http://www.sierratimes.com/03/01/28/robinson.htm
Outlaw Justice
By Lee Robinson
Published 01. 28. 03 at 11:48 Sierra Time
As our society becomes more and more regulated it becomes increasingly difficult for individuals to always be in compliance with all the laws. This can lead to frustration, especially as we see still more laws coming every day. Eventually some folks just say the heck with it and resign themselves to being rule-breakers. If one can just keep the Ten Commandments, or at least the ones pertaining to a secular society (people should be free to worship graven images, if they must) that should be plenty of law for a civilized people. And all those constantly increasing regulations can be morally ignored, if you can get away with it.
It's kind of romantic in a way, being a righteous and honorable person, but still being an outlaw. And that is probably the only good thing about all the developing tyranny; it is creating a new and vital outlaw class. Let's never forget that at one time America's most wanted criminals were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams and the rest of that 'terrorist' crowd. Like the good hearted bandit who rescues the girl at the end of the movie, it is often a country's outlaw class that proves itself of greatest value in the end.
Of course I don't use the term as synonymous with 'criminal'. Criminals rob people, hurt them, raise their taxes and make interns disappear. The things criminals do are wrong. Being an outlaw is simply illegal, which often has nothing to do with right or wrong. There are many ways one can live a peaceful life, bothering no one, constantly minding one's own business and still be in violation of volumes of law, much of it at the federal level. People who do so anyway are outlaws and are the best hope this country has. We need more outlaws and we need them as soon as possible. And we must protect the ones we have.
One excellent way to guard this valuable national resource is to make everyone aware of the concept of 'jury nullification', the power that a jury has to assess the law as well as the defendant. If the jury believes the law to be unjust they may find a person 'not guilty' even though the person did as the state claimed. Jury nullification played an important role in the collapse of prohibition; juries simply would not convict fellow citizens for doing what no one really believed was a crime. Far more than voting, serving on a jury can have a powerful effect on society. No patriotic man or woman should ever forgo a chance at jury duty. Remember, it only takes one member to make a hung jury and there is no conviction. Naturally, prosecutors will try to eliminate any potential jurors who know the extent of these powers by asking preliminary questions designed to weed them out. Giving dishonest answers to such questions is of course illegal. But remember; we need more outlaws.
This raises the general question of telling the truth to the state. If an entity has shown continuous and overt disrespect for the truth should such an entity be denied access to that for which it so plainly has no use? My personal opinion is that they should, that it is acceptable to lie to Big Brother if the occasion warrants it, which most occasions do. Assuming of course that one is reasonably assured of getting away with it. It is ironic that as government becomes more secretive and its officials are assured of immunity against the consequences of their deceit, the penalties against the citizens who wish to return the same disrespect that the government shows them are increasingly draconian.
There are severe penalties for giving false information to any federal agent but there are no penalties whatsoever for federal agents who lie to us. In fact there are a number of Big Brother's flunkies from 'press secretary' Ari Fleischer on down whose very well paid jobs consist mainly in misrepresenting the facts to the people; i.e. lying. The FBI alone spends so much of their time and resources covering up the lies and misdeeds of their own and numerous other government agencies that they are routinely engaged in cover- ups of the cover-ups and are therefore seldom able to protect the interests of anyone who is not a criminal; that is, you and me. In the name of fair play and personal survival it is imperative that we lie right back at them. If we give the government honest information, it will only be used against us in the future. If we tell them how many guns we have, they will know how many to confiscate; if we tell them about alternative sources of income, they will take away more of our money; if we tell them that we know they are lying, they will know who to keep an eye on. It isn't just that they should be denied information, what they are given should be, whenever possible, false.
And if we get caught telling what we know is a lie? Well just remember "it depends on what your definition of 'is' is." Or how about, "Gee I drank too much iced tea and had to go wee wee. The bad stuff happened while I was out of the room"? Or the ever popular "I forget". Remember Washington and Jefferson and the other glorious outlaws of long ago.
And hope that one of the jury is one of us.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lee Robinson lives on a farm in Tennessee where he raises exotic poultry. He enjoys target shooting and making life difficult for tyrants.
Outlaw Justice
By Lee Robinson
Published 01. 28. 03 at 11:48 Sierra Time
As our society becomes more and more regulated it becomes increasingly difficult for individuals to always be in compliance with all the laws. This can lead to frustration, especially as we see still more laws coming every day. Eventually some folks just say the heck with it and resign themselves to being rule-breakers. If one can just keep the Ten Commandments, or at least the ones pertaining to a secular society (people should be free to worship graven images, if they must) that should be plenty of law for a civilized people. And all those constantly increasing regulations can be morally ignored, if you can get away with it.
It's kind of romantic in a way, being a righteous and honorable person, but still being an outlaw. And that is probably the only good thing about all the developing tyranny; it is creating a new and vital outlaw class. Let's never forget that at one time America's most wanted criminals were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams and the rest of that 'terrorist' crowd. Like the good hearted bandit who rescues the girl at the end of the movie, it is often a country's outlaw class that proves itself of greatest value in the end.
Of course I don't use the term as synonymous with 'criminal'. Criminals rob people, hurt them, raise their taxes and make interns disappear. The things criminals do are wrong. Being an outlaw is simply illegal, which often has nothing to do with right or wrong. There are many ways one can live a peaceful life, bothering no one, constantly minding one's own business and still be in violation of volumes of law, much of it at the federal level. People who do so anyway are outlaws and are the best hope this country has. We need more outlaws and we need them as soon as possible. And we must protect the ones we have.
One excellent way to guard this valuable national resource is to make everyone aware of the concept of 'jury nullification', the power that a jury has to assess the law as well as the defendant. If the jury believes the law to be unjust they may find a person 'not guilty' even though the person did as the state claimed. Jury nullification played an important role in the collapse of prohibition; juries simply would not convict fellow citizens for doing what no one really believed was a crime. Far more than voting, serving on a jury can have a powerful effect on society. No patriotic man or woman should ever forgo a chance at jury duty. Remember, it only takes one member to make a hung jury and there is no conviction. Naturally, prosecutors will try to eliminate any potential jurors who know the extent of these powers by asking preliminary questions designed to weed them out. Giving dishonest answers to such questions is of course illegal. But remember; we need more outlaws.
This raises the general question of telling the truth to the state. If an entity has shown continuous and overt disrespect for the truth should such an entity be denied access to that for which it so plainly has no use? My personal opinion is that they should, that it is acceptable to lie to Big Brother if the occasion warrants it, which most occasions do. Assuming of course that one is reasonably assured of getting away with it. It is ironic that as government becomes more secretive and its officials are assured of immunity against the consequences of their deceit, the penalties against the citizens who wish to return the same disrespect that the government shows them are increasingly draconian.
There are severe penalties for giving false information to any federal agent but there are no penalties whatsoever for federal agents who lie to us. In fact there are a number of Big Brother's flunkies from 'press secretary' Ari Fleischer on down whose very well paid jobs consist mainly in misrepresenting the facts to the people; i.e. lying. The FBI alone spends so much of their time and resources covering up the lies and misdeeds of their own and numerous other government agencies that they are routinely engaged in cover- ups of the cover-ups and are therefore seldom able to protect the interests of anyone who is not a criminal; that is, you and me. In the name of fair play and personal survival it is imperative that we lie right back at them. If we give the government honest information, it will only be used against us in the future. If we tell them how many guns we have, they will know how many to confiscate; if we tell them about alternative sources of income, they will take away more of our money; if we tell them that we know they are lying, they will know who to keep an eye on. It isn't just that they should be denied information, what they are given should be, whenever possible, false.
And if we get caught telling what we know is a lie? Well just remember "it depends on what your definition of 'is' is." Or how about, "Gee I drank too much iced tea and had to go wee wee. The bad stuff happened while I was out of the room"? Or the ever popular "I forget". Remember Washington and Jefferson and the other glorious outlaws of long ago.
And hope that one of the jury is one of us.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lee Robinson lives on a farm in Tennessee where he raises exotic poultry. He enjoys target shooting and making life difficult for tyrants.
, Art