So let me get this straight Pat Robertson...

[tjwash]

...When you said:

"he's going to make that a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent."

You WERE talking about Bush's illegal oil war in Iraq, right?

I just realized that sometimes, I wish I did believe in all that afterlife garbage, just so I could know that people like Robertson will get what they deserve.

[Patrick_Star]

1. Just curious

Is it illegal for U.S. citizens to call for the assassination of foreign leaders? I'm certainly no expert on U.S. law, but I thought this is the sort of thing that might be banned by the Neutrality Act or something banning U.S. citizens from taking sides in foreign conflicts when there was no official U.S. policy either way.

[kestrel91316]

3. I don't think there is any law against this, it's just tasteless.......

I DO think it is considered extremely bad form for a US politician to call for the assassination of a foreign leader. And I believe it is technically illegal for US agents to actually assassinate one.

[SammyWinstonJack]

4. I thought it was, but many here have said no.

:shrug:

[tjwash]

6. I believe it's protected by freedom of speech.

So as reprehensible as it is, he has a perfect right to say it, as we have a perfect right to pick it apart piece by piece and criticize it.

Welcome to DU by the way...

[Patrick_Star]

7. Makes sense

Freedom of speech is an extremely important right guaranteed by our Constitution. It's just that calling for assassination seems dangerously close making terrorist threats. I wonder if the current administration would let someone call for the assassination of a U.S. friendly leader.

[tjwash]

8. I'm reasonably sure that...

...If a prominent Venezuelan religious leader called for the assassination of Bush and wasn't immediately and publicly denounced by Chavez for doing so, they would be labeled as a terrorist state, and would start "searching for WMDs" there.

[frankly_fedup2]

9. I think it is against the law for anyone to call for the assasination of

any World leader. Just think if someone over there had said something. They would arrest ANYONE else if they had said something like that about Bush.

Not only is this man a public person, he is a preacher; however, we should not be surprised. After all, he does use slaves in Africa in his diamond mines.

Where is Falwell on this? I know he cannot hold his tongue for very long. He will have to get his two cents worth in.

Of course, not one has come out condeming what Robertson said.

Yep, it's our fault. How do I know that? Because we Liberals fought the Ten Commandments being placed in Marble in a government court house. If we had allowed them in every State and or Federal building, maybe, just maybe Robertson would remember the "Thou shalt not KILL

[Rex]

10. What makes this interesting is that he talks about American

foreign policy while running a tax free empire. He also called for the destruction (nuke) of our State Department while Powell was in charge.

[onenote]

13. actually, I don't think its against the law

Its against the law to threaten the President of the US (or the VP). But I don't think anything in US law prevents an idiot like Robertson from advocating the assisination of a foreign leader. And while Pat is an amoral doofus, he didn't "threaten" Chavez, he offered his asinine opinion ("I think") that the US govt should've killed Chavez. Like I said...amoral and stupid. But not illegal. Which is fine, since criminalizing speech is a dangerous and slippery slope. What we should be doing is not ranting about how Pat should be prosecuted; rather, we should be contacting the stations that carry his programming and companies that sponsor programming on those stations to pressure them to demand cancellation of his programming.

onenote

[cascadiance]

14. Didn't he also "wish" for one of the "lib" Supreme Court justices to die?

... to help the Rethugs pack the court more?

I kind of see a pattern here...

[samplegirl]

15. hes not a pastor

hes running a political rightwing organization.
Which needs to taxed!!!!!!

[cynatnite]

2. I picture god throwing his/her hands up in the air

out of frustration, then rolling his/her eyes and walking away.

Geez, Pat, what gives? God fearing christian guy like yourself says we ought to kill somebody? Yep, lots of christian love there :eyes:

Why does 'love your enemy' keep coming back to me?

[tjwash]

5. Makes you wonder what...

...would Jesus do about Pat Robertson?

The state of American Christianity is very similar to the religious establishment that Jesus rebelled against.

Who would overturn the money changers tables today?

[CarbonDate]

12. David Koresh would....

...if he was alive. Why do we always kill the peacemakers?

[long_green]

11. How is the secular leader of an overwhelmingly Catholic

nation going to spread Muslim extremism over what is probably, if not abso-fuckin'-lutely, the most Catholic continent on Earth?
Am I thinking about this too hard?