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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!!
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To: nihil who wrote (29987)2/4/1999 5:29:00 PM
From: Jacques Chitte  Read Replies (1) of 108807
 
>When witches were
burnt it was not because they soured milk but because they were thought to be able to.<

I imagine that this is now universally viewed as an unjust series of acts.

>You may scathlessly plan to blow up the
universe, but take one single preparatory step or overt act, and we will convict you
of conspiracy.<

This is an ethical ball of snakes if I ever saw one. Conviction based on potential is corrupt. And yet - if I took steps to build a big bomb, is it wrong to arrest me - even though I haven't yet finished or used the device?
Perhaps this is why the mere possession of dangerous materials (plutonium, heroin, rent-a-trucks) is a felony. It provides an actionable fait accompli which is used as a surrogate for the more nebulous but more terrifying crime of "intent to f*ck something up".
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