From: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com (roc-digest) To: roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: roc-digest V2 #382 Reply-To: roc-digest Sender: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk roc-digest Monday, August 21 2000 Volume 02 : Number 382 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 20 Aug 00 10:58:59 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Signed NRA Petitions Needed (fwd) On Aug 19, Weldon Clark wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] Signed NRA Petitions Needed Editor's Note by Weldon Clark - We need you to sign the bylaw petitions to change NRA bylaws to (1) allow members to elect directors from their own state and (2) prevent multimillion dollar vendors from controlling NRA elections. Please sign them and return them immediately to the Second Amendment Action Committee, Dr. Bill Davis, Secy.-Treas., 465Riverhill Drive, N.W. Atlanta, Georgia 30328-3178 ******************************* by Neal Knox -- Signed petitions to amend the NRA Bylaws are coming in at a good clip, co-sponsor Bill Davis tells me, but we're nowhere near the 500 valid signatures needed to put them on next spring's ballot. Bill needs them by next Friday Aug 31! Any that we get to NRA HQ after Sept. 1 are worthless. If you've been putting this off, please get moving now! At present, there are 76 members of the NRA Board of Directors, all elected at large on recommendation of the Nominating Committee selected by the Board they are to select. Most members don't know even one of the Directors they choose. One of Bill's and my petitions calls for at least one Director elected from each state -- by members from his or her state. Twenty-four more would be elected at large, to allow big- population states to elect more of their residents, or those recommended by people they trust. One Director would continue to be elected by the members at an annual meeting. That would mean that at least two-thirds of the NRA Board would be elected by NRA members who actually know them. By changing the electorate -- from the Board-controlled nominating committee to the members within a nominee's slate -- I'll guarantee you that directors elected under that system would be far more concerned about the wishes of you members than are the present Directors. The second proposed bylaw amendment states that NRA employees or contractors -- those with a financial interest in the NRA Board elections -- would be prohibited from funding or attempting to influence the elections. One NRA Director told me: "I don't see how anyone could oppose that." I told him: "You *watch* them." To print out a letter-sized or legal-sized copy of the petitions and our cover letter describing them, go to http://www.nealknox.com/NRA2001/petitions/ Or see the link off the home page at http://www.nealknox.com If you're a voting member -- Life or *continuous* 5-year please sign them and get them to Bill at the address listed on the petition. - ---------- Last night I received a fax asking me to respond to a poll asking "Should Gun Law Be Seriously Tighten." I'm asked to fax my response to a 900 number at a cost of $2.95 per minute -- which, it smugly asserts in small type, is "a small price for greater democracy." Democracy has nothing to do with it. It's a money-making SCAM for an outfit in England. Speaking of scams, a lot of gun polls on the web are interested in just one thing: getting the email addresses of pro-gunners or anti-gunners that they can sell to the highest bidder. Computer gurus tell me that if you get on the poll's web page they can pull down information about you and what's on your computer -- or leave a bitter "cookie" on your machine if they don't like your answer. Don't get ripped off. - -- Help us keep you informed! Send your Firearms Coalition dues to: Neal Knox Associates 7771 Sudley Road, No. 44 Manassas, VA 20109 Suggested dues are the price of a box of ammunition - $15- $25. Archives of these messages are stored at http://www.nealknox.com/alerts/. Copyright (c) 2000 Neal Knox Associates. All Rights Reserved. For legislative updates contact www.nealknox.com and go to "Scripts from the Firearms Coalition Legislative Update Line" For current news, call 1-900-225-3006 (89 cents per minute) or visit http://www.NealKnox.com (free). ************************************************************ For those of you in South Carolina who wish to receive specific alerts please e-mail request to lcoble@netside.com and/or visit www.scfirearms.org. ************************************************************ What To Do If The Police Come To Confiscate Your Militia Weapons see www.2ndamendment.net *************************************************** The Georgia Sport Shooting Association wants you! A free shooting events list is published every two weeks. Go to www.gssa.com and sign up today. ************************************************* >From The 2ndAmendmentNews Team If you received this as a forward and wish to join please send: E-Mail to listserver@frostbit.com with the following text in the message body: SUBSCRIBE 2nd-Amendment-News We have had a computer error. If you want to be removed send a message to the list administrator, send E-mail to whclark@bellsouth.net If you know anyone who would appreciate these alerts, please let us know and we'll enroll them on a trial basis. Also, feel free to forward our alerts. [------------------------- 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 - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- Constitutional Government is dead, LONG LIVE THE CONSTITUTION!!!!! - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Aug 00 10:50:37 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Alcoa Heritage Violation- Tuesday's Gathering-Please Read (fwd) On Aug 19, Josephine Bass wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] >In a message dated 08/19/2000 4:51:54 PM Central Daylight Time, >escoleman@atl.mediaone.net writes: > ><< Gentlemen, > Just got the message below from Vickie at SHCCAR@aol.com > > This Tuesday is an important day in the heritage stand against the Alcoa >Plant in Badin, N.C.. If you are able, please attend this 11 AM support > gathering for the men working inside. As you have heard, this is about > Alcoa's refusal to allow employees to park in their lot if they have > Confederate heritage items on their vehicles. This type attack will > spread nationally > if successful. This is a long ongoing fight which must be won. >Lijah Chattahoochee Guards > > > Compatriots, > Yesterday I spoke with the secretary of Bruce Cox, who is the CEO at ALCOA. >I > called to talk with Cox but he wasn't there. I called out of concern > because > when I spoke with the police chief of Badin he told me Alcoa was under the > impression that the threats that had been made were coming from the > demonstrators toward the employees of Alcoa. Of course he said he had let > them know that they needed to look at their employees and not us. In > talking > with Lanette I made it very clear that we were not violent people and that >we > were there out of honor, respect and love for our Southern heritage, > culture > and our ancestors.I told her that we as Southerners had taken all the > bashing and abuse that we were going to and that we were not going to stand > by and watch Alcoa open a door that we as Southerners would never be > able to > shut. I told her that I knew from the mediation meeting that these black >were > using our Confederate Flag for self gain and that as soon as Alcoa gave in >to > them Allan Williams would be on the phone to the naacp and anyone that he > could and tell them to send someone out at all businesses and such were >there > was a Confederate symbol displayed and say it was offensive and use the >Alcoa > situation as their basis to say they should be banned. I explained to her > that we had to much at stake at Alcoa to just go away. I told her that I > had > been told they were wanting us to leave and were real tired of seeing us. I > explained to her that they didn't want that any more than we did because it > is very hot in the sun and most of us have other things we needed to do but > because this is our heritage, culture and ancestors who are under attack >that > we will be there until Alcoa lifts the ban. I made it very clear that we > would not go away because of threats or any other reason. I told her that > some of us had already talked about how much better it would be to be > standing in the cold instead of the hot. We talked for about 30 minutes and > there were other things said. When I got ready to hang up she ask me if I > would please leave the same things I had said to her on Bruce's voice mail > and then ask if I would contact Dana Keselar. I did. > > Today I was told that last evening there was a big rubble on the hill ( > this > is what they call the main office). It seems that some of the men from > Pittsburgh (headquarters of Alcoa) were at Alcoa in Badin and it has been > said they want this resolved. This is the same thing the mediator said. The > mediator ( who was a black man) told Bruce Cox at least 3 times that there > was absolutely no reason why this couldn't be resolved after listening to >the > men talk. He said they should be allowed right back in the parking lot > without as they were before symbols and all ( of course the blacks said > they > wouldn't allow this as you already know) I was told that a finger was >pointed > at Williams and the statement made that he is to blame for all of this. >Alcoa > Pittsburgh is tired of e-mails, phone calls and the whole situation....they > want it resolved and resolved now. Alcoa in Badin want us to go away but we > are there to stay until they resolve this situation and they know this. On > Wednesday there were 14 of us and we had 22 flags displayed. I am sure they > are wondering how many more we will have. > > Michael told me today that Alcoa thought after the first demonstration that > we would be gone and it wouldn't matter to anyone. How wrong they were this > time they have seen that we are not going to back down and that the men who > they have ban are not going to compromise at all. We are showing them that >we > aren't going to take any more of this Southern bashing as so many have for > years. We are sick and tired of this. This is why it is so important for > you > to come and help us line the streets on Tuesday Aug 22nd. Alcoa needs to >know > beyond a shadow of a doubt that we as Southerners are proud of who we are >and > will not let them condemn our Southern heritage and culture and dirty the > names of our ancestors and get by with it anymore. Michael said today that >he > really feels a show of support like we had on the first demonstration will > absolutely help us conquer this battle at Alcoa. I suppose I am now begging > you to please come and bring everyone that you can with you Tuesday and >let's > really show them that we are a ban of brothers and sisters who when the > call > goes out will ban together for our Southern heritage and culture. My > friends > please think about what will happen if we don't win this....we must shut >this > door once and for all and then just maybe when anyone else tries this they > will remember what happened at Alcoa in Badin NC and know that we will be > there with our Flags in hand ready to stand up. > > WE CAN CLAIM A VICTORY FOR OUR SOUTHERN HERITAGE, CULTURE AND ANCESTORS >WHEN > WE WIN THIS. I URGE YOU TO BE AT BADIN TUESDAY AT 11 AM AND LET'S SHOW > ALCOA > OUR SOUTHERN PRIDE. > > If you do not live close to Badin NC please if one of these Alcoa plants > are > close to you go there on Tuesday at 11 am with your Confederate Flag and >make > it known that you are there supporting the men at Alcoa in Badin NC. > > Alcoa Location: > Badin, N.C. > Lebanon, Pa. > Leetsdale, Pa. > Massena, N.Y. > New Kensington, Pa. > Alcoa Automotive > Gaffney, S.C. > Stuarts Draft, Va. > Alcoa Extrusions, Inc > Catawba, NC > Cressona, Pa. > Elizabethon, Tenn. > Plant City, Fla. > Alcoa Fujikura Ltd. > Spartanburg, S.C. > Alcoa Packaging Machinery, Inc. > Randolph, N.Y. > Alcoa World Alumina L.L.C. > Dalton, Ga.; Fort Meade, Fla. > Alumax Mill Products, Inc > Lancaster, Pa. > Alpharetta, Ga. > Eastalco Aluminium Company > Frederick, Md. > Halethorpe Extrusions, Inc. > Baltimore, Md. > Kawneer Company, Inc. > Harrisonburg, Va. > Bloomsburg, Pa. > MinTel Communications, L.L.C. > Norcross, Ga. > Permatech, Inc. > Graham, N.C. > Quality Control Services, Inc. > Richmond, Va. > St. Croix Alumina, L.L.C. > St. Croix, V.I. > Six "R" Communications, L.L.C. > Monroe, N.C. > T.I.C.S. Corporation > Charlotte, N.C. > Tifton Aluminum Company, Inc. > Tifton, Ga. > Alcoa, Tenn.; Evansville, Ind. > Chillicothe, Ohio > Cleveland, Ohio > Danville, Ill. > Hawesville, Ky. > Lafayette, Ind. > Alcoa Automotive > Alcoa Center, Pa.; Northwood, Ohio > Fruitport, Mich.; Hawesville, Ky. > Southfield, Mich. > Alcoa Building Products, Inc. > Princeville, Ill.; Sidney, Ohio > Alcoa Closure Systems International, Inc. > Crawfordsville, Ind. Olive Branch, Miss. > Alcoa Extrusions, Inc > Fairburn, Ga. > Hernando, Miss. > Magnolia, Ark. > Morris, Ill. > Alcoa Fujikura Ltd. > Dearborn, Mich. > Mattawan, Mich.; Nashville, Tenn. > New Boston, Mich.; Shelbyville, Ky. > Traverse City, Mich. > Alumax Foils, Inc > Russellville, Ark.; St. Louis, Mo. > American Trim, L.L.C.** > Cullman, Ala.; Lima, Ohio > Wapakoneta, Ohio > B&C Research, Inc. > Barberton, Ohio > Warren, Ohio > Great Lakes Minerals, L.L.C. > Wurtland, Ky. > Kawneer Company, Inc. > Jonesboro, GA.; Norcross, GA. > Springdale, Ark > Stolle Machinery, Inc. > Sidney, Ohio > TeleTech Company, Inc. > Lexington, Ky. > Auburn, Wash. > Davenport, Iowa > Denton, Texas > Hutchinson, Kansas; > Rockdale, Texas > San Antonio, Texas > Wenatchee, Wash. > Alcoa Building Products, Inc. > Denison, Texas > Alcoa Extrusions, Inc > Spanish Fork, Utah > Yankton, SD Extrusions, Tube > Alcoa Fujikura Ltd. > El Paso, Texas > Houston, Miss > Alcoa Packaging Machinery > Englewood, Colo. > Alcoa World Alumina L.L.C. > Baton Rouge, La.; Bauxite, Ark. > Point Comfort, Texas > Vidalia, La. > Alumax Mill Products, Inc > Texarcana, Texas > Discovery Aluminas, Inc. > Port Allen, La. > Intalco Aluminum Corp. > Ferndale, Wash. > Kawneer Company, Inc. > Bristol, Ind; Franklin, Ind > Visalia, Calif. > Northwest Alloys, Inc. > Addy, Wash. > Norton-Alcoa Proppants** > Fort Smith, Ark. > Pimalco, Inc. > Chandler, Ariz. > Tifton Aluminum Company, Inc. > Delhi, La > > Please contact me if you need directions to Badin NC. > > Carrying the memory of my ancestors and what they stood for on forever, > As always...Vickie Poston.. > ************************************************************************* > Elijah Coleman, Georgian > http://www.southernmessenger.org/ > "May any Grandson who fails to honor these men > who sacrificed everything and lost, meet a different hereafter, > for he would not be worthy of their reception." ESC >> > > > >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > >"Surrender means that the history of this heroic struggle will be written >by the enemy, that our youth will be trained by Northern school teachers; >learn from Northern school books THEIR version of the war; and taught to >regard our gallant dead as traitors and our maimed veterans as fit >subjects of derision." --Gen. Patrick Cleburne, CSA > >"If I ever disown, repudiate, or apologize for the Cause for which Lee >fought and Jackson >died, let the lightnings of Heaven rend me, and the scorn of all good men >and true women >be my portion. Sun, Moon, Stars, all fall on me when I cease to love the >Confederacy. 