From: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com (roc-digest) To: roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: roc-digest V2 #413 Reply-To: roc-digest Sender: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk roc-digest Thursday, January 4 2001 Volume 02 : Number 413 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 01 Jan 2001 10:07:42 -0600 From: larry ball Subject: The Demonization of Gun Owners The quote that I forwarded in the previous post was from a place called Satore Township. There was were a couple of boxes at the bottom, one for corresponding with a person and the other the Home Page of Satore Township. It is phony. When you go the township home page you get the "person" who explains that the township page has been discontinued. The person is an author and is promoting books. Satore Township is an "East Bay" political subdivision in California. Well that explains it. Here is the address http://management.about.com/smallbusiness/management/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.svn.net/mikekell/v4.html - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Jan 01 13:14:39 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: SRA - New UN Watch Site. (fwd) On Dec 31, Brad3000 wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] FYI - Interesting site. (thx Gran EZ) -- Brad/RKBA-Unity! What is UNWatch.com? This website is designed for students doing research on the United Nations. We will gather a number of "pro and con" links to make research into both sides of several critical issues much easier. Essays will be collected to give a wide range of opinions that the student may see that there are at least two, if not several sides to every question. If you need help, ask the web- master, and we will attempt to either answer questions, or refer you to web- sites which can. Enjoy your research http://www.unwatch.com/head.html [------------------------- 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, 1 Jan 01 16:58:09 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Just One More Reason For "SHOOT-TO-KILL" (fwd) On Jan 1, BOBWORN@aol.com wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] The Looting Of America How over 200 Civil Asset Forfeiture laws enable police to confiscate your home, bank accounts & business without trial. By Jarret Wollstein http://www.escapeartist.com 12-30-00 'A police dog scratched at your luggage, so we're confiscating your life savings and you'll never get it back.' Police stopped 49-year-old Ethel Hylton at Houston's Hobby Airport and told her she was under arrest because a drug dog had scratched at her luggage. Agents searched her bags and strip-searched her, but they found no drugs. They did find $39,110 in cash, money she had received from an insurance settlement and her life savings; accumulated through over 20 years of work as a hotel housekeeper and hospital janitor. Ethel Hylton completely documented where she got the money and was never charged with a crime. But the police kept her money anyway. Nearly four years later, she is still trying to get her money back. Ethel Hylton is just one of a large and growing list of Americans - now numbering in the hundreds of thousands - who have been victimized by civil asset forfeiture. Under civil asset forfeiture, every-thing you own can be legally taken away even if you are never convicted of a crime. Suspicion of offenses which, if proven in court, might result in a $200 fine or probation, are being used to justify seizure of tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of property. Totally innocent Americans are losing their cars, homes and businesses, based on the claims of anonymous informants that illegal transactions took place on their property. Once property is seized, it is virtually impossible to get it back. Property is now being seized in every state and from every social group. Seizures include pocket money confiscated from public-housing residents in Florida; cars taken away from men suspected of soliciting prostitutes in Oregon; and homes taken away from ordinary, middle class Americans whose teenage children are accused of selling a few joints of marijuana. No person and no property is immune from seizure. You could be the next victim. Here are some examples: In Washington, D.C. police stop black men on the streets in poor areas of the city, and "routinely confiscate small amounts of cash and jewelry". Most confiscated property is not even recorded by police departments. "Resident Ben Davis calls it 'robbery with a badge'." [USA Today, 5/18/92] In Iowa, "a woman accused of shoplifting a $25 sweater had her $18,000 car - specially equipped for her handicapped daughter - seized as the 'getaway vehicle'." [USA Today, 5/18/92] Detroit drug police raided a grocery store, but failed to find any drugs. After drug dogs reacted to three $1.00 bills in the cash register, the police seized $4,384 from cash registers and the store safe. According to the Pittsburgh Press, over 92% of all cash in circulation in the U.S. now shows some drug residue. In Monmouth, New Jersey, Dr. David Disbrow was accused of practicing psychiatry without a license. His crime was providing counselling services from a spare bedroom in his mother's house. Counselling does not require a license in New Jersey. That didn't stop police from seizing virtually everything of value from his mother's home, totalling over $60,000. The forfeiture squad confiscated furniture, carpets, paintings, and even personal photographs. Kathy and Mark Schrama were arrested just before Christmas 1990 at their home