Patterico's Pontifications

3/2/2007

Watch your back Patterico – I’m gunning for your job!

Filed under: Crime,General — Justin Levine @ 1:11 pm



[posted by Justin Levine] 

Last month, I suggested that prosecutors may have overreached in trying to charge diaper-wearing astronaut Lisa Nowak with attempted murder (in addition to attempted kidnapping).

I was right. Though Patterico seemed to agree with me at the time. So on second thought, I’ll just stick with radio since the L.A. prosecutor’s office is in good rational hands.  

Leftist Commenter Poses As Right-Winger to Leave Hate-Speech Comments

Filed under: Buffoons,General — Patterico @ 6:54 am



Yesterday someone calling themselves “Republican Patriot” left a comment on my site saying:

I would like to see someone assasinate Obama and Hillary. We will all die if either of those two become president. The time may come when patriots are force to take action.

I appended a note to the comment reading as follows:

Now this is an interesting case. It seems to me like a fairly transparent attempt by a lefty to plant hate speech on my site, under the guise of being a righty. If it’s not, then it borders on a threat of assassination. The Secret Service may be interested.

So the commenter is either a) being deceitful or b) a possibly dangerous person. Either way, I see no privacy interest in the IP address.

The IP is from UCLA. Interestingly, it has been used on this blog three times before, always to make lefty points. But that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, as I obviously don’t know if this is a fixed IP address that is unique to one computer, or one that is shared by many people.

There is one way to find out for sure.

After all, perhaps this is a real threat of assassination. In that case, UCLA would certainly want to investigate. If not them, the Secret Service might be interested. Surely one of those entities could find out whether this threat came from an identifiable person.

What do you folks think I should do?

I am inclined to let it go. Within thirteen minutes, a commenter from the same IP calling himself “westlox” left this comment:

I would like to see bad things happend to Clinton but anyone who advocates the assasination of an American politician is not a patriot. Assassination is an afront to democracy. (once she is a non-politician then she is fair game)

You are not a patriot but a fascist.

And sixteen minutes later, commenter “coronet” used the same IP address in this comment:

Are you forced to give Goldstein props because if you don’t he will slap you with is dick?

So I’m thinking it’s not really a serious threat. It’s just another attempt by a lefty to manufacture “hate speech from the right.”

Your thoughts?

Government Bans Word

Filed under: Civil Liberties,Constitutional Law,General,Race — Patterico @ 6:44 am



Insanity from New York City:

New York declared the n-word off limits to all races Wednesday in a purely symbolic resolution prompted by the common, casual use of the slur in hip-hop music, comedy and street slang.

“People are using it out of context,” said Leroy Comrie, a black city councilman who sponsored the unanimously passed measure. “People are also denigrating themselves by using the word, and disrespecting their history.”

New York’s resolution is not binding and merely calls on residents to stop using the slur. Leaders of the nation’s largest city also hope to set an example.

(h/t: alert reader hank k.)

I don’t care whether it’s symbolic or not. I think the measure is unconstitutional. Not to mention unwise.

It’s unwise because it’s unnecessary. If people use the disgusting, racist word “nigger” in an inappropriate manner, they should be shunned by polite society. We don’t need government to get involved.

It’s unconstititional because government can’t simply ban a word, without any regard for the context in which it is used. (Ever read Cohen v. California?) This particular word is not always a fighting word. I used it in the previous paragraph, in a way that no reasonable person would object to.

Exit question, as Allah likes to say: Can a teacher in New York City read aloud from “Huckleberry Finn” without fear of repercussions?

DRJ Pores Through the Border Patrol Trial Transcripts – Robert H. Arnold, Jr. (Volume XI)

Filed under: General — DRJ @ 1:32 am



The 13th witness of the trial was Robert H. Arnold, Jr., and the word of the day was “pursuit” or, if you ask the Judge, “boring”:

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