Free speech: should we have limits?

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If you have read the "Klamath Police Officer Redfield's Letter - FULL TEXT " on the post? What do you think about officer Wheatley's being put on administrative leave, and investigated by the FBI for this?

Careful, as speech control can cut both ways.

JOJ

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@ecoweb.net), July 30, 2001

Answers

perhaps it's my pain meds or a senior moment, but I am confused..what "post"?????

-- lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), July 30, 2001.

lesley, I believe Joe is referring to the "Klamath?" post and I believe an article William posted in response to the query.

Joe, I looked on google for Wheatley and Klamath, couldn't find anything. I really don't know what it is the man supposedly said or did, so I can't comment. If you have a link to help out that would be cool!

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), July 30, 2001.


Oops, sorry, I thought I'd included the title of the post . It's in the "Klamath?" post.

Basically, it appears that Wheatley read, or paraphrased the letter posted in said post by William from WI.

He put on a white straw hat, and stated that he was speaking as an individual, not as a cop, though he brought a bunch of other cops with him, all uniformed, and he was in uniform, except for the white straw hat.

He's now on administrative leave, while being investigated for, what, trying to incite a riot, maybe?

JOJ

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@ecoweb.net), July 30, 2001.


Here's the letter from Redfield, just for reference.....

Klamath Police Officer Redfield's Letter - FULL TEXT

Source: KlamathBasinCrisis.org Author: Jack Redfield

Many residents of Klamath County reading this letter will identify my name with law enforcement as I have been a member of the Klamath Falls Police Department for over 39 years. The content of this letter is not necessarily the opinion of the City of Klamath Falls or the Klamath Falls Police Department. It is my opinion as a private citizen of Oregon and the United States and as a small ranch operator. I am not affected financially to the degree of other Klamath Basin ranchers due to non-ranch related income. I am also one of the fortunate few who irrigates from a well (for the time being), but there is no doubt that the so-called environmentalists will be initiating an effort to control or stop irrigation from ground water in the near future.

My considered opinion of the recent water crisis in the Klamath Basin, which has been initiated by the so-called environmentalists and our federal agencies, is that it is nothing more than an act of thinly disguised domestic terrorism directed at the economy of the US. I believe that the people who are orchestrating this atrocity are not environmentalists at all (although they may be being manipulated into believing they are doing the right thing), but that they are actually acting in the capacity of environmental and/or economic terrorists (or at least extremists) who are launching a severe and effective attack upon the economy of the United States. The same environmentalist extremists enjoyed a good deal of success in recent years with the spotted owl, which was also nothing more than an excuse to destroy the logging industry. There is no doubt that had the spotted owl not been considered an endangered species, they would have easily found another creature, be it a reptile, fish, other bird, rodent, etc. that needed to be protected to further their cause. So be it with the suckers. In other parts of the nation where such nonsense is starting, I am hearing reports of endangered gnatcatchers, shrimp, turtles, other fish, etc.

Recently the terrorists/extremists have enjoyed a tremendous success in shutting down our local agriculture with no regards at all to the misery and destruction of thousands of local ranchers, farmers, local business people, etc. They have also found a great amount of support through the liberal federal court system within the ninth district. I don't see that changing until the case makes it to the U.S. Supreme Court, but that takes time and I am afraid that it will be too late for many of our local people by then. Our only hope is that Congress will recognize where this is going within the entire nation and take action to modify the endangered species act to achieve a reasonable balance between the needs of endangered species and the livelihood of American citizens.

This is NOT a local issue. I would suggest that the Klamath Basin attack is nothing more than a test case. With the success that the environmental extremists and some out of control federal agents (so called public servants, HAH) have recently enjoyed, they will not stop in the Klamath Basin. They are already up to their devious evil in other parts of Oregon and other states. Considering that there is a good deal of agriculture in nearly every state in the nation, this thing will spread like wildfire and before long I believe that our way of life as we now know it will be very different.

We have seen a great deal of restraint among our local agriculture community and our local business people who are threatened, despite the extreme emotional trauma that they are experiencing and their understandable anger. Their professionalism and restraint during the recent bucket brigade demonstration was remarkable. This will not last.

As the extremists and out of control federal agents continue to push and as they agricultural people see their fields turn brown and their entire lives destroyed, their frustration will undoubtedly escalate to the point of boiling over. It won't take much from Andy Kerr or Wendell Wood or their like to spark an extremely violent response. I am talking about rioting, homicides and destruction of property like dams that hold the precious water from the agricultural community.

When you expand the crisis to our 50 states over the next year or two as this madness progresses, you are looking at the destruction of the livelihoods of millions of people and businesses. Will that strike a violent response? I think so!

As the economy of the entire nation is threatened and crumbles, I think that the leaders of other nations who are not necessarily friends of the United States will be smiling broadly. Will our national security be threatened? I certainly think so! (Is it possible that there are foreign governments who would enjoy a severe economic crisis in the United States and is it possible that these foreign governments who are not friendly to the United States might be rendering substantial financial support to his economic attack? What better way to bring a nation to its knees than to attack their agriculture water supply?) Is there a possibility that this could lead to civil war within the United States? I think the potential for extreme violence, even to the extent of Civil war is possible if action is not taken in the very near future to remedy this tragedy.

Compare this to the economic collapse of the Soviet Union. Is it possible that a foreign power was instrumental in their economic collapse? Is the U.S. next? Are other nations who depend heavily on agriculture, such as Australia experiencing an attack of the same nature?

I am seriously afraid that if our United States Congress and the Federal Court System does not wake up and stop this madness, this nation is about to experience an era that has the potential to severely damage or completely destroy our nation's economy. Should this happen all the efforts of our political leaders, military forces and loyal U.S. citizens in the history of our nation will have gone for naught. The promises of the United States government to all those veterans of foreign wars and other United States citizens will become as worthless as their dry fields. God help us if our federal government doesn't come to their senses and recognize the extreme danger of this fiasco before it is too late!

Jack Redfield Klamath Falls, Oregon

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), July 31, 2001.


As to whether or not Wheatley should have any reprisals for reading this letter...saying he was speaking as an individual while still wearing the uniform, isn't really great, doesn't matter to me at all personally, because I see all people as individuals no matter what their title or dress, but folks with heavy military indoctrination would think otherwise.

As for the content, I don't think it's inciting riot at all. It's just laying out possibilities and giving a warning of the level of emotions and the financial aspects from one side. He sure isn't saying..."Grab your guns and let's kill us some Feddies!" Nor is he yelling "FIRE!". As I read it he is just eluciadating a point of view and that's it. Yes, speech is powerful, once spoken you can't retrieve something and unsay it, but this letter is well thought out and powerful and probably not something that the author wants to unsay.

Of course it cuts both ways, there are lots of powerful and possibly inciting articles and letters from the other side of the argument as well. The authors just aren't police officers...big deal. I don't think any extra respect should be given to a cop over a taco bell employee. They both deserve common respect, and have to earn real respect, badge or no.

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), July 31, 2001.



Commentary on how the present state of affairs is KILLING the bald eagles and etc, including other possibly interesting homesteader-ish information...

The Politically Incorrect Fish

-- William in WI (gnarledmaw@lycos.com), August 01, 2001.


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