At 4:31 PM -0700 7/24/00, Bill Stewart wrote:
>
>Or do you mean the Constitution that's got a First Amendment
>that lets FBI agents tell citizens their own personal opinions like
>"You'd better not publish my name or you'll be in Big Trouble!"?
Just to be clear, employees of the government have every right to
express their opinions at backyard barbecues, at ball games, and so
on. However, when they are contacting a citizen in their official
capacity they had better be very careful about how they phrase their
personal opinions--because their words are not their "personal
opinions" in such cases.
And, it should once again be noted, the Feds have gotten pliable
courts to acknowledge some special rights that government employees
are claimed to have.
What happens if Agent Angelo Costanoan calls John Young and threatens
him with unspecified "big troubles" if Citizen Young does not accede
to the "personal opinions" of Agent Costanoan? Nothing.
On the other hand, what happens if John Young tells Agent Costanoan
he'll be in "big trouble" if he persists in his threats? "Making
terroristic threats" is the catch-all for expressing "personal
opinions" to agents of the USG.
--Tim May
--
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES: 831-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
"Cyphernomicon" | black markets, collapse of governments.
