted like thugs in terrorizing innocent Cuban-American citizens who were trying to protect the liberty rights of this young Cuban boy, stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman and President Tom Fitton. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Avoid the lines and visit avis.com for quick and easy online reservations. Enjoy a compact car nationwide for only $29 a day! Click here for more details. http://click.egroups.com/1/3011/5/_/655990/_/956710266/ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Liberty's Educational Advocacy Forum http://freedomlaw.com promotes "action that raises the cost of State violence for its perpetrators ... lay(ing) the basis for institutional change." [Noam Chomsky] Dr. Tavel's Self Help Clinic and Sovereign Law Library http://drtavel.com/selfhelp.htm Not a high-tech law firm brochure, "because a lawyer is only as smart as you make him" [Max Katz] and "the Law . . . should be accessible to every man and at all times." [Franz Kafka] For Liberty in Our Lifetime, R.J. Tavel, JD, managing partner, Tavel & Stewart, Public Interest Law Firm, Bringing you "a whole new boutique of wonderful First Amendment litigation." [J. Scalia] http://freedomlaw.com/T&S/ NEW: SUBSCRIBE TO Lis-LEAF the Learning Electronically About Freedom mailing service at http://freedomlaw.com/FORM.html Community email addresses: Unsubscribe: Lis-LEAF-unsubscribe@onelist.com List owner: Lis-LEAF-owner@onelist.com Shortcut URL to this page: http://www.onelist.com/community/Lis-LEAF [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Apr 00 21:24:40 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: [harpazo] Fw: VDW: 23 Christians ARRESTED by Supreme court police (fwd) On Apr 26, BaBette Z. Bechtold wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] Subject: Arrests at Supreme Court Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 14:57:49 -0400 From: Jim Rudd From: Rev. Bruce Evan Murch Dear Friends, THIS IS THE NEWS THAT YOU WILL NOT HEAR FROM ANY MAJOR NEWS OUTLET CONCERNING TUESDAY'S EVENTS AT THE SUPREME COURT! Tuesday, I was present with three of my nine children in front of the Supreme Court as they argued whether or not executing a small child in the process of being born is a woman's constitutional right. Present were some notable pro-life leaders: Joe Scheidler of Pro Life Action League in Chicago, Rev. Joseph Foreman, one of the founders of Operation Rescue; Troy Newman of Operation Rescue West in California; Rev. Flip Benham of Operation Save America; Rev. Frank Pavone of Priests For Life; Rev. Pat Mahoney of Christian Defense Coalition, based in D.C. It was raining a steady downpour all morning. Some of the pro-lifers had been there day and night praying and fasting since Sunday. In the large area in front of the steps to the Supreme Court, large signs had been erected. One was an actual photo of a baby killed by partial-birth abortion, another was of a late-term baby that had been beheaded in the procedure. Yet another was a five-frame depiction of the entire partial birth abortion procedure. Rev. Pat Mahoney of Christian Defense Coalition and Troy Newman of Operation Rescue West had negotiated with the Court for months concerning the signs and the setting up of a sound system and microphone. The Court had agreed to allow the signs. They knew the exact size and dimension of each sign, and the content of the signs. THEY AGREED TO ALLOW THE SIGNS. PERMITS WERE ISSUED FOR THE SIGNS. Shortly after the Justices would have entered the building, a written order from the US Marshals Service, located inside the Supreme Court, ordered that the signs be removed! Quoting a regulation concerning signs in Lafayette Park -- across the street -- they claimed the signs were too big and had to be removed. It should be noted that the US Marshal's Service does not have jurisdiction in front of the Court, but the Supreme Court Police, who had been on duty all along without any objection to the signs, which were legally erected. The signs had been placed there on Sunday, and the permit allowed them to remain up until Tuesday afternoon. This was the third day they had been up, but suddenly they were illegal! The Supreme Court allowed the US Marshal's service to carry out the enforcement, thus proving that they don't have any integrity, either. Rev. Pat Mahoney announced the action to the crowd. In a passionate talk, he proclaimed that the Free Speech Rights of Christians would not be suppressed in front of the very center of American Justice. He said that he and Troy Newman of Operation Rescue West had been threatened with arrest if they did not remove the signs. He announced that they would NOT remove the signs, that it was obvious that these signs which portrayed the truth of what was being argued were having an