'Tis >the cause, not the fate of the Cause, that is glorious!" --Maj. R.E. >Wilson, CSA [------------------------- 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 - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- Constitutional Government is dead, LONG LIVE THE CONSTITUTION!!!!! - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Aug 00 14:37:42 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: HASTERT & HIS PINKO NAT'L SECURITY ADVISOR (fwd) On Aug 20, Archibald Bard wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] ROHRABACHER RESOLUTION THWARTED BY REGISTERED FOREIGN AGENT NOW EMPLOYED BY HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP On Capitol Hill, some 89 members of George Bush's own political party have become co-sponsors of the Rohrabacher resolution (H. Con. Res. 186) calling for the return of U.S. troops to Panama and challenging the corrupt process by which control of container ports on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the Panama Canal were granted to Hutchison Whampoa, whose top officials are closely linked to the Red regime in Beijing and its People's Liberation Army. Now it has been disclosed that there is good circumstantial evidence on which to surmise a key reason for the failure of House Speaker Dennis Hastert and other members of the Republican leadership to support proposals designed to safeguard vital U.S. strategic interests at the isthmus of Panama. Within the last two weeks it has been disclosed that Speaker Hastert has hired as principal national security advisor for the Republican Party in the U.S. House of Representatives a woman who has been a registered foreign agent for the Red Chinese-controlled Hutchison Whampoa Corporation as well as for the Beijing-backed government of Pakistan. http://www.phillips2000.com/panamanews.htm Archibald Bard [------------------------- 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 - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- Constitutional Government is dead, LONG LIVE THE CONSTITUTION!!!!! - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Aug 00 14:41:19 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Citizens Of America Radio Ads - Running Now (fwd) On Aug 20, RichSlick@aol.com wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] From: spiker@coollink.net (spiker) Source: Citizens Of America http://www.citizensofamerica.org/ Citizens Of America Radio Ads - Running Now http://www.citizensofamerica.org/radio.htm These radio spots are currently running across America. Click on each URL to listen to the ads. 1.911 hell http://www.citizensofamerica.org/911.ram 2.The missing voice http://www.citizensofamerica.org/missing.ram 3.Thanks from America's criminals http://www.citizensofamerica.org/thankyou.ram 4.Senator: Give up your guns speech http://www.citizensofamerica.org/senators.ram 5.Multi-Message http://www.citizensofamerica.org/multimessage.ram 6.Get Smart Sisters! http://www.citizensofamerica.org/GetSmart.ram 7.I'm no slave http://www.citizensofamerica.org/Imnoslave.ram [------------------------- 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 - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- Constitutional Government is dead, LONG LIVE THE CONSTITUTION!!!!! - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Aug 00 14:40:12 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: new forfeiture law (fwd) On Aug 20, Swftl@aol.com wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] This was on the front page above the fold, complete with a photo of the Red Carpet Inn - ------------------------------------ Newshawk: Al Robison Pubdate: Sunday, August 20, 2000 Source: Houston Chronicle (TX) Author: Michael Hedges Government to bear burden of proof in seizures Red Carpet Inn case brings change in civil asset forfeitures By MICHAEL HEDGES Copyright 2000 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- The Red Carpet Inn on Hornwood is not among Houston's landmarks listed in city tour guides, but it has earned an asterisk in recent American judicial history. In February 1998, federal prosecutors informed the owners of the motel that they intended to confiscate the inn after several drug arrests there, although the owners were not charged with any crime. The Red Carpet case attracted national attention, and it helped galvanize forces as diverse as the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Rifle Association to work to change the civil asset forfeiture law under which the government acted. On