in New Jersey. Kathy was charged with taking $500 worth of UPS packages from neighbors' porches. Mark was charged with receiving stolen goods. If found guilty, they might have paid a small fine and received probation. The day after their arrest, their house, cars and furniture were seized. Based upon mere accusation, $150,000 in property was confiscated, without trial or indictment. Police even took their clothing, eyeglasses, and Christmas presents for their 10-year-old son. The incentive for government agencies to expand forfeiture is enormous. Agencies can easily seize prop-erty and they usually keep what they take. According to the Pittsburgh Press, 80% of seizure victims are never even charged with a crime. Law enforcement agencies often keep the best seized cars, watches and TVs for their "departments", and sell the rest. How extensive are seizures in America today? The Washington Post has reported that the U.S. Marshals Service alone had an inventory of over $1.4 billion in seized assets, including over 30,000 cars, boats, homes and businesses. Federal and state agencies seizing property now include the FBI, the DEA, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Coast Guard, the IRS, local police, highway patrol, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, FDA, and the Bureau of Land Management. Asset forfeiture is a growth industry. Seizures have increased from $27 million in 1986, to over $644 million in 1991 to over $2 billion today. Civil asset forfeiture defines a new standard of justice in America; or more precisely, a new standard of injustice. Under civil seizure, property, not an individual is charged with an offense. Even if you are a totally innocent owner, the government can still confiscate your ''guilty'' property. If government agents seize your property under civil asset forfeiture, you can forget about being innocent until proven guilty, due process of law, the right to an attorney, or even the right to trial. All of those rights only exist if you are charged with a criminal offense; that is, with an offense which could result in your imprisonment. If you (or your property) are accused of a civil offense (offenses which could not result in your imprisonment), the Supreme Count has ruled that you have no presumption of innocence, no right to an attorney, and no protection from double jeopardy. Seizure occurs when government takes away your property. Forfeiture is when legal title is permanently transferred to the state. To get seized property returned, you have to fight the full resources of your state or federal government; sometimes both! You have to prove your property's "innocence" by documenting how you earned every cent used to pay for it. You have to prove that neither you nor any ofyour family members ever committed an illegal act involving the property. To get a trial, you have to post a non-refundable "bond" of 10% of the value of your property. You have to pay attorney fees - ranging from $5,000 to over $100,000 - out of your own pocket. Money you pay your attorney is also subject to seizure (either before or after the trial) if the government alleges that those funds were "tainted". And you may be forced to go through trial after trial, because under civil seizure the Constitutional protection against "double jeopardy" doesn't apply. Once your property is seized, expect to spend years fighting government agencies and expect to be impoverished by legal fees - with no guarantee of winning - while the government keeps your car, home and bank account. In fact, in a recent Supreme Court decision (Bennis v. Michigan), the Court said explicitly that innocent owners can be deprived of their property if it's used to facilitate a crime, even without the owner's knowledge or consent. That means you can now lose your home or business because of the action of employees, relatives, or guests, over whom you have absolutely no control. Police and prosecutors have incentive to confiscate as much as possible. Not only do police and prosecutors have the power to seize anything you own on the slightest pretext, they also have the incentive. The dirty little secret of the forfeiture racket is that police, prosecutors and judges can benefit personally by stealing your property. Brenda Grantland - America's leading asset forfeiture defense attorney - gives these examples of government greed in her book Your House Is Under Arrest: Suffolk County, NY. District Attorney James M. Catterton drives around in a BMW 735I that was seized from an alleged drug dealer. He spent $3,412 from the forfeiture fund for mechanical and body work, including $75 for pin-striping. Warren County, NJ. The assistant chief prosecutor drives a confiscated yellow Corvette. Little Compton, RI. The seven member police force received $3.8 million from the federal forfeiture fund, and spent it on such things as a new 23-foot boat with trailer, and new Pontiac Firebirds. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. The head of one Los Angeles police forfeiture squad claims his group personally pocketed over $60 million in seized property. Why do our courts tolerate these outrageous legalized thefts? Because they get their cut. It's completely legal for confiscated property to be used by police, prosecutors and judges, so long as it's for official business. In 1996, a federal district court even ruled that police can personally receive 25% of the value of any confiscated home, car, or business. Some police will kill you for your property In Malibu, California, park police tried repeatedly to buy the home and land of 61-year-old, retired rancher Don Scott, which was next to national parkland. Scott refused. On the morning of October 2, 1992, a task force of 26 LA county sheriffs, DEA agents and other cops broke into Scott's living room. When he heard his wife, Frances, scream, he came out of his upstairs bedroom with a gun over his head. Police yelled at him to lower his gun. He did, and they shot him dead. Police claimed to be searching for marijuana which they never found. Ventura County DA Michael Bradbury concluded that the raid was "motivated at least in part, by a desire to seize and forfeit the ranch for the government . . . [The] search warrant became Donald Scott's death warrant." _____ Jarret B. Wollstein works as an independent writer and direct-mail marketing specialist. He is a founder and director of the International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL), an international human-rights and free-market networking organization with members in over eighty countries. His ISIL issue papers have sold over two million copies and have been translated into six languages. Mr. Wollstein is the author of 300 articles and audio-tapes and four books, including Society Without Coercion (1969) and The Rage of lslam (1992). He is currently completing his fifth book-The Clinton Health Care Disaster. He is also a former editor of the Individualist magazine and the Financial Privacy Report. Mr. Wollstein's essay appeared as a two-part series in the January and February 1994 issues of Freedom Daily, published by The Future of Freedom Foundation - For more information on Forfeiture in the USA, view the Forfeiture Endangers American Rights (FEAR) website: http://www.fear.org [------------------------- 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, 1 Jan 01 18:20:08 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Feds announce peopleless areas plan (fwd) On Jan 01, Rich Martin wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] From the Home of Rich & Peggy Martin Grand Prairie, TX 75050 RichSlick@excite.com It's nice to be important, but it's important to be nice. _______________________________________________ INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY http://www.proliberty.com/observer/20001210.htm From the December 2000 Idaho Observer: - ------------------------------------------------------------ Feds announce peopleless areas plan While the nation's eyes were on Florida, the Clinton administration stole public access to 144 million acres of federal lands WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A new federal rule announced November 9, 2000, intends to limit logging, skiing, snowmobiling, hiking, camping and fishing in national forests if federal bureaucrats decide those activities might permanently harm the ecosystem. We cannot do things that could put resources at risk, said Jim Lyons, the Agriculture Department undersecretary who oversees U.S. Forest Service (USFS) activities. Lyons justified the USFS position by claiming that, Ecological sustainability is the foundation upon which future management decisions will be made. Previous management decisions that have greatly diminshed logging and mining in this country have been made by USFS and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials based upon flawed science. Neither the EPA nor the USFS have been forthcoming with the raw field data upon which they determine public land use policy. The result has been increasingly restricted public access to public lands though not a shred of scientific evidence has been made publicly available to support claims that human commercial and recreation activity has been harmful to the environment or has endangered animal populations. Adena Cook, public lands director for the BlueRibbon Coalition, commented that Ecosystem [and] sustainability are buzzwords [that] give us a great deal of concern. Cook also indicated that federal enforcement of peopleless areas rules could cause her group to mount a legal challenge to what is intended to be exponentially increasing federal control of public lands. Lyons reportedly stated that he believes logging and other forest uses may continue but his agency will restrict such human activities if forests are not healthy. Ironically, Jim Rathbun of Libby, Mont., who is a retired USFS director of the Kootenai Forest, has stated that his agency has spent the last decade intentionally managing the forests in such a way as to increase the amount of ground fuel and to provide ideal habitat for infestations of bugs so that it can claim forest ill-health must be remedied by federally prescribed burns. The peopleless areas rules are the first official changes the USFS has made in 18 years with regard to how the agency implements the National Forest Management Act that governs public and private activities in forests. The new rules will allow bureaucrats who rarely, if ever, set foot in the woods to expend thousands of man hours analyzing computer models at their offices in big cities so they may may dictate where tourists can hike, camp, fish, hunt, snowmobile, use motorcycles and other off-road vehicles or ski. The new rules will also further limit logging and mining operations where forest health is deemed too sensitive for such activity. The USFS has made it an agency priority to determine exactly who and what can be where and when on at least 2/3 of the nation's public lands within the next three years. The first publicly announced forest management policy change in almost two decades intends to promulgate reasons why it must enforce complete control of over 100 million