effect. He asked pro-lifers to sit in front of the signs and continue to pray, realizing that they might face arrest if they did not move when ordered to. Rev. Mahoney, Rev. Foreman, Troy Newman and 20 others Christians were arrested by Supreme Court Police and taken to jail for refusing to remove signs that they had negotiated the placement of for months; and for which they had lawful permits! But let's face it, if they'll be complicit in the gruesome murder of 40 million children, they'll do ANYTHING. A servant of Christ, Rev. Bruce Evan Murch PS. Please forward, so Christians will know the truth of what really transpired at the Supreme Court [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Apr 00 21:25:50 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: [harpazo] Fw: SP: Religious club de-funded in secret meeting (fwd) On Apr 26, BaBette Z. Bechtold wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] FYI and maybe a subject for prayer. The battle lines are being drawn and made more public each day. Moral character, integrity, standing for the Constitution, and especially a belief in God (that is with a G) makes you an enemy of the current government in America. It is everywhere you look. It is in the schools, the unions, the churches, the health care arena, everywhere. The homosexual element has pushed and is pushing for not *equal* rights but for *superior* rights. If anyone even mentions something against them the slander routine begins. You doubt me? Do a simple search of the news and see what they are demanding and getting passed into legislation in the individual states. When you have leaders such as the Clintons, Reno, Shalala, and those limp wristed supporters who claim to be politically correct you can't expect a moral government. We must be tolerant of the sinners but they don't have to tolerate anyone standing against them. The homosexual community isn't satisfied with forming their own groups, they must destroy those who exclude their activities. This nation is a disgrace and so are those who fail to stand against what is happening. We will all suffer the wrath of God for our failures. Jackie Juntti WGEN idzrus@earthlink.net TESTING THE FAITH Tufts shuts out Christian group Religious club de-funded in secret meeting because it wouldn't accept lesbian leader By Julie Foster © 2000 WorldNetDaily.com Tufts Christian Fellowship was stripped of its official "student organization" status in a secret, midnight meeting because the group would not allow an admitted homosexual to hold a leadership position. Though Tufts University administration says Tufts Christian Fellowship has not been "banned," organizers of the group -- an affiliate of international college ministry InterVarsity Christian Fellowship -- say the decision to de-recognize TCF has the same effect as a ban. In fact, TFC is no longer allowed to refer to itself as "Tufts Christian Fellowship," it has been stripped of its student organization funding, meetings may not be held in regularly reserved rooms and the group may not advertise its meetings or events on campus. The decision to divest TCF of its organizational rights came from a student-run governing body called the Tufts Community Union Judiciary. Tufts' administration gave the TCUJ authority to recognize student groups; however, no student group has ever been derecognized. According to a statement from the office of Tufts President John DiBiaggio, "the Tufts Christian Fellowship has ten days to appeal the TCUJ decision to the Committee on Student Life. The Committee on Student Life has members of the faculty and undergraduate students." "The Tufts Christian Fellowship has indicated, through its counsel, that it will file an appeal. While the matter is proceeding through the students' judicial system, it would be inappropriate for the administration to comment on the case," the brief statement concluded. The TCUJ's decision was prompted by a complaint against the Christian club by Julie Catalano, who claimed she had been discriminated against because of her sexual orientation. Catalano sought a leadership position within TCF and asserted her belief that homosexual practice is a biblically acceptable lifestyle. Current leaders in the club, who choose leaders for the next academic year, did not consider Catalano, saying her beliefs do not reflect the "religious tradition" of the group. Curtis Chang, TCF's leader and affiliate chaplain at the university, told WorldNetDaily, "TCF's religious tradition ... believes the Bible is clear on the topic of homosexual practice. It is listed along with a long list of practices that are deemed to not be in accord with God's wishes for human relationships." Chang noted "the TCF senior leadership's position on homosexual practice does not stem from homophobia. [Leaders] have consistently affirmed their desire for homosexuals in general, and Julie in particular, to be members of the group. They affirm the dignity and worth of every human being, created in God's image. They also distinguish between homosexual orientation and homosexual practice." According to TCF's chaplain, no one from the group's leadership was invited to the "emergency" meeting called by Tufts Community Union Judiciary chair Jessica Branco to answer accusations of discrimination. However, campus media were present at the two-hour hearing, which began around 10 p.m. on April 13, and TCF was notified by voice mail of the decision at 12:39 a.m. "But more importantly than the secretive and rushed nature of the judgment," said Chang, "the ruling threatens the freedom of all campus religious groups to practice their respective faiths." "The TCUF has essentially acted to legislate religion on campus," he continued. "Barring religious groups from using religious-based values in leadership selection is the same as prohibiting them from practicing the religious nature of their group. It is a fact that, in general, the senior leadership of a group shapes the very beliefs and practices of that group." "What if the Democratic Club demanded that they be represented in the Republican Club's executive committee?" Chang asked. "What if some very liberal student activists insisted that 'The Primary Source's' senior editors must all write the same liberal views which they held?" "The freedom of groups to live out their beliefs rests in their right to set the criteria for leadership. This is why the TCF constitution has the outgoing senior leadership select next year's leaders. This process of leadership selection was approved by the TCUF last academic year and is similar to the way that many student organizations insure ongoing consistency with their underlying purposes." Campus publication "The Tufts Daily" reported that neither Catalano nor TCF membership was present at the "officially open" meeting. Branco is quoted in the publication, defending her decision to hold the hearing without notifying the parties involved. "They both submitted documents," she said. "The documents are standing for themselves. While their presence is welcomed, it is not required." The TCUJ is authorized to take action without a formal hearing "in situations where an accused individual or group does not deny an accusation or where the evidence available is irrefutable." "We're obviously going on the appeal part of the [regulation]," Branco continued. "If we feel that the nature of the situation is endangering the Tufts community and this is a special circumstance, we can prevent the Tufts Christian Fellowship [from] using Tufts' resources." Hadley Arkes, a jurisprudence professor at Amherst College, wrote a letter to Chang after the decision was handed down. "What the University has done is nothing less than declared orthodox Christianity and Judaism -- and Islam -- as illegitimate, as religious traditions that should have no legitimate place in the life of the University, or in the lives of the students collected there," he wrote. "That is, altogether, a remarkable position for anything that calls itself a University, for the universities usually pride themselves for being enclave of free discussion" Arkes added. Branco did not return repeated calls from WorldNetDaily. Julie Foster is a staff reporter for WorldNetDaily. ~~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~! In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment for non-profit research and educational purposes only. [Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml] - -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. - -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. Washington Grassroots Email Network (WGEN) idzrus@earthlink.net (Jackie Juntti, moderator) Where the Conservative message is posted - UNEDITED http://www.insidetheweb.com/messageboard/mbs.cgi/mb70701 - Politics To Subscribe/Unsubscribe to WGEN: Send Email with Subscribe (Unsubscribe) and your state in the SUBJECT line. WGEN submits information for consumption. It is the readers responsibility to accept or deny. [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Apr 00 18:11:38 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Defanging the Beaurocracy, pass it on! Folks, the idea I had a little while ago has percolated a bit, and I think it possible, that we can get some good out of it regardless of what happens to Elian Gonzales in the final result. Hopefully we can help him stay, but this is a grand chance to De-Militarize the Federal and possibly the State Beaurocracies as well. Combining the two issues is a net gain in supporters for both issues. The pics of the Raid say it all, spread the one with a submachinegun stuffed in his face everywhere. This is a potential Tiger that _all_ Beaurocratic Victims Groups can jump on and ride, Gun Owners, Property Righters, Tax Revolters, and any and all Industries that have been victimized, can all jump on, and lets face it, the Beaurocracy has been doing a _lot_ of Recruiting for us lately..... First off, a few bumperstickers/picket signs come to mind. Save Elian, hang a jackbooted thug! Save Elian, De-Militarize/disarm the Beaurocracy! De-Militarize/Disarm the Beaurocracy, They work for Castro, not U.S. De-Militarize/Disarm Beaurocratic Slave Masters! Save Elian, Disarm Janet Waco! Save Elian, Disarm Jackboot Janet! Save Elian, Fire the Beaurocracy! No more Bullies, kill the Beaurocracy! Bullies in Government Suck! Beauro-Bullies Suck! Beauro-Bullies drew 1st Blood, Remember Ruby Ridge! Beauro-Bullies drew 1st Blood, Remember Waco! Back to Civil Government, the Beaurocracy Sucks! And etc. Use any of the above, or make up your own. And of course, someone needs to put up a webpage or something so everyone can get organaized as to where/when to throw a fit/rotten eggs/tomatoes etc. - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Apr 00 18:13:38 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Gun industry fights back (fwd) On Apr 28, Don Loftus wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] NOBAN'ers I got an email from Chris Dolnack of the Hunting and Sport Shooting Heritage Fund (part of the NSSF, representative of the gun industry) that shows the industry is doing something about the various government agencies working to buy Smith & Wesson handguns at the expense of other companies. The article is on their web site at - www.hsshf.org. I tried to copy it and post it here, but couldn't get it to work. Go to the "Press Release" section to see the article. This is the group I have been asking you all to support with $10 donations (you can donate more if you like) to show support for the gun industry. We need to help them with these law suits. Go to their web page and then to the section on "How You Can Help." They will now take credit cards also to make it easier than sending a check. Don Loftus Gainesville, FL [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 19:48:49 -0700 (PDT) From: wbg Subject: Re: Defanging the Beaurocracy, pass it on! Someone might want to learn how to spell "bureaucracy" before investing any money in bumper stickers . . . :-) Brewster - -- *********************************************************************** " So much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot. " George Orwell *********************************************************************** W. Brewster Gillett wbg@hevanet.com Portland, Oregon USA *********************************************************************** - - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 21:46:48 -0700 From: skip Subject: Re: Defanging the Beaurocracy, pass it on! Evidence of illiteracy does tend to undermine credibility doesn't it Brewster? How are things? Regards, Skip. wbg wrote: > > Someone might want to learn how to spell "bureaucracy" before > investing any money in bumper stickers . . . :-) > > Brewster > -- > *********************************************************************** > " So much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire > by people who don't even know that fire is hot. " > > George Orwell > *********************************************************************** > W. Brewster Gillett wbg@hevanet.com Portland, Oregon USA > *********************************************************************** > > - - - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2000 07:24:17 -0700 (PDT) From: wbg Subject: Re: Defanging the Beaurocracy, pass it on! SkipL: > Evidence of illiteracy does tend to undermine credibility doesn't > it Brewster? wbg: Took the words right outta me mouth, y'did. It has long been one of my pet peeves, and is more noticable on the Net than it was in paper-only days. I suspect it's a combination of lowered educational standards and a (false) sense by Net users that it really doesn't matter as much. But you nailed the problem precisely - anyone who *does* know the language, when reading something with bonehead errors, is likely to assign a lowered worth to the whole piece. If only subconsciously. It seems to be very difficult to convince some folks of this. > How are things? > Regards, Skip. Steaming right along as usual, except no more candidacies for now :-) Lost one product, added another, plus a servicing contract, so keeping the little company more or less alive. And you? Brewster - -- ******************************************************************** THE UPLIFTERS TRY IT AGAIN by H. L. Mencken (Copyright, 1925, by The Evening Sun. Republication without credit