The American Spectator

Sam| 4.20.10 @ 6:29AM

Thanks Mr. Klafter for giving me hope that we may get some healthy change in the political landscape.

Herman King| 4.22.10 @ 11:45AM

The modern Democratic Party was shaped by the supporters of Woodrow Wilson. In no way is it Jeffersonian.

Deborah D| 4.20.10 @ 6:46AM

Yes, wouldn't it be nice if "the party of Jefferson" would actually read his words and run their party accordingly. I fear the party of Jefferson has become the party of Marx.

Chris C| 4.20.10 @ 3:00PM

You should be past the fear part, it happened last November.

Finrod| 4.20.10 @ 3:45PM

Not only of Karl, but also of Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo-- except without being amusing.

Bill C.| 4.23.10 @ 11:35AM

>> also of Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo .

peter s| 4.21.10 @ 3:20PM

It is a common misconception that the current Democratic Party was founded by Thomas Jefferson. This was not the case. This fiction was invented during the administration of Franklin Roosevelt, who had the Jefferson Memorial constructed. Jefferson established and was the candidate of the Republican-Democratic Party which ceased to exist with the defeat of John Quincy Adams by Andrew Jackson, who ran under a host of different parties in both 1824 and 1828 and established the current Democratic Party for his reelection campaign in 1832. He was never a candidate of “Jefferson’s” party.

Herman King| 4.22.10 @ 11:49AM

FDR merely continued the policies of Wilson, who was the victim of blackmail.

no to obama| 4.20.10 @ 6:47AM

And what's the difference in writing it on a napkin or your hand. Get off Glenn's and Sarah's back Joe. Your team will loose big in Nov., God willing, and I think you and the leg tingler will scream how the election was stolen and how we ruin the One's chance at "fundementally changing our country". He would love to shut us up.

Paul D| 4.20.10 @ 6:52AM

Mr. Klafter,

Rush's referral to the Obama administration as a regime is tongue-in-cheek. He does it to mock liberals, like Joe Klein, who referred to the Bush Administration as a regime.

Robbins Mitchell| 4.20.10 @ 6:57AM

Sedition,eh?...where do I go to sign up?

GreyLion| 4.20.10 @ 9:37AM

Montana

Robbins Mitchell| 4.20.10 @ 9:46AM

Oh,well,that's too far...I'll just start my own 'Sedition HQ' right here in Houston

Blackwatch| 4.20.10 @ 1:39PM

The next targets of the sedition charge will be the citizens derisively termed "birthers."

The closer they get to the throne--the more knives will be drawn against them.

Robbins Mitchell| 4.20.10 @ 2:34PM

Aye,laddie..and they will no ken wha' happens when the claymore parts their hair

Marcia J.| 4.22.10 @ 11:58AM

Remember "flag@whitehouse.gov" by which the President urged people to turn in those who opposed his health care scheme? AKA the "Rat out Your Neighbor" program? What do you think happens to those who oppose this arm-twisting socialist? Especially if this health care scheme goes through and 12-16,000 new IRS agents (Gestapo Storm Troopers with unbridled powers to mess with your life) in power? Remind you of any other leaders who kept enemy lists?

purpleguy| 4.20.10 @ 9:48PM

It's not Sedition you need to worry about, it's Treason dittohead. Sedition laws are gone, but Treason laws are alive and well. Say what you want, but if DO anything, it's jail, baby. "the framers of the Constitution to restrict the definition of treason to “levying war against” the United States and providing “aid and comfort” to its enemies" "The first application of the Constitution's treason provisions occurred in 1794 with the Whiskey Rebellion. Federal troops led by George Washington quashed this challenge to central authority, and a federal circuit court condemned to death two men—whom Washington later pardoned—for treason."

Robert| 4.21.10 @ 2:23AM

Actually, we're probably going to need those Treason laws to prosecute for treason all the leftists who give aid, comfort, moral support, etc. to the enemies of the United States and, truth be told, really enemies of all humanity. These leftists ARE levying war against the United States, though via political means rather than through armed revolutionaries.

There's a great article at http://globalpolitician.com/26359-liberalism
elaborating on how Leftists "have outright declared war on our people, our heritage, our culture, and everything that is good in the Cosmos, and it is long past due for normal people to fight back." An excellent way to fight back will be via the Treason laws. We just need some leaders with the balls to use them against the real traitors to humanity.

