At 05:24 PM 12/1/96 -0800, Dale Thorn wrote:

So what you're saying is I (or we) can testify in front of Congress on essentially any topic, telling a blatant lie (that we know is false, and which they will subsequently prove is false), and totally get away with it. You and I can do that, is that what you're saying?

You and I can't. The government can. It is one thing to commit a crime (if a crime has even been committed in the case in question). It is another thing to find somebody willing to prosecute it. In today's day and age, the Constitution exists for historical purposes only. Much of it has long been abolished by the courts. The remainder is being mostly ignored. The "Kein Kläger, kein Richter" principle makes it irrelevant if doing so is illegal. A favorite saying of 2nd Amendment supporters is: "Which part of 'shall not be infringed' don't you understand?" If society doesn't care that the Constitution is being violated, the violations will continue. And society couldn't care less. -- Lucky Green <mailto:shamrock@netcom.com> PGP encrypted mail preferred Make your mark in the history of mathematics. Use the spare cycles of your PC/PPC/UNIX box to help find a new prime. http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/justforfun/prime.htm