On Wed, 19 Sep 2001, Bill Stewart wrote:

[Imagine at this point, a .WAV file saying "Choate's mother was a hamster and his father smells of elderberries." and that this mail is sent to the list and not just to you.]

Slander is speech.

Slander is harming another. The fact that speech is involved is irrelevant to the fact you're causing measurable harm to another. Simply because you use speech as some component, and speech is protected, doesn't mean the larger process should inherit the protection. I realize this is confusing, but keep practicing. You won't have as hard a time as you did with sex, I promise.

Courts often find them punishable or at least privately actionable as torts, but to say they're "acts" and not "speech" is just weasel-wording

Not at all. It's recognizing a significant, but subtle distinction. One you miss by a mile. -- ____________________________________________________________________ Kill them all, take their land, and go there for vacation. Rage Against The Machine The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage@ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------