Purpleguy| 4.21.10 @ 11:10PM

What a pile of crap from, what, a 24 year old bigot ... that's the best citation you can find. Opinion piece by a novice? You live in a society created by liberals and progressives of every persuasion. You've had a good run hoodwinking the people from Reagan until Bush, but that is OVAH. The people have wised up and except for a few thousands of Tea Party activists, that are loud and ostentatious, kind of like the flaming Queens of the Gay Pride parade that get media coverage, you represent only 20% of the population. Just this week, Turtle-face McConnell reversed himself on the Financial Reform package, because the wind is blowing against the direction he first posited. "All 41 Republicans will vote against Financial Reform in the Senate" to " A substantial number of Republicans will now support the Financial Reform package - Shelby, Grassley, Corker and many others. Sounds like finger-in-the-wind politics to me.

Vic| 4.23.10 @ 12:31AM

I suppose we will find out in November if you are correct. Its hard to fathom someone getting all wee-weed up over the economic destruction of their own country. Your reply kind of gives the link some validity by proving its point. Enjoy celebrating the chains applied by the master thieves in DC you celebrate.

Carol| 4.20.10 @ 7:15AM

I'll join you Robbins.

Glenn Beck found over 6,500 references to the "Bush regime" being used by those who hated Bush' guts including by those schmucks who are trying to make a big deal of it.

To the Obama Regime: You hate free speech for those of us who oppose you and I'm waiting for a SCOTUS fight.

BRING IT ON!

GreyLion| 4.20.10 @ 9:47AM

Carol,
You are a very gentle soul.

Margie| 4.20.10 @ 6:54PM

LOL. She's awesome. I'm with her!

Tim*| 4.20.10 @ 7:17AM

We Are in A Media War .
These Failing Mainstream Media Hasbeens , such as Klein and Heilemann are desperately attempting to slander down the New Media Beck's & Limbaugh's because guys like Beck & Limbaugh are eating their lunch and drawing big audience & big bucks.
Aaaand , The Clinton Administration &Waco; have more do with McVeigh & Oklahoma City than Beck or Limbaugh .

These Liberal Agendists keep attempting to Rewrite American History .

Warrior| 4.20.10 @ 12:06PM

They have lost the battles of substance and ideas. The only plan for attack that the media has left is to shoot the messenger because the messages have an audience and the audience is pissed.

Purpleguy| 4.20.10 @ 9:52PM

Hitler was extremely popular in Germany too, since he fed the fears and desires of many Germans ... and did some good things for Germany. But, that didn't work out so well, did it? G'head, by rebelling against the country, you will lose your country to those who just want power. Ignore the laws that keep us all safe, and safety for all is lost. Y'all ought to think with your brain and not your emotions before you do anything against the Black Man, your President.

Radegunda| 4.21.10 @ 1:07AM

Who said anything about race? Oh, you did. Can't get past it like the rest of us, can you?

We're already in the process of losing the country to "those who just want power." They're in the White House and at the head of Congress. Like Hitler, they've been feeding people's fears and desires (Hope'n Change, or "If we don't 'reform' health care, lots more of you will die"). The "health care reform" is really only about power.

Ditto "financial reform": it's intended to give the president even more power to grab hold of private companies.

Whenever a leftist attaches the word "reform" to something, it means more power for the statists, and less of everything for the rest of us.

Purpleguy | 4.21.10 @ 3:44PM

The fact you picked out "race" tells us more about you than I.
"We're already in the process of losing the country to "those who just want power." - that's true if Republicans win - that's what they want.
"They're in the White House and at the head of Congress. Like Hitler, they've been feeding people's fears and desires (Hope'n Change, or "If we don't 'reform' health care, lots more of you will die") - that's a fact, dittohead. The "health care reform" is really only about power. " - you're strange ... you obviously have forgotten your history. Hope and Change is far from blaming anyone about your problems. That's what Hitler did. You also seem to have forgotten "...the mushroom cloud", and "Iraq had connection to Al Qaeda", and "if you not with us, you're against us" - fear mongering of the recent past. Spin it how you might, Hope & Change are positive aspirations hardly Nazi propaganda.

Quartermaster| 4.21.10 @ 9:14PM

You, Mr. Leftist, broached the subject of race in your last line. Note the context,

"...before you do anything against the Black Man, your President."

Who cares about the Obamanation's skin color, other than leftists? I look at his behavior, which testifies of his extreme leftist character.

If you don't like racism, then don't play the card. You leftists can't leave race alone because it dominates your thinking and has been an aid in getting your way. No more. We aren't going to be intimidated by being called a racist by racists.

Robert| 4.21.10 @ 2:33AM

And, let us never forget, that Tim McVeigh, inexcusable as his action was, explicitly said that it was the Clinton Administration's actions at Waco that provoked him to exact revenge against the government, and that he picked the exact date of the Waco attack two years later for when he chose to strike.

coal carrier| 4.20.10 @ 7:25AM

Where was Matthews & Klein when Bill Ayers was blowing up government buildings? Oh, that was okay because he was only expressing himself, politically.