Wednesday, a new law takes effect that supporters say would level the playing field for property owners dealing with the government in seizure cases. It will require the government to prove in court by a majority of the evidence that property has been used to facilitate a crime or has been bought with illegal gains before it can be taken. The law change was at least partially inspired by events at the southwest Houston Red Carpet Inn. "That case probably got more attention than any other single case in the congressional debates over changing the civil asset forfeiture law," said David Smith, a Virginia attorney who is an expert on civil asset forfeiture law. It joined a roster of high-profile forfeitures that critics said showed how the law was being abused. For example, in the early 1990s, the government took $506,641 from a Chicago pizzeria owned by Sam and Frank Lombardo after linking a man who drove a truck for them to minor drug sales. The Lombardos were never charged with a crime and, after challenging the government in court, got the money returned -- four years later. Then there was the case of Delmar Puryear of Kentucky, a disabled retiree who had a 37-acre farm confiscated after police found marijuana growing there, even though a jury found him not guilty in a criminal trial of having any knowledge of the pot. Puryear eventually had to wait a year and pay $12,000 to regain ownership of the farm. The seizures also bred corruption. An Arkansas prosecutor was sentenced to 11 years in prison after being convicted of extortion for misusing forfeiture laws. And Somerset, N.J., prosecutor Nicholas Bissell Jr. committed suicide in 1997 after being convicted of spending $1.5 million in confiscated money. For Jason Brice, a part owner of the Red Carpet, being told by federal marshals that his motel was under federal seizure was a shock. "It was a trauma for me, a very painful time," he said. "I thought I'd lose the whole business." Brice said a friendly federal marshal advised him to post a costly bond to forestall losing the property. "I was told to do that or I'd lose it completely," he said. If the government moves to confiscate a property, the new law will require prosecutors to file for a court hearing to be held within 90 days to prove there "is a substantial connection between the property and the crime" in order to keep seized assets. Before the change, property could be seized on "probable cause" that it was linked to wrongdoing. After that, the owner had to post a sizable bond to keep property from being sold or otherwise disposed of, then go to court to get property returned. That proved lucrative for the government. By the end of the 1990s, half a billion dollars worth of property -- including cash, cars, boats, planes, buildings where drug transactions took place and restaurants allegedly bought with illicit gains -- was being seized each year. The law provided powerful incentives for state and local law enforcement to get involved, since those agencies could net 80 percent of the profit from property seized and sold under the law. Critics on both ends of the political spectrum believed federal authorities had gotten too quick on the trigger in seizing property. Those spearheading the successful efforts in Washington to change the law had used the Red Carpet case to great effect. It was mentioned on the floor of Congress. It became a staple in advocacy-group handouts. But some of the nuances of the case were lost in efforts to distill it to its symbolic essence. Police had been arresting people with drugs in their possession on motel property for some time before federal prosecutors moved to seize the Red Carpet on Feb. 17, 1998. Federal agents said that in 1996 and 1997 police had been called to the motel more than 30 times. "With property, you're holding yourself out to the public and the community as responsible," former Houston acting U.S. Attorney James DeAtley said at the time the government acted. Brice and the co-owners were not charged with a crime. But DeAtley said they had "tacitly approved" of the drug sales by not implementing security measures suggested by police, like raising room rates, adding video cameras to monitor a parking lot and hiring more guards. It was a classic civil forfeiture case -- in effect, charging the property, not the person. Attorneys for the owners said threatening to take property because the owners didn't follow police advice on preventing crimes was outrageous. "The place was stigmatized; perhaps it still is," said Matt Hennessy, attorney for the owners. "I don't think the owners will ever know how much business losses they incurred." Authorities allowed the motel to stay open. But Hennessy said, "They were in limbo. They had to keep paying the note to the bank, but no one knew who ultimately would own it." Brice began legal proceedings to get the seizure lifted. In July 1998, the government agreed to drop the forfeiture after the owners agreed to augment security there. Meanwhile, publicity generated by the case struck a chord in Washington. Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., who sponsored the law changing forfeiture procedures, highlighted the Red Carpet story in an appeal to Congress to change the law. When the Washington Post used the Red Carpet case as the opening paragraph of an article about asset forfeiture, it said the motel had been confiscated. "That is not factually correct," said William Yahner, assistant U.S. attorney who runs Houston's asset forfeiture office. "The hotel was never taken over by the government; it was never seized; the owners were never thrown out." Yahner said an accurate rendering of the story would be that forfeiture of the property was sought by the government, then the case was resolved by agreement. Hennessy said the government agreed to deal after "their publicity stunt" backfired in the press. Whatever the reality, the perception of the government moving to take away the inn from its owners proved politically potent. Alice Dery, assistant chief of the Justice Department's asset-forfeiture and money-laundering section in Washington, said a few high-profile cases doomed the civil forfeiture law as it was formerly constructed. "It is unfortunate that a few cases that could have been handled differently gave the public the image that the law was unfair," she said. She said the civil asset forfeiture law has been an important law enforcement tool for many years. "When a community is hurting because of a crack house or a drug dealer selling drugs out of his car, if you can shut that down by taking the car or the house, you can have an immediate impact on a community," she said. Civil and criminal asset forfeiture laws spring from old maritime law that allowed ships used in piracy and other bad deeds to be "arrested." But it was in 1984, as a fresh surge of illicit drugs coursed through America's system, that new laws were enacted, and prosecutors began using them aggressively. By the peak year of the program, 1993, just less than $2 billion in property was under seizure by the government. That included almost $900 million in real estate and businesses, more than $700 million in cash, around $60 million in vehicles and $55 million in jewelry, along with various other trinkets. Seizures will continue after the new law takes effect, Dery said, but prosecutors and police will be a little more hesitant to lower the boom on drug dealers and other criminals. The Justice Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and major police groups such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police opposed the original Hyde bill. Those groups elicited some changes, like a provision that a person did not automatically get property back by proving poverty, and that some seizures could be held as evidence. Opponents changed the standard by which the government had to prove property should be confiscated from "clear and convincing evidence" in Hyde's original proposal to a preponderance of evidence. The new law will not change criminal forfeiture laws, which allow the government to confiscate the fruits of crime from those convicted. The law was signed in April, but the effective date was moved to Aug. 23 to give law enforcement agencies a chance to adjust to the changes. In the interim, the Justice Department chose not to change its policy on when to seize property. "That has been a simple matter of logistics," Dery said. But she said federal prosecutors are aware that "they need to be very careful with how they proceed" as the law change nears. Prosecutor Yahner said the Houston U.S. Attorney's office has several civil asset forfeiture cases pending, and that the coming changes to the law wouldn't change how his office does business. "I've looked at the changes in the law. I'm operating from the standpoint that we are not going to change anything," he said. Dery and others in the Justice Department have spent the summer training federal prosecutors as well as state and local law enforcement officers on the effect of the new law. "We're not quite sure how it will play out on Aug. 23," she said. Brice, ironically, said he backed the need for tough laws against drug dealers such as the asset forfeiture statute. "I think it was a law with good intentions that was put to bad use," he said. "I'm glad the law is changing. For every change that happens, some people have to pay the price." [------------------------- 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 - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- Constitutional Government is dead, LONG LIVE THE CONSTITUTION!!!!! - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Aug 00 19:24:54 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: [newsucanuse] VIN: Bovard book (fwd) On Aug 20, SlickEditor@aol.com wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] FROM MOUNTAIN MEDIA THE LIBERTARIAN, By Vin Suprynowicz Sanctifying the expansion of federal power Washington journalist Jim Bovard, frequent contributor to the American Spectator, Playboy, and the Wall Street Journal, is the author of "The Farm