Re: Inside the Cypherpunks Cult (fwd)

[Tim May <tcmay@got.net>]

At 1:34 PM -0700 8/23/97, Mark M. wrote:

>The militia is different from the military force.  The U.S. Constitution
>explicitly states in Article I, Section 8, that the militia may be called
>forth (by the federal government) to enforce federal law.  The army and
>other military forces, however, were not given this power and were not
>intended to be permanent establishments, either.  The reason for the
>establishment of the militia was to provide for a permanent defense force
>avoiding the dangers to liberty of a standing army.  The army was never
>intended to be used for law enforcement and could only be used against
>American citizens in a time of rebellion, such as the Civil War.  Over
>a hundred years ago, the Posse Comitatus Act was passed which forbid the
>military from arresting or questioning American citizens.

By the way, a more recent example than that of the Whiskey Rebellion of
U.S. troops (regular army, not state Guard units) being used within the
U.S. against U.S. citizens was the action by Hoover against the
strikers/rioters and "Hooverville" residents in D.C., circa 1930. Hoover
sent in Army troops, led by either Gen. Pershing, as I recall (and maybe
Patton and/or Eisenhower...my CD-ROM encyclopedia is not handy, and a Web
search on some of the terms didn't quickly show any hits of direct
relevance, and I don't have the time to do more searches).

Also, I recall U.S. Army regulars being sent in in several of the riots of
the last 30 years, including, as I recall, Watts, Camden, and the recent
L.A. riots.

What the constitutional issues are I have little idea.

--Tim May

There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws.
Only one response to the key grabbers is warranted: "Death to Tyrants!"
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Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
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