acres of national forests by 2003. Mike Leahy, a lawyer for the militant environmentalist group Defenders of Wildlife based in Washington, D.C., applauds the new rule as a step forward. Leahy sees how the new rule will allow the federal government to begin enforcing the importance of ecological needs in public forest management by limiting, or eliminating altogether, public access to them. Lyons is reportedly concerned, however, that the new rule may give federal forest managers too much leeway that will allow them to circumvent some environmental protections. - ---------------------------------------------------------- The Idaho Observer P.O. Box 457 Spirit Lake, Idaho 83869 Phone: 208-255-2307 Email: observer@dmi.net Web: http://proliberty.com/observer/ Cut out the middlemen. Send donations to: Boys Scouts of America National HQ 1329 Walnut Hill Ln. Irving, TX 75162 http://www.SaveOurScouts.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!!!!! - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Jan 01 10:48:25 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Finally, A registration scheme that makes sense. (fwd) On Jan 3, Bruce Chesley wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] Its about time. Course, the nra will hate this. Bruce Chesley Truth is a terrible cross to bear. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered.". Thomas Paine Treason for $$$: ALL "pro 2A" orgs. via: guntalk http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a5296aa72e3.htm Posted on 01/02/2001 19:04:10 PST by prophetic America 1st Freedom magazine Published: Jan 2001 Finally, A registration scheme that makes sense Vermont State Rep. Fred Maslack has read the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as well as Vermont's own Constitution very carefully, and his strict interpretion of these documents is popping some eyeballs in New England and elsewhere. Maslack recently proposed a bill to register non-gunowners and require them to pay a $500 fee to the state. Thus Vermont would become the first state to require a permit for the luxury of going about unarmed and assess a fee of $500 for the previlige of not owning a gun. Maslack read the "militia" phrase of the Second Amendment as not only affirming the right of the individual citizen to bear arms, but as a clear mandate to do so. He believes that universal gun ownership was advocated by the Framers of the Constitution as an antidote to a "monopoly of force" by the government as well as criminals. Vermont's constitution states explicitly that "the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the State" and those perssons who "conscientiously scrupulous of bearing arms" shall be required to "pay such equivalent." Clearly, says Maslack, Vermonters have a constitutional obligation to arm themselves so that they are capable of responding to "any situation that may arise". Under the bill, adults who choose not to own a firearm would be required to register their name, address, Social Security Number, and driver's license number with the state. "There is a legitimate government intrest in knowning who is prepared to defend the state should they be asked to do so," Maslack says. Vermont already boasts a high rate of gun ownership along with the least restrictive laws of any state - it's currently the only state that allows a citizen to carry a concealed firearm without a permit. This combination of plenty of guns and few laws regulating them has resulted in a crime rate that is the third lowest in the nation. [------------------------- 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: Thu, 4 Jan 01 12:00:16 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Guns Kill (fwd) On Jan 3, Steve Moser wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] - ----- Original Message ----- From: Bond Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2001 5:18 PM Subject: [ParanoidTimes] Fw: Guns Kill From: "key2freedom" Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2001 12:34 AM Subject: Guns Kill Guns kill! You bet they do. That's what they are made for. They are being used to eliminate an enemy in war time. They are being used by invading armies to conquer another country. They are being used by NATO to kill innocent civilians. They are being used by the minions of the United Nations to terrorize freedom loving peoples. They are being used by the police. They are being used by law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and their families from rogue invaders. They are being used by law-abiding citizens for target practice to improve their shooting skills. Now the governments everywhere are telling their citizens that the guns in the hands of citizens have become a threat to society. Too many crimes are being committed with guns. Such crimes have to be stopped. I totally agree! Crimes in which guns are being used against people are far too many. Just a few months ago thousands of people were murdered by a criminal outfit called NATO. Another group run by the same insane terrorist gang has committed untold atrocities against nations and freedom loving people throughout the world. The group I am talking about is the terrorist outfit calling itself "United Nations". The United Nations maims, rapes and kills under the banner of "peace". Let's take an example of a country known for its gun carrying and target shooting citizens. The citizens of this country do not have to hide from the police when going by foot, by bicycle or by car to target practice. Their guns are hanging over their shoulders in broad daylight middle of town on main