There have been a couple of posts here suggesting that people were justifying George Norris's actions....which I think is showing a major misunderstanding...I don't think that anyone here is justifying the actions to which George has pleaded guilty...basically, intentionally mislabelling phrags so that they will pass inspections more quickly. The comments on George's behalf, including mine, were basically an intent to put it in perspective. George did NOT smuggle in P. kovachii, or any wild collected phrag...what he basically did was suggest that legally propagated phrags, mainly P. pearcei, be labelled as another plant to be OK'd more easily by inspectors...basically, a short cut...yes, an illegal shortcut. The fact that the plants in question were released to be sold shows that they were not contraband in and of themselves. The issue that concerns those of us who know George is the severity of the sentence...17 months in jail for George's crime is a crime in and of itself...there are plenty of people who commit crimes of violence who get off with far less. No one is claiming that George is innocent, least of all George himself....but many of us feel that a crime of this nature, committed by a 65 year old man with no prior history of illegal activity would be better served by a fine, community service, even both. I would certainly not disagree that George's actions will result in increased pressure on orchid importers...I am sure that commercial growers/importers will be seeing effects from this conviction....however, to claim that George's punishment is appropriate is going too far, to the point of being vindictive. Of course George had a "mouth" on him (if that phraseology is appropriate for computer use...) and offended many people...but then again, just look at how participation on this list increases when people get offended...(more people miss Guido than will ever admit it....) But being obnoxious is not a crime, or even an aggravating factor in sentence consideration....(Not to mention that anyone who corresponded with George, and got to know him, could get past the bluster, right wing politics, and BS to see that underneath was a genuinely warm and decent person...) At any rate, the issue at this point is not guilt or innocence, right or wrong for the crime...but for the justice. Take care, Eric Muehlbauer in Queens NY....plenty of cool growers still outside... _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids
