Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,alt.flame,alt.politics.clinton,alt.president.clinton
From: steeg@cs.toronto.edu ("Evan W. Steeg")
Subject: Re: Why Bother? (Re: FUCK CLINTON, etc.)
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto
Date: 20 Nov 92 22:39:00 GMT


In article <20NOV199213081339@utarlg.uta.edu> b645zaw@utarlg.uta.edu (General Boycott) writes:
>>I've never seen so many people GLAD the Secret Service does/might
>>monitor the net.
>> ....
>
>Several points explain such behavior:
>
>1. There is little difference between the Democrats and the Republicans.
>
>2. Both Presidente Clinto'n and President Bush are basically wimps, and
>   as such are a pushover for congressional/bureaucratic spending. The
>   inevitable result of party politics.
>
>3. The Secret Service and other such tools are basically apolitical and
>   mercenary, thus becoming the tool of whoever is in charge. In other
>   words, "When it's my SS -- its OK."
>
>Mix and match, as appropriate. (Also compare "I Believe in Freedom of 
>Speech -- mine not yours.")

 Ahh, another youth discovers political cynicism... How novel.
It's like the first time you smoke pot (assuming you inhale)  -- 
it's exhilarating, you're sure you're full of fresh and interesting
insights, and, in truth, nobody who didn't smoke with you is all
that impressed or disturbed by whatever you're babbling.
 
  Fun as it may be to compare those of us with an aversion to
political assassination to jack-booted brown-shirted fascists,
it really doesn't make any sense.  All of us agree that the
government sometimes abuses power, or has too much power.
We bicker of course over which powers are the most abused or
abusive.  But nearly all of us who are allowed to roam freely
outside of mental institutions share a common faith in a basically
democratic republic in which elections play a more major role
than do political assassinations.  

  I, for one, am not looking to squash freedom of speech.  I'll
defend the right of anyone on the net to insult Clinton or anyone
else as they see fit (and the right of the rest of us to ostracize
and kill-file the more egregious idiots).  But threats of violence
do not constitute a legitimate protected area of free speech.
And there is a high, though not perfect, correlation between
wackos who talk a lot about killing the president and wackos who
eventually do try to harm the president or other prominent person.
Finally, the Secret Service's primary mission w.r.t. the topics
discussed in this thread is the protection of the President, VP,
their families, etc.  Is that so terrible?  Is their non-partisan
("mercenary", in moronese) nature so terrible?  Even in your
fantasy world republic, whatever its politics, surely there is
a role for someone to protect the president, (or "First Citizen",
"Holy Father", "Primary Politically Correct and Non-Coercive National
Caregiver", "lead guitar", "quarterback", or whatever you call him/her), 
no?

 Cripes, of all the government agencies, breaking down the doors
of "suspected" drug users, tapping our phones, arresting people
for blowjobs in Georgia, playing with passport files for political
gain, selling weapons illegally to tyrants the world over -- it's
the *Secret Service*, the guys in the ugly sunglasses who try
to make sure our political successions don't happen like those
in Liberia or Colombia, that you want to whine about?!!

>
>The sad thing is that anyone thinks that killing Clinton would make
>any difference, since Clinton is only a cosmetic change at best. Which 
>seems like a far more rational basis for the discussion.
>

  Yeah, you're right.  Enhanced radiation warheads detonated every
5000 metres across the continent is the only basis for real and
meaningful change.  Right.
  
  -- Evan


-- 

Evan W. Steeg (416) 978-5182      steeg@ai.toronto.edu (CSnet,UUCP,Bitnet)
Dept of Computer Science          steeg@ai.utoronto    (other Bitnet)
University of Toronto,            steeg@ai.toronto.cdn (EAN X.400)
Toronto, Canada M5S 1A4           {seismo,watmath}!ai.toronto.edu!steeg

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