street. The government is not afraid of these 'gun-toting' men, women and children. Yes, you bet, even children carry those guns. This country is located in the heart of Europe. Europe has seen many wars in the past. This country wasn't involved in a war for many decades, way back into the last century. This country is Switzerland. The crime rate in Switzerland is very low, lower than in most nations. This should not be the case according to our government's reasoning. Switzerland should be, and should have been for centuries, the crime capital of the world. Maybe Switzerland is inhabited by non-conformists to government theories. Or, maybe Switzerland is the true reflection of gun facts - facts our governments have to cover up with lies and deceit. Talking about lies and deceit - they could not be associated with governments. Governments would not lie. Governments have the best interest of the citizens at heart. Governments are here to help you. Think again - and think real hard. Governments have created every war, not the citizens. Governments have endorsed the recent NATO action against Yugoslavia, not the citizens. Governments are stealing our money, our rights, and our freedoms, not the citizens. Governments employ professional thieves and extortionists, not the citizens. Governments set up a court system which employs black robed thugs and extortionists to rob the citizens. Governments engage in all kinds of heinous crimes compared to a very few citizens. Who would you think wants to outlaw guns? Would it be the law-abiding citizen? Of course not! In my estimation it would be the criminal minority of a society which is afraid that the law-abiding citizen eventually has enough of the atrocities committed by the rogue gang composed of terrorists and will rise up against them. The members of this rogue gang are trying hard to convince the law-abiding citizens that the reason for gun control is crime. Of course it is crime! But who's crime? The crimes of the rogue gang composed of terrorists we generally call government. Yes, the government is composed of terrorists as was confirmed to me by every MP (299 of them) of the federal government of Canada. I have no doubt in my mind that all other governments are of the very same caliber, corrupt, deceitful and criminal. Why? Because all governments are controlled by the insane criminal minds of the NWO gang, 'the men behind the scenes'. In order for these men to successfully implement their grandiose and diabolical plans of controlling the world and every human being in it they will have to outlaw guns. Guns in the hands of citizens are extremely dangerous to these 'men behind the scenes'. Should we let them take our guns? Of course not. It's our responsibility to protect our families from anyone meaning us harm - and that includes the government. Governments which lie, cheat, steal, murder, extort, commit treason, deceive and terrorize cannot be trusted. Anyone trusting such a government is an outright fool and deserve to be taken for a ride into the abyss of tyranny. Is there a way by which we can keep our guns without creating a revolution? Absolutely YES! It's actually fairly simple. But it is impossible for us to keep our guns by asking someone else to stand up for us as it is happening right now. People think they can pay a few dollars to someone who promises to fight for us to keep our guns. The guns belongs to the individual. Therefore the individual has the duty to defend his right to keep his gun. No organization will do that job for the individual. It will not happen. Either the individual defends his rights and freedoms or he will loose both. Yes, it takes some backbone. If you haven't any backbone you are doomed. If you do have backbone enough you can keep your gun for your defense if you go the right way about it. Anyone participating fully in our program will be able to keep his gun. Anyone wanting to preserve his rights and freedom MUST keep his gun. ============================================== IF YOU'RE NOT PARANOID, THEN YOU'RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION! ============================================== To Post: ParanoidTimes@egroups.com Subscribe: ParanoidTimes-subscribe@egroups.com ============================================== NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ============================================== [------------------------- 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: Thu, 4 Jan 01 11:56:20 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: JUDICIAL WATCH TO SERVE AS NON-PARTISAN PUBLIC INTEREST LAW FIRM IN UPCOMING CONFIRMATION HEARINGS (fwd) On Jan 4, Connie............ wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] From: Judicial Watch To: infonet@judicialwatch.org Sent: Thursday, January 04, 2001 10:18 AM Subject: JUDICIAL WATCH TO SERVE AS NON-PARTISAN PUBLIC INTEREST LAW FIRM IN UPCOMING CONFIRMATION HEARINGS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 4, 2001 Contact: Press Office (202) 646-5172 JUDICIAL WATCH TO SERVE AS NON-PARTISAN CONSERVATIVE PUBLIC INTEREST LAW FIRM CONCERNING SMEAR CAMPAIGN IN UPCOMING CONFIRMATION HEARINGS ON CAPITOL HILL Filegate and Other Illegal Tactics Cannot Be Permitted, Even Against A New Administration Which Itself Has Little Interest in Cleaning Up and Prosecuting Government Corruption Jesse Jackson And Ultra Leftist Groups Threaten to Destroy Ashcroft, Chavez and Others With Charges of Racism and Other Demagogic Techniques (Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, Inc., the public interest law firm