Fiasco" (1989), "The Fair Trade Fraud" (1991), and "Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty" (1994). Each of Mr. Bovard's books has been a welcome addition to the library of those who harbor a lingering suspicion that -- behind all the stage-managed "compassion" -- today's regulatory bureaucracies really function as little more than costly protection rackets for the kind of vested interests who can afford to pony up massive "campaign contributions" to congressmen who know which side their toast is buttered on. Bovard has always been good at unfurling and tacking down complex government schemes like butterflies under glass. More importantly, one refers the casual inquirer to Mr. Bovard's tomes in full confidence they will find there not merely the opinionated spoutings of some free-market theoretician, but rather the kind of rigorous scholarship which habitually appends 70 pages of careful notes and indices to the back of each 350-page volume. If Bovard's early works deserved a criticism, I would have to focus on his apparent reluctance to inject into his work much judgmental, emotional content. We find the absurd waste and self-contradiction of one government boondoggle after another laid bare (the book jacket of Bovard's latest tome puckishly brags his "writing has been denounced by FBI Director Louis Freeh, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Agriculture, ... the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the U.S. International Trade Commission") -- yet where we looked for the matador to apply his coup de grace, Mr. Bovard would exasperatingly grin, shrug, and walk away. That started to change in last year's "Freedom in Chains." Now, with the pending September release of Bovard's latest book, "feeling your pain: The Explosion and Abuse of Government Power in the Clinton-Gore Years" ($26.95 from St. Martin's Press) I believe we are finally seeing the emergence of a mature and fully formed Jim Bovard, no longer content to merely shine a light into the rat warren and expect his readers to reach their own conclusions. Rather, the author now seems fully emotionally invested in exposing and rooting out the way the fast-talkers and scalawags have preyed upon the charitable instincts of a good and generous American people to -- finally -- loot us, disarm us, and even begin to kill us in our homes. After eight years of Clintonism, hostility to government is now so widespread that even census takers take their lives in their hands to announce "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." And with good reason, Bovard says: "From concocting new prerogatives to confiscate private property, to championing FBI agents' right to shoot innocent Americans, to bankrolling the militarization of local police forces, the Clinton administration stretched the power of government on all fronts," Bovard writes. "From the soaring number of wiretaps, to converting cell phones into homing devices for law enforcement, to turning bankers into spies against their customers, free speech and privacy were undermined again and again. From dictating how many pairs of Chinese silk panties Americans could buy, to President Clinton's heroic efforts to require trigger locks for all handguns in crack houses, no aspect of Americans' lives was too arcane for federal intervention." Although Clinton famously announced in his 1996 State of the Union address that "the era of Big Government is over," that turned out to be nothing but an "intellectual shell game," masking a pattern of "stealth statism," Bovard asserts. Once the president had won re-election by again campaigning as a moderate, he "opened the floodgates" of racial blackmail, IRS plunder, and one assault after another on our Bill of Rights, all justified by one cynical appeal or another to "the safety of the children." Bovard dissects in excruciating detail the way "officer safety" concerns left Colorado police sitting helpless outside Columbine High School while victims lay dying inside, on that fateful April day in 1999. New to me was his revelation that finally, early that afternoon, "SWAT teams laid down 'cover fire' as they advanced toward the building. Spokesman (Steve) Davis could not estimate how many shots were fired by the SWAT teams. Denver attorney Jack Beam stated that the sheriff's department may be the target of lawsuits because of possible 'friendly fire' casualties." Does the Clinton administration respond to such bizarre events by asking what all those Democratic union teachers are doing to our doped-up young men behind the schoolhouse walls? (One of the Columbine perpetrators had been turned down upon trying to enlist in the Marines, because his schoolmasters had him doped up on the psychoactive drug Luvox.) Of course not. Instead, Bovard reports, "The ATF engaged in institutionalized perjury to boost its conviction rate" of otherwise innocent gun owners during the Clinton years, and the administration actually argued before the Supreme Court in 1994 that Americans commit a felony by merely owning a gun which