GreyLion| 4.20.10 @ 9:42AM

Where were they?
Lil Chrissy and the pig were apologizing for the explosions and rationalizing for the socialists.

SC Mike| 4.20.10 @ 7:28AM

The Obami and their acolytes are such shallow and thin-skinned folks that it’s almost amusing to watch them dissemble on Sunday morning TV “news” programs. Almost amusing, but disgustingly childish.

Let’s put some adults in charge election day.

BeetleB| 4.20.10 @ 7:32AM

Sedition! I dare them...indict the whole group...Limbaugh, Palin, Beck and anyone else they can line up. Indict them! And in November there will will be a eighty seat shift in the House, a 10-12 seat shift in the Senate. In February, there will hearings and then impeachment of the Attorney General and anyone else connect with this abuse of power (a high crime).

Purpleguy| 4.20.10 @ 9:53PM

It's not Sedition you need to worry about, it's Treason dittohead. Sedition laws are gone, but Treason laws are alive and well. Say what you want, but if DO anything, it's jail, baby. And, in time of war, good luck with that. Have a nice day!

Quartermaster| 4.21.10 @ 9:16PM

You leftists have been committing treason for years. You did it with Vietnam, then Iraq. Go look in the mirror and see the treasonous people you describe.

Purpleguy| 4.21.10 @ 10:59PM

Sorry, cheesehead, but this is a proud ex- Air Force telling you that the brick throwers and others are breaking the law. Inciting a group to overthrow the government is breaking the law - and you are guilty by association, even if you didn't cause any harm. If you want to know who committed treason, look at the Republicans - First among them Richard Nixon, "when the president does it, it's not illegal" . Well, he was wrong and so are you.

GreyLion| 4.22.10 @ 11:45AM

Purp,
You give zoomies a bad name.

Marcia J| 4.22.10 @ 12:08PM

I would love to see all incumbents thrown out and fresh, new citizen-legislators take their places. Treason? No. The people you are accusing of treason are repeatedly telling their listeners to VOTE and CALL THEIR REPRESENTATIVES--no treason there. Now, what about all these progressive folks who want to overthrow the constitution in favor of "fundamental transformation" of government. Given that all of our elected officials, from the President down, take an oath of office (as did you when you joined the Air Force) to "uphold and defend the CONSTITUTION (not the President, not the government) against all enemies, foreign and domestic." I found it ironic that former President Clinton cautioned against demonizing the opposition. Remember Mrs. Clinton's "vast right wing conspiracy"? And what about all the rhetoric and hyperbole against the TEA partiers?

Convet| 4.22.10 @ 1:53PM

You're no more Air Force than I'm a Martian. Send your BS to a black hole scumbag!

A real Air Force Vet.

xcon| 4.23.10 @ 8:11AM

USAF my pimply butt!
The closest you were to the military was throwing bricks through the recruiting station window.

Convet| 4.22.10 @ 1:50PM

Try playing in traffic Bozo?

SC Mike| 4.20.10 @ 7:33AM

“No to obama” reminds us that Palin has used notes on her hand when delivering a speech, something Team Obama’s guy would never do. He relies on a teleprompter so that he can read his speeches.

Who’s the dummy?

Don L| 4.22.10 @ 12:06PM

A teleprompter? Perhaps you missed the swivel head "ping pong" match speeches? There's two teleprompters fighting for control of the president - one tells one story and the other the opposite , so please don't blame the messiah -in-chief.

E. Patrick Mosman | 4.20.10 @ 8:00AM

Clinton,Klein and Matthews would probably find the following to be an act of sedition.
""That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."
Source-The Declaration of Independence

Purpleguy| 4.20.10 @ 10:05PM

Your argument is specious and unnecessary. WE have a form of government to address your grievances, but if you knew more about the country you supposedly love, you'd know that the conditions laid out in the Declaration are not valid today - not that it would stop any of you dittoheads from spouting your vile bile....

Radegunda| 4.21.10 @ 1:14AM

You must be talking about the "form of government" that the current ruling powers said they will "fundamentally transform." They see constitutional limits on government power as simply an impediment to be knocked away.

They also disdain free speech that's critical of them, and are trying to make it illegitimate to dissent from their heavy-handed reign---as well as grabbing hold of more and more financial resources so they can limit the funding of speech or electioneering that opposes them.

