At 06:01 AM 7/31/96 -0700, Greg Broiles wrote:

Which is a long way to say that street cops don't usually torment people with nice cars and/or houses, so those folks don't need to be so concerned about making sure their "papers" are "in order".

Most demands for ID and conformations with police involve the operation of motor vehicles. I have never been "IDed" except at border crossings and when I was operating motor vehicles. Clean and dressed up people are rarely IDed on foot. Maybe you should mention some of the specific practices in Seattle that disturb you.

So the unconstitutional and oppressive character of the various laws Mike Duvos refers to is mitigated by their lack of evenhanded enforcement. If a cop can demand ID from someone who "looks like he doesn't belong here" he can demand it from you. (modulo driving, this isn't legal. But give Justice [sic] Rehnquist and Clinton and random congressional maniacs a few more years and see where things stand.)

Or flying on a commercial flight. So far, prosecutions for "failure to possess ID" have not succeeded. You *can* be prosecuted for failure to identify yourself (which is *not* the same thing). The Philadelphia airport was allegedly requiring *two* pieces of ID for flights. If they are talking about two pieces of photo -- government-issued ID, I wonder where the 80% of Americans without a Passport (x the 90% of Americans who are not government employees) get the second piece of ID. [Is it a violation of something if you Heil Hitler od Sieg Heil the airline clerk when they ask to see your ID. It's not a threat, it's an expression of honor.]

with guns or other weapons. And just as some people "don't have a right to live in Seattle" if they won't toe the line, other people may find they "don't have a right to live in the United States." *

The Supremes outlawed exile as a punishment in a case during the 1950s. Said it was cruel and unusual punishment. Guess it's OK to execute people but not deprive them of having a government. DCF "If the security guard did it in Atlanta, that will be the second US Olympics in which the only 'terrorist incident' was perpetrated by a security person. I guess we should outlaw security at such gatherings to prevent terrorism."