From: Alan Horowitz <alanh@infi.net>
Date: Sat, 3 Aug 1996 03:38:35 +0800
To: Jim Choate <ravage@EINSTEIN.ssz.com>
Subject: Re: "adjust your attitude with their billy club" (fwd)
In-Reply-To: <199608021128.GAA09487@einstein>
Message-ID: <Pine.SV4.3.91.960802112429.19637D-100000@larry.infi.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


<<  9th & 10th AMendments to the Conmstitution >>

Cute, you left out the Third.

We are referring to the Sovereign power of the State of Washington to 
allocate to the municipality of Seattle, a general Police Power to 
maintain the Peace.  Every lawyer seems to think that Seattle has the 
power to forbid people from using sidewalks as latrines and kitchen sinks.

I am in bed with the government, so I have better knowledge than most of 
the people on this list, about how bad it is. Nonetheless, I recall the 
aphorism from the Talmud: "Pray for the health of the government, lest 
the people eat other alive".

If someone wants to dress shabbily, go ahead, I'm sure you're making a
powerful and meaningful statement of your devotion to liberty. I don't
recall saying otherwise.  I might secretly recall the TRUE and
OVERWHELMING poverty I've seen in the Third World, which didn't prevent
the barely-fed mothers from assuring that their kid's third-hand,
threadbare school uniforms were nevertheless clean and pressed.  Everyone
has different standards of pride. Some people don't EVER say "please", or
"thank you". Suit yourself. 

If you want to walk into the public library after a six-month moratorium 
on bathing - well, the courts are divided on this, but _I_ stand for the 
proposition that this is an assault on the other patrons and I will lobby 
_my_ city councilman for there to be rules against it.

If you want to blast your Walkman into your own ear through an earphone, 
go ahead, blow your hearing away, perhaps (insh'allah) it will somehow 
operate to prevent you from depositing your genes into the next 
generation.

But if you want to play your boombox loud near me, make damn sure you do
it behind soundproof walls. Where I live, the cops will respond to that 
kind of complaint and shut down the nuisance, with nightsticks if need be 
(in my little rural area, it's seldom necessary). Maybe you California or 
NYC folks don't have police forces that will mitigate nuisances. Enjoy 
your progressive radical-chic neighborhood, folks.