In my previous posting, I said that the Burns bill suggested that I had been too paranoid. Wrong. As usual, not paranoid enough. The Burns bill, and the "assault" weapons bill, and several other bills, are like TV wrestling. The participants are working to a script with a predetermined outcome that they have agreed to in advance. The Burns bill will not only fail, it is intended to fail. That is why it was introduced now, when it is guaranteed to be painlessly guillotined by the elections. Politicians have their ear to the ground. They are very much aware that the elite and the middle class are increasingly cynical about democracy and hostile to the corrupt poltical process, that many large groups see the government as unconstitutional and illegitimate, and see no hope or benefit in participation in politics. The purpose of these bills is not to change who gets screwed, but to draw those who are screwed back into the political process. --------------------------------------------------------------------- | We have the right to defend ourselves | http://www.jim.com/jamesd/ and our property, because of the kind | of animals that we are. True law | James A. Donald derives from this right, not from the | arbitrary power of the state. | jamesd@echeque.com