all-encompassingly

though this story is a couple of days old, i thought i should mention it. it has to do with my old kentucky home:

Secret Service investigates posting about shooting Bush (by Chairman Nonviolent Coordinating Cmte)

Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The U.S. Secret Service is investigating a student who suggested in an Internet posting that people taking necessities after Hurricane Katrina should shoot police officers, guardsmen and President Bush if necessary.

Phillip Bailey, 21 and chairman of the University of Louisvill’s Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, confirmed meeting with Secret Service agents on Tuesday. He said he does not regret his posting.

He said he was trying to say that it’s understandable for people to fight for survival and claims that he wasn’t advocating violence.

“I’m advocating that people defend themselves and survive,” he said.

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Bailey’s message was posted Monday on a Web site called “The SOULution” and responded to a posting suggesting that looters be shot.

Bailey wrote that many people in New Orleans were simply trying to find necessities to stay alive, and noted, “I say shoot every cop, national guard and politician who stands in your way, INCLUDING GEORGE W. BUSH if need be.”

the article, itself, is interesting, but also enjoyable are the comments that follow it on freerepublic.com

while phillip bailey’s comments don’t seem to constitute a direct threat by themselves, there does seem to be a lot of like-minded blame being thrown around (by the likes of kanye west and others) that push mr. bailey’s comments to the margins of what is privileged speech. when you combine this with his role as chairman of a university’s nonviolent coordinating committee, well, the comments sound even dumber.

there was a discussion of looting on volokh.com recently and david kopel had this to say:

My view on the looting is that it is reasonable, under the legal excuse of Necessity, for a person to take food from a store, if no other food is available in the disaster zone. Such a person would be obligated to remember the value of the food, and to make payment for what he took as soon as practically possible. However, the looting of concern in New Orleans isn’t Jean Valjean taking bread for his children; the looting involves attacks on hospitals to steal their narcotics, and attacks on stores or homes which have nothing to do with acquiring necessities for short-term survival. [src]

i haven’t seen images of police stopping people who were taking food or water from stores. i have seen police arresting people for carrying away televisions and clothes, and oriental rug store owners threatening to shoot looters.

i don’t think bailey, chairman of nonviolence, should be advocating the murder of people blocking the entrances to electronics stores, but i suppose he could just claim ignorance (and who would disagree with him?)