that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, will act on behalf of the public interest, concerning those cabinet nominees of the new Bush Administration, such as Senator Ashcroft, Linda Chavez and others, who have become targets of the ultra left wing groups which have vowed to destroy them with charges such as racism. Judicial Watch uncovered and sparked the Chinagate and E-Mail scandals, among many others, during the Clintonn-Gore Administration. During the last eight years, Judicial Watch has brought lawsuits for violation of privacy rights, libel, slander and other legal causes of action against government officials and their surrogates, who have misused government files, including those from the FBI, to destroy their opponents. Libel and slander suits have also been pursued for defamation. Many of the laws which apply carry stiff civil and criminal penalties. Judicial Watch has been critical of Governor George W. Bush and his newAdministration when warranted. For instance, during the presidential campaign the President-elect refused to discuss ethics issues, other than making general statements that "his election" to the Presidency would solve all problems. In the last few weeks, he has made some excellent cabinet picks, but also nominated his chief fundraiser to serve as Secretary of Commerce -- a post that should be free of "money politics," particularly given the recent experience of the Clinton-Gore Administration. Ironically, and regrettably, the current Commerce Secretary of the Clinton-Gore Administration, Norman Mineta, who is enmeshed in the ongoing Chinagate scandal and who has had dubious contacts with suspected spy Wen Ho Lee (see recent www.judicialwatch.org postings), was nominated just this week to be Secretary of Transportation by President-Elect Bush. This apparent insensitivity to government ethics and corruption issues will not be toleraated by Judicial Watch. However, neither will illegal smear tactics by leftist political operatives and others against conservatives and other persons who have done nothing wrong. "Judicial Watch is fiercely non-partisan, but it will not countenance illegal methods to smear and destroy conservatives with techniques reminiscent of Karl Marx. It therefore will help those who, during the nomination process, are branded as racists by Jesse Jackson and other ultra leftist revolutionaries," stated Judicial Watch Chairman Larry Klayman. "This is not Russia in 1917. These latter-day 'Bolsheviks' must be stopped," added Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. To Unsubscribe from this list, please go to: http://www.judicialwatch.org/unsubscribe.asp. [------------------------- 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: Thu, 4 Jan 01 11:58:10 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: VIN: Massachusetts shootings (fwd) On Jan 4, Rich Martin wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] In my younger idealistic days (that compares to my mature idealistic days) I lived in Lynn, MA. I was the CFO of a virtually all-black housing project in the Roxbury section of Boston. I was also the Finance Chairman of my church in Lynn. After I got jumped one morning in the project, I gained a new respect for other people's hatred, and I approached a member of my Finance Committee who just happened to be the Chief of Police in Lynn. I told him of my fears/experience and asked him for a gun permit. (In MA, at least at that time, it was the Police Chief that okayed gun permits.) HE TURNED ME DOWN! That was 25 years ago, and I doubt things have gotten any better. Now, here's Vinnie. Rich Martin Moderator ^^^^^^^^^^ FROM MOUNTAIN MEDIA THE LIBERTARIAN, By Vin Suprynowicz The questions that are never asked, Part I The day-after-Christmas shooting spree by bearded 42-year-old misfit Michael McDermott in Wakefield, Mass. will doubtless bring early calls for more and harsher "gun control." In fact, Massachusetts already has among the harshest "gun control" laws in the country. McDermott (don't get me wrong -- what he's accused of doing was evil and unjustified and wrong) appears to have blithely violated many of those laws without experiencing any noticeable impediment to his plans. Massachusetts, you will remember, is the one state in the nation (so far as I know) where the "welcoming" billboards on state highways depict a handgun with the huge legend: "Have a gun, go to jail." Virtually every firearm in the Bay State must now (by law) be registered, the most noticeable effect of that law to date being that the commonwealth's law enforcement agents are now months or even years behind in processing all those hampers full of registrations and requests for registration, to the point where they started whimpering more than a year ago that without federal help and manpower (which would be unconstitutional, as though that stops anyone, any more) they may simply never get caught up. Actually, I misspoke -- there are two other results of such feel-good laws. 1) They do take cops off the streets to handle all the paperwork. Confident you don't need a gun in your workplace because you can always dial 911? Workers at Edgewater Technology -- McDermott's ill-fated workplace -- dialed 911. Wakefield isn't way up in the Berkshires, either - -- it's in the densely populated silicon suburbs of Boston. Yet it took cops so long to respond that Mr. McDermott had finished killing everyone he was after, and was calmly sitting in the reception area waiting to be arrested, when police finally finished donning all their fancy SWAT gear and stormed in. (See "Dial 911 And Die: The Shocking