Tim May wrote on May 21st, 2003 at 13:28:57 -0700:
On Wednesday, May 21, 2003, at 10:04 AM, Justin wrote:
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Tim May (2003-05-21 05:44Z) wrote:
I downloaded the PDF version of the bill, read it, and was both amused and aghast.
Amused, because it is precisely the act we have sought to help make things immeasurably worse and thus bring on the destruction of America the Damned.
Aghast because of the boldness of the suspension of the Constitution in Oregon.
What suspension of the Constitution are you talking about?
The only terrorism-related provision in the bill criminalizes willful [planning of] disruption of free assembly, commerce, transportation, education, and government. There's the usual requirement of 2 witnesses or open court confession.
I agree that the expansion of terrorism laws to cover activity not linked to the federal notion of "terrorism" is dangerous - those acts are already illegal - but I don't see how the bill ignores the Constitution. It simply adds a duplicate law with a harsher punishment.
The Oregon law makes a very broad class of forms of civil disobedience--including unscheduled gatherings which disrupt traffic, sit-ins in colleges, marches, etc.--the same as blowing up buildings or crashing airliners, and carries a mandatory, no parole, minimum of 25 years incarceration. After 25 years, the possibility of being a slave laborer (in effect) picking up trash and cutting brush for the state of Oregon.
It sounds like a slam-dunk violation of the Eighth, as a life prison sentence for civil disobedience is definitely a "cruel and unusual" punishment. As for punishing the legislators; since the constitution applies only to government entities, I propose that those who introduced, sponsored and voted for this bill be tortured and killed by private citizens. After that's done, we can get started on slaughtering the Portland pigs who steal people's cars. -- Tom Veil