might be converted to full-automatic fire. (Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for a solid 7-2 majority, shot down that nonsense in the seldom-reported case Staple vs. United States.) Inevitably and quite properly, the final fifth of the book brings us back once more to those pinnacles of modern police state achievement, Waco, Ruby Ridge, and "The Reno-Freeh Whitewash Team." "The Clinton administration built its 'bridge to the twenty-first century' by filling every sinkhole along the way with taxpayer dollars," Bovard reports. "From AmeriCorps projects that beat the bushes to recruit new food stamp recipients, to a flood insurance program that multiplied flood damage, to programs to give the keys to lavish new single-family homes to public housing residents, the Clinton administration's record domestic spending produced record fiascoes. For Clinton, the only wasted tax dollar was one that did not buy a vote, garner a campaign contribution, or provide a chance to bite his lip on national television. "In the same way that success of NATO's attacks on Serbia was measured largely by continual proclamations of 'record numbers' of sorties flown and 'record numbers' of bombs dropped, so the Clinton administration gauged its domestic policy successes by the number of new laws passed, new programs enacted, and new activities prohibited -- by record fines levied and record prison sentences imposed. Federal agencies issued more than 25,000 new regulations -- criminalizing everything from reliable toilets to snuff advertisements on race cars." Yet "While the media focused primarily on the new benefits that Clinton promised, little attention was paid to the swelling tax burden on working Americans. Federal income tax revenue doubled between 1992 and 2000. The total tax burden on the average family with two earners rose three times faster than inflation. Though the IRS wrongfully seized hundreds of thousands of Americans' paychecks and bank accounts during Clinton's reign, almost all of the agency's powers survived unscathed." And that's just the introduction. From there, Mr. Bovard goes on to document every word. Jim Bovard finally appears to be hopping mad, and I for one am glad to see it. Though many a "tell-all" book about the unlamented Clinton years is doubtless yet to come, claiming to expose everything from cocaine dealing in the Lincoln bedroom to who really wrapped up Vince Foster's body in that Persian carpet and lugged it out to the park, I suspect "feeling your pain" (yes, it's officially all lower-case) may well survive as the best political obituary of the Clinton era -- earning Jim Bovard an honor he might just as soon have forgone as our modern Cassandra, prophesying doom to an audience deafened by the happy din of the Wall Street jackpot machine. For if anyone believes all this makes Mr. Bovard's work a George W. Bush campaign book -- if anyone out there still believes that merely replacing the face at the ribbon-cuttings can change the kind of institutionalized corruption Jim Bovard has spent the better part of the past decade documenting -- then perhaps we should close by quoting from Mario Puzo's hero Michael Corleone, who in "The Godfather" turned to his fiancee at his sister Connie's wedding to ask: "Now who's being naive?" Vin Suprynowicz is assistant editorial page editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. His book, "Send in the Waco Killers: Essays on the Freedom Movement, 1993-1998," is available at $24.95 postpaid by dialing 1-800-244-2224; or via web site http://www.thespiritof76.com/wacokillers.html. *** Vin Suprynowicz, vin@lvrj.com "When great changes occur in history, when great principles are involved, as a rule the majority are wrong. The minority are right." -- Eugene V. Debs (1855-1926) "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed -- and thus clamorous to be led to safety -- by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." -- H.L. Mencken * * * To subscribe, send a message to vinsends-request@ezlink.com, from your NEW address, including the word "subscribe" (with no quotation marks) in the "Subject" line. All I ask of electronic subscribers is that they not RE-forward my columns until on or after the embargo date which appears at the top of each, and that (should they then choose to do so) they copy the columns in their entirety, preserving the original attribution. The Vinsends list is maintained by Alan Wendt in Colorado, who may be reached directly at alan@ezlink.com. The web sites for the Suprynowicz column are at http://www.infomagic.com/liberty/vinyard.htm, and http://www.nguworld.com/vindex. The Vinyard is maintained by Michael Voth in Flagstaff, who may be reached directly at mvoth@infomagic.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 - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- Constitutional Government is dead, LONG LIVE THE CONSTITUTION!!!!! - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - ------------------------------ End of roc-digest V2 #382 *************************