Truth About The Police Protection Myth," by attorney Richard W. Stevens, www.libertymall.com.) 2) The second result of Massachusetts "gun control" -- which would thus be better dubbed "victim disarmament" -- is that McDermott was virtually assured none of his law-abiding victims would be armed in their own self-defense. The Wakefield shootings prove "gun control" will never work, unless advocates believe they can eliminate guns as thoroughly as the king eliminated all the needles from his kingdom in the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty." The problems with that scheme being: 1) the king failed; 2) real-life bad guys never live up to such agreements (see "The Rhineland, 1936"; "Poland, 1939"); and 3) I keep asking gun control advocates if, as an initial three-year experiment, they'll agree to start by taking all the guns away from the police and the army. They never respond. Meantime, the Wakefield shootings do raise one other, more important issue. Most folks are wailing, as usual, that there was just "no imaginable reason" for this poor nut to go off the deep end. Leave aside the question of whether McDermott had recently under treatment with psychoactive drugs akin to Luvox or Prozac or Ritalin (like one of the shooters at Columbine High School, as well as that Kip Kinkel kid up in Springfield, Ore.) More importantly, McDermott bypassed several other possible targets to single out and kill seven members of the firm's accounting department. That accounting department had recently informed McDermott they would start seizing his paychecks and sending them to the IRS for "back taxes." The AP delicately reports the IRS had issued a "request to garnishee his wages" and that the firm had "agreed not to begin taking money from McDermott's paycheck until after the holidays." But that's bull. The IRS does not "request"; it demands. Employers do not merely "take" a little extra from each paychecks; they are routinely instructed under the "Notice Of Intent To Levy" (Form 668-W) to seize and send every dime to Washington, grabbing every cent of a working man's living -- the very thing the Constitution with its careful limits on "direct taxation" (not to mention the Bill of Rights with its Fourth and Fifth amendments) were designed to prevent the central government from ever doing. Imagine being told that -- no matter how hard you work -- you will never see another dime of your own earnings. The miracle is not that an occasional IRS victim goes homicidal here and there, but that so few of them do. These thoroughly illegal paycheck seizures are done to create an "incentive" for the worker to crawl on bended knee to the local IRS office, where he is expected to bare his financial soul (bringing along a year's worth of utility bills, grocery receipts, car repair bills, etc.) At that point, supercilious IRS drones will decide how many of those expenses to "allow" (yes, in many cases they will actually "not allow" one to retain as much as one can demonstrate one has been spending on car repairs, for instance -- recall that those subject to IRS liens can neither buy new cars "on time" for a decade, nor save up any money in a bank account for that purpose -- their bank accounts being regularly cleaned out and seized.) These simpering IRS weasels -- one pretending to be the victim's "advocate" -- then determine how much of his paycheck the worker "needs to live on" and draw up a formal, written agreement allowing him to retain only that amount ... the final reductio and goal of any socialist system of income redistribution. Thereupon, the "taxpayer" must "voluntarily" sign a waiver of his or her right to ever contest this "agreement" or the underlying assessments -- along with an arbitrary extension of the statute of limitations which would normally allow him to go free after a mere 10 years. If he fails to sign he will be dubbed "uncooperative," and the seizure of every penny from his bank accounts and paychecks can continue indefinitely. During this entire process, are either bookkeepers like those at Edgewater Technologies of Wakefield, Mass., or "taxpayers" like Michael McDermott, told that wage and employment taxes are voluntary in America -- that there's absolutely no statutory or legal requirement that in order to assume employment in this country a citizen needs to "request" withholdings by applying for a Social Security number, or to fill out a W-4 "request for withholding"? Were the Edgewater Technology bookkeepers -- who have now paid the ultimate and tragic price for their ignorance -- aware that IRS "notices of intent" to seize paychecks or bank accounts are not legally binding unless accompanied by a court order signed by a judge? Did they bother to ask why "paragraph A" of the legal code citation is always deleted from the "authorizing" fine print on the back of the IRS' standard "seize-his-paycheck" Form 668W (it starts with "paragraph B") -- the reason being that paragraph A specifies that said law authorizes the use of such onerous methods only against employees of the federal government? NEXT TIME: WHEN DOES "THE UNITED STATES" CONSIST ONLY OF "THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO, THE VIRGIN ISLANDS, GUAM, AND AMERICAN SAMOA?" Vin Suprynowicz is assistant editorial page editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and editor of Financial Privacy Report (952-895-8757.) His book, "Send in the Waco Killers: Essays on the Freedom Movement, 1993-1998," is available by dialing 1-800-244-2224; or at 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 #413 *************************