Comments on: Troglodytes in Rhode Island

Troglodytes in Rhode Island

k.43 — Fri, 20 Feb 2004 12:14:19 -0800

Rhode Island's nut case governor decided to repeal the Bill of Rights. Fortunately, he got knocked upside the head first. (Obnoxious registration required.)

By: whatzit

whatzit — Fri, 20 Feb 2004 12:18:17 -0800

This legislation? Full text is available here. (Guessing the link just got munged on posting?) Yeah, what was said above... Pawtucket Times link needs no reg, the projo might unless going through Google news.

By: ao4047

ao4047 — Fri, 20 Feb 2004 12:19:55 -0800

Google news cloud if you don't want to have to register for anything. On preview - what y'all said.

By: meehawl

meehawl — Fri, 20 Feb 2004 12:30:06 -0800

What the hell does Al Qaida have to do with "anarchy"? Are there still top hat-wearing Capitalist robber barons in Rhode Island hiding out in fear of pals of Leon Czolgosz?

By: JoanArkham

JoanArkham — Fri, 20 Feb 2004 13:06:12 -0800

But...it always seemed like such a nice little state.

By: yerfatma

yerfatma — Fri, 20 Feb 2004 13:26:50 -0800

So that's the clicking I hear when I call home.

By: fenriq

fenriq — Fri, 20 Feb 2004 13:31:09 -0800

Yeah, this was brought to my attention yesterday and its insane. An anarchist blogger friend could face ten years in prison just for writing what he writes now. How this fool got elected is anyone's guess. My guess is that Rhode Island got tired of everyone else making waves for stupid legislation and this was the best they could come up with to get some headlines.

By: y6y6y6

y6y6y6 — Fri, 20 Feb 2004 13:38:29 -0800

All of the authors of the Declaration Of Independence would be jailed under this legislation. Ditto Gandhi, Martin Luther King, most war protesters, etc. I would like to formally propose the idea that elected officials who advocate jailing these sorts of people be deported.

By: yerfatma

yerfatma — Fri, 20 Feb 2004 14:11:59 -0800

this was the best they could come up with to get some headlines. Yes, Lord knows we natives all labor under a collective inadequacy complex and our (very teeny, tiny) hive-mind makes decisions as one.

By: Fezboy!

Fezboy! — Fri, 20 Feb 2004 15:01:32 -0800

Holy.Fucking.Christ.On.A.Stick. This goes beyond Onion-level satire. If only it were satire that is. Oh, and what everyone else said.

By: MetalDog

MetalDog — Fri, 20 Feb 2004 15:28:20 -0800

I'm intrigued by the gov's statement that a lot of this is already law. My recollection from Zinn is that most of this same language is already in Federal code, from the WW1 and 2 era's (and the anti-union/commie movements prior to WW2). I think a number of states have similar statutes that no one ever bothered to remove from the books. We've always lived in a totalitarian state, its just been poorly enforced. When the Patriot act was passed, my first thought was that a lot of it was pretty redundant.

By: Slagman

Slagman — Fri, 20 Feb 2004 23:27:45 -0800

It's my understanding that this was the big idea that Ashcroft had with the Patriot Act. You modify existing law. A reading of the legislation itself might seem innocuous to an untrained eye, until you realize that language of existing law that might even be archaic but still on the books (there's a lot of those) is being changed. That change gives the old bad laws new life. It's nefarious.

By: Blue Stone

Blue Stone — Sat, 21 Feb 2004 01:56:34 -0800

Fezboy!, we live in the satire age: life as a satire of itself.

By: Beansidhe

Beansidhe — Sat, 21 Feb 2004 05:06:46 -0800

I'm glad I left Rhode Island when I did. It was easy to handle Buddy and all the Mafia guys...but these flakes are just too much to deal with.

By: Fezboy!

Fezboy! — Sat, 21 Feb 2004 12:11:04 -0800

Bluestone: I know. But it still shocks me sometimes. /me ruefully shakes head

By: Darke

Darke — Sat, 21 Feb 2004 13:03:49 -0800

What amazes me is that the governor openly states he did not read it. "Yeah, I fully support what this document states, although I don't know exactly what it states, as I was told I couldn't look at it lest a horrible pox come upon my family."

By: lia

lia — Mon, 23 Feb 2004 08:32:03 -0800

What amazes me is that the governor openly states he did not read it. I thought that was hilarious, especially since cops and prosecutors are in love with saying that ignorance of the law is no excuse. HILARIOUS.