not permitted.) I. The eminent Nation announces with relish "the organization of a national committee of 100 to induce Congress to prohibit the inter-State traffic in revolvers," and offers the pious judgement that it is "a step forward." "Crime statistics," it appears, "show that 90% of the murders that take place are committed by the use of the pistol, and every year there are hundreds of cases of accidental homicides because someone did not know that his revolver was loaded." The new law or is it to be a constitutional amendment? will do away with all that. "It will not be easy," of course, "to draw a law that will permit exceptions for public officers and bank guards" to say nothing of Prohibition agents and other such legalized murderers. "But soon even these officials may get on without revolvers." More than once in this place, I have lavished high praise upon the Nation. All that praise has been deserved, and I am by no means disposed to go back on it. The Nation is one of the few honest and intelligent periodicals published in the United States. It stands clear of official buncombe; it prints every week a great mass of news that the newspapers seem to miss; it interprets that news with a freedom and a sagacity that few newspaper editors can even so much as imagine. If it shut up shop then the country would plunge almost unchallenged into the lowest depths of Coolidgism, Rotarianism, Stantaquaism and other such bilge. It has been for a decade past, the chief consolation of the small and forlorn minority of civilized Americans. But the Nation, in its days, has been a Liberal organ, and its old follies die hard. Ever and anon, in the midst of its most eloquent and effective pleas for Liberty, its eye wanders weakly toward Law. At such moments the old lust to lift 'em up overcomes it, and it makes a brilliant and melodramatic ass of itself. Such a moment was upon it when it printed the paragraph that I have quoted. Into that paragraph of not over 200 words it packed as much maudlin and nonsensical blather, as much idiotic reasoning and banal moralizing, as Dr. Coolidge gets into a speech of two hours' length. II. The new law that it advocated, indeed, is one of the most absurd specimens of jackass legislation ever heard of, even in this paradise of legislative donkeyism. Its single and sole effect would be to exaggerate enormously all of the evils it proposes to put down. It would not take pistols out of the hands of rogues and fools; it would simply take them out of the hands of honest men. The gunman today has great advantages everywhere. He has artillery in his pocket, and he may assume that, in the large cities, at least two-thirds of his prospective victims are unarmed. But if the Nation's proposed law (or amendment) were passed and enforced, he could assume safely that all of them were unarmed. Here I do not indulge in theory. The hard facts are publicly on display in New York State, where a law of exactly the same tenor is already on the books the so-called Sullivan Law. In order to get it there, of course, the Second Amendment had to be severely strained, but the uplifters advocated the straining unanimously, and to the tune of loud hosannas, and the courts, as usual, were willing to sign on the dotted line. It is now a dreadful felony in New York to "have or possess" a pistol. Even if one keeps it locked in a bureau drawer at home, one may be sent to the hoosegow for ten years. More, men who have done no more are frequently bumped off. The cops, suspecting a man, say, of political heresy, raid his house and look for copies of the Nation. They find none, and are thus baffled but at the bottom of a trunk they do find a rusted and battered revolver. So he goes to trial for violating the Sullivan Law, and is presently being psycho-analyzed by the uplifters at Sing Sing. With what result? With the general result that New York, even more than Chicago, is the heaven of footpads, hijackers, gunmen and all other such armed thugs. Their hands upon their pistols, they know they are safe. Not one citizen out of a hundred that they tackle is armed for getting a license to keep a revolver is a difficult business, and carrying one without it is more dangerous than submitting to robbery. So the gunmen flourish and give humble thanks to God. Like the bootleggers, they are hot and unanimous for Law Enforcement. III. To all this, of course, the uplifters have a ready answer. (At having ready answers, indeed, they always shine!) The New York thugs, they say, are armed to the teeth because New Jersey and Connecticut lack Sullivan Laws. When one of them wants a revolver all he has to do is to cross the river or take a short trolley trip. Or, to quote the Nation, he may "simply remit to one of the large firms which advertise the sale of their weapons by mail." The remedy is the usual dose: More law. Congress is besought to "prohibit the inter-State traffic in revolvers, especially to bar them from the mails." It is all very familiar, and very depressing. Find me a man so vast an imbecile that he seriously believes that this prohibition would work. What would become of the millions of revolvers already in the hands of the American people if not in New York, then at least everywhere else? (I own two and my brother owns at least a dozen, though neither of us has fired one since the close of the Liberty Loan drives.) Would the cops at once confiscate this immense stock, or would it tend to concentrate in the hands of the criminal classes? If they attempted confiscation, how would they get my two revolvers lawfully acquired and possessed without breaking into my house? Would I wait for them docilely or would I sell out, in anticipation, to the nearest pistol bootlegger? The first effect of the enactment of such a law, obviously, would be to make the market price of all small arms rise sharply. A pistol which is now worth, second-hand, perhaps $2, would quickly reach a value of $10 or even $20. This is not theorizing; we have had plenty of experience with gin. Well, imagining such prices to prevail, would the generality of men surrender to the Polizei, or would they sell them to the bootleggers? And if they sold them to the bootleggers, what would become of them in the end: would they fall into the hands of honest men or into the hands of rogues? IV. But the gunmen, I take it, would not suffer from the high cost of artillery for long. The moment the price got really attractive, the cops themselves would begin to sell their pistols, and with them the whole corps of Prohibition blacklegs, private detectives, deputy sheriffs, and other such scoundrels. And smuggling, as in the case of alcoholic beverages, would become an organized industry, large in scale and lordly in profits. Imagine the supplies that would pour over the long Canadian and Mexican borders! And into every port on every incoming ship! Certainly, the history of the attempt to enforce Prohibition should give even uplifters pause. A case of whisky is a bulky object. It must be transported on a truck. It can not be disguised. Yet in every American city today a case of whisky may be bought almost as readily as a pair of shoes despite all the armed guards along the Canadian border, and all the guard ships off the ports, and all the raiding, snooping and murdering everywhere else. Thus the camel gets in and yet the proponents of the new anti-pistol law tell us that they will catch the gnat! Go tell it to the Marines! Such a law, indeed, would simply make gun-toting swagger and fashionable, as Prohibition has made guzzling swagger and fashionable. When I was a youngster there were no Prohibition agents; hence I never so much as drank a glass of beer until I was nearly 19. Today, Law Enforcement is the eighth sacrament and the Methodist Board of Temperance, Prohibition and Public Morals is itself the authority for the sad news that the young of the land are full of gin. I remember, in my youth, a time when the cops tried to prohibit the game of catty. At once every boy in Baltimore consecrated his whole time and energy to it. Finally, the cops gave up their crusade. Almost instantly catty disappeared. V. The real victim of moral legislation is almost always the honest, law-abiding, well-meaning citizen what the late William Graham Summer called the Forgotten Man. Prohibition makes it impossible for him to take a harmless drink, cheaply and in a decent manner. In the same way the Harrison Act puts heavy burdens upon the physician who has need of prescribing narcotic drugs for a patient, honestly and for good ends. But the drunkard still gets all the alcohol that he can hold, and the drug addict is still full of morphine and cocaine. By precisely the same route the Nation's new law would deprive the reputable citizen of the arms he needs for protection, and hand them over to the rogues that he needs protection against. Ten or fifteen years ago there was an epidemic of suicide by bichloride of mercury tablets. At once the uplifters proposed laws forbidding their sale, and such laws are now in force in many States, including New York. The consequences are classical. A New Yorker, desiring to lay in an antiseptic for household use, is deprived of the cheapest, most convenient and most effective. And the suicide rate in New York, as elsewhere, is still steadily rising. ****************************************************************** W. Brewster Gillett wbg@hevanet.com Portland, Oregon USA *********************************************************************** - - ------------------------------ End of roc-digest V2 #330 *************************