Jim Choate opines:
> Extortion is theft by threat. The fact that it is done via speech or not
> is irrelevant. It is the use of force that makes this a crime, not the
> mechanism of that force.
>> "I have your kid and if you don't put $50,000 in a brown paper bag, I'm
>> sending you an ear."
Before we descend completely into Choatian Philosophy here, permit me to
remind you that the topic under discussion is Tim's assertion that
most falsehoods should not be actionable.
Tim asserts that the falsehood "John is a child molester" should not be
subject to either civil or criminal action. Whether he feels the
falsehood "I have your cat in my microwave" or "I have your kid" should be
treated the same way, he has yet to state.
In any case, if we are going to protect speech which constitutes
irremediable libel against John, likely to incite iminent lawless action
against John by the mob, and interfere with John's ability to pursue life,
liberty, and happiness in the future, protecting speech designed to extort
seems a small additional leap.
After all, according to Tim, pure speech can't hurt anyone, or at least,
the kind of hurt it produces should not allow anyone to be dragged into
court.
--
Eric Michael Cordian 0+
O:.T:.O:. Mathematical Munitions Division
"Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole Of The Law"
