Let's Just Say. . .

[peristaltor]

. . . you were joining a bunch of folks downtown to march from X street to A in protest of, I dunno, something. It doesn't matter what. Just something.

Let's say you coordinated the march mostly on the phone, with fliers, and -- of course -- the interwebs.

Now, I'm just saying, but isn't a mass of pedestrians a physical force, in that it would take a bit of energy to move them? It doesn't matter if the walkers happen to be the most peace-loving group of non-violent pacifists ever to squirt quietly from the human womb. A mass of such pavement pounders constitutes a mass, and therefore a force. Hey, this force could, like, stop traffic on a whole street!

I only mention this because of HR 1955:

“The term ‘homegrown terrorism’ means the use, planned use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual born, raised, or based and operating primarily within the United States or any possession of the United States to intimidate or coerce the United States government, the civilian population of the United States, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. (Emphasis mine.)

Notice the doubly-emphasized conjunction, "or." Not "and" -- Or. Meaning the demonstration need not be violent to be defined as a threat to the security of the United States Government, etc.

And that's just my interpretation. Others with actual time to read the entire bill have commented here.

So, let's repeat the Real American's Mantra of Serenity:

1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009 1-20-2009. . . .


X-posted to freespeechzone.