RE: [puma-news] We don't need no steekin' First Amendment

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Allen Bentz [mailto:abentz@ACSD14.K12.CO.US]
Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2005 11:03 AM
To: puma-news@puma-net.org; jcarder@topline-charts.com
Subject: Re: [puma-news] We don't need no steekin' First Amendment

John

I split 50/50 on this.

 

The Onion:

The Onion isn't trying to scam you or fool you so, "yes, I agree" let it have its fun.

 

Mail:

I get too much junk mail that tries to "Look Official".  They try to misrepresent to the point where I would say its an attempted scam.  It annoys me greatly.  So I differ with you on this one.

 

Just one opinion

Allen

 

I agree that mailers that try to misrepresent themselves should be prosecuted. There are TONs of laws on the books (e.g., mail fraud) that would allow a prosecutor to do that right now. What the government has done is to specify that certain words (Social Security) are not to be used, at all.

 

To quote H.L. Mencken:

The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.

 

When the Federal Register is over 70,000 pages, and all of it has the force of law, you have to wonder whether we might have enough laws on the books already.

 

Where you find the laws most numerous, there you will find also the greatest injustice.
~ Arcesilaus

 

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.
  ~ Thomas Jefferson

I'm sure I'm over-reacting.

 

John

Re: [puma-news] We don't need no steekin' First Amendment

John

I split 50/50 on this.

 

The Onion:

The Onion isn't trying to scam you or fool you so, "yes, I agree" let it have its fun.

 

Mail:

I get too much junk mail that tries to "Look Official".  They try to misrepresent to the point where I would say its an attempted scam.  It annoys me greatly.  So I differ with you on this one.

 

Just one opinion

Allen

 

 

 

 

 

Allen W. Bentz
Programmer
Adams County Sch. Dist. 14
303.853.3226
abentz@acsd14.k12.co.us

>>> "John Carder" <jcarder@topline-charts.com> 10/26/2005 1:27:47 PM >>>

Whether you're a liberal or a conservative, you'll probably be shocked by
the latest from Washington:

They've decided that they "own" certain words.

1) The United Seniors Association has been fined $500,000 for the use of the
words "Social Security" on an envelope, and this fine has been upheld by the
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals!

2)  The White House is also taking action against "The Onion" satirical
newspaper for using the Presidential Seal in its parodies.

I'm a libertarian, and I find these two stories to resemble something from
Alice in Wonderland, or George Orwell, not the US that I learned about in
school.

The government's justification is that the use of certain "official words"
and "symbols" could confuse people about the official positions of the
government, or cause them to ignore communications from the government
agencies. Anyone who believes that the United Seniors Association or The
Onion are official government agencies is not going to be able to function
on their own. The irony of the government trying to protect itself from
satire in The Onion, by arguing that it is trying to protect the citizens is
more than even Orwell considered.

    You've probably got lots of other places to learn about this, but I
expect that
    www.downsizedc.org will have a bit to say.

John,

  ~ the chart guy

John Carder, CMT
Topline Investment Graphics
Where your chart dreams come true!

www.topline-charts.com or www.chartguy.com

PO Box 2340
Boulder, CO  80306-2340  USA

800.347.0157  (toll-free in the USA)
303.440.0157  (voice)
303.440.0147  (fax)

[puma-news] We don't need no steekin' First Amendment

Whether you're a liberal or a conservative, you'll probably be shocked by
the latest from Washington:

They've decided that they "own" certain words.

1) The United Seniors Association has been fined $500,000 for the use of the
words "Social Security" on an envelope, and this fine has been upheld by the
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals!

2) The White House is also taking action against "The Onion" satirical
newspaper for using the Presidential Seal in its parodies.

I'm a libertarian, and I find these two stories to resemble something from
Alice in Wonderland, or George Orwell, not the US that I learned about in
school.

The government's justification is that the use of certain "official words"
and "symbols" could confuse people about the official positions of the
government, or cause them to ignore communications from the government
agencies. Anyone who believes that the United Seniors Association or The
Onion are official government agencies is not going to be able to function
on their own. The irony of the government trying to protect itself from
satire in The Onion, by arguing that it is trying to protect the citizens is
more than even Orwell considered.

You've probably got lots of other places to learn about this, but I
expect that
www.downsizedc.org will have a bit to say.

John,

~ the chart guy

John Carder, CMT
Topline Investment Graphics
Where your chart dreams come true!

www.topline-charts.com or www.chartguy.com

PO Box 2340
Boulder, CO 80306-2340 USA

800.347.0157 (toll-free in the USA)
303.440.0157 (voice)
303.440.0147 (fax)

[puma-news] Next meeting?

Hi All,

Is there going to be a meeting in November (11/3) as discussed a little
while ago? If so, any location yet?

George