Re: PEX (was Re: Not always joking...)

Joe Ellis <synthfilker@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> And YOU have NO WAY to prove that you didn't get it in any one of
> these ways.

True.  I also have no way to prove I didn't steal most of my furniture
or electronics.  Most of it I either got from the trash or from family
or friends or bought years ago.  I keep receipts for at least a year,
but not forever.

Are police in your state in the habit of arresting people for
possession of anything they can't prove they didn't steal?  Even
if they do have the receipt, maybe they stole that, too.  Or maybe
the store they bought it from stole it.

> You keep claiming you have no faith in the legal system... yet you
> place complete faith in them now, and seem to believe that "of
> course" they'll take you at your word that you didn't steal it.
> You really HAVEN'T learned anything, have you?

I've learned that it's impossible to function if I always worry about
the worst possible case.  When I walk to the Metro tomorrow morning, a
policeman could mistakenly think I'm holding a gun and pointing it at
him, and could shoot me dead.  (It's happened to others.)  So maybe
I'd better just stay home forever.  On the other hand, someone might
falsely claim I raped and murdered their child, so I'd better flee,
change my name, and live life as as a fugitive, just in case.

> Copper Pipe is a Thief Magnet.

So is money, so I'd better get rid of my life savings before someone
suspects I stole it.

> Wasn't the charge "Posession of Stolen Property" or something
> similar?

That's what I thought I was pleading guilty to -- unknowing possession
of stolen property -- which I now know *isn't even a crime*.
Actually, it turned out I had pled guilty to burglary.  Since they
managed to get my signature on the paper that said so, that makes me
guilty.  Perhaps they can solve the JFK assassination once and for all
my erasing the burglary stuff and writing in JFK assassination stuff
above my signature.

> You cannot _prove_ that you picked this pipe out of the trash.
> Even if you can convince the police or whoever that you came by it
> honestly... it's probably still a matter of several days of some
> very uncomfortable conversations.

No, since I would refuse to talk to them.  My only words would be,
"Am I free to go?"  And their answer would be yes, unless they had
probable cause, which they wouldn't.
-- 
Keith F. Lynch - http://keithlynch.net/
Please see http://keithlynch.net/email.html
before emailing me.