Purpleguy| 4.21.10 @ 2:56PM

Gee, I wonder who's glasses you're seeing through? Transforming America, is not transforming the government, now is it? "They see constitutional limits on government power as simply an impediment to be knocked away" - according to whom?
"They also disdain free speech that's critical of them" - who isn't? "and are trying to make it illegitimate to dissent from their heavy-handed reign" - again, according to whom? " ---as well as grabbing hold of more and more financial resources so they can limit the funding of speech or electioneering that opposes them. " - now what kind of proof could you possibly have of that? Innuendo, hearsay, and half-truths do not mean anything except they are a way to motivate the less intelligent into believing what the sender is trying to persuade them of.

E.Patrick Mosman| 4.21.10 @ 7:43AM

The Declaration of Independence has stood the test of time and was not limited to opposing the King of England and is as valid today as it was in 1776. It is evident that the Obama administration is determined to undermine the Constitution and impose a more command and control form of government.
What was effective in 1776 by force can work today in the voting booth.

Don L| 4.22.10 @ 12:11PM

Yes, and he's the only president to fault the constitution for not giving unough power to the government -complaining about "negative" rights.

The Ten Commandment's "thou shall not's" must really upset this faux messiah.

Tim*| 4.20.10 @ 8:00AM

Remember In November !

The Tea Party Rebellion Escalates .

Ohiolad| 4.20.10 @ 8:04AM

The four themes that Sarah Palin wrote on her palm for that particular speech was just her way of toying with the press, knowing full well that they would try to capture them on film. I just can’t believe that the left has tried to use that as a legitimate criticism – are they that stupid that they couldn’t see that they were being played for fools! Palin has no trouble giving a speech without notes, unlike our fearless leader who merely recites off a teleprompter, and even with that often gets confused. And what about that incident where he was caught lip synching his speech – now wasn’t that embarrassing!

Richard Baker| 4.20.10 @ 8:38AM

Read Mr. Jefferson, indeed. Try the Declaration of Independence, for a start. These clowns are attempting to use his words to destroy the country he helped found. How about calling them the Destructocrat Party, instead?

Purpleguy| 4.20.10 @ 10:07PM

You're the clown, using the Declaration of Independence to make a stupid political statement. The Founders were progressives, so get used to the idea ... they were not conservatives. Our country only moves forward when progressives move it forward.

H| 4.20.10 @ 10:54PM

Progressives are imbeciles....leftists who hate the DOI.

Radegunda| 4.21.10 @ 1:20AM

"Progressive" is code for socialist/Marxist---which the Founders most definitely were not. Only an idiot would think they were.

Attaching the label "progressive" to yourself doesn't mean you're making anything better.

"Progressives" are crushing the liberty that was essential to building the nation and making it an opportunity society.

"Progressives" are making the government class very, very fat, while they're squeezing and starving and killing the economic engines that built the wealth on which the progs are gorging themselves. That's hardly the way forward.

Purpleguy| 4.21.10 @ 2:34PM

Y'all grew up and live in a Progressive nation that Ronald Reagan tried to change for the better and the Bushes messed it up. So how's that been working out for us? Reagan raised taxes, he was for the end of nuclear weapons and many other progressive issues, and y'all wouldn't want him today - that should tell you something about where your collective heads are ... I'm trying to help you see the value of the country's principles now that we are a nation of 300 million - the government of 2 million cannot be the same as what's needed for 300 million and THE Superpower to boot. America is great, and pulls through, no matter who is President. It's their works that matter really, not them.

Convet| 4.22.10 @ 1:55PM

Hot air from a buffoon!

Hyrdr| 4.22.10 @ 1:59AM

Purple guy you are in the minority here and will be at the ballot box. I just wish we knew who you are to be included with all the rest of your commie unamerican traitors. I am so happy all of your hero leaders are now fully exposed.

Don L| 4.22.10 @ 12:14PM

I am constantly reminded that progress (as in progressive) is a relative thing - Cancer progresses - as did Hitler's biltzkrieg.

It's all about abusing words for deception with the left!

Anthony| 4.20.10 @ 8:58AM

We don't need to be lectured to by that '60s retread, Clinton butt kisser, Joe Klein, who, along with his pathetic Time Magazine, circulation 100, lied repeatedly to America that he was not the anonymous author of "Primary Colors".
Talk about irony, Klein, Matthews, Sultzburger, the entire leftist media elite, and oh yes, Bill Ayers, all '60s flower children, with love beads and bell bottoms, have all turned into the jackbooted totalitarians they professed to have despised.
Sedition. Gee, isn't that what you dope smoking clowns prided yourselves on in the '60s? My, my, how times have changed.

Purpleguy| 4.20.10 @ 10:08PM

It's not Sedition you need to worry about, it's Treason dittohead. Sedition laws are gone, but Treason laws are alive and well. Say what you want, but if DO anything, it's jail, baby.

Hyrdr| 4.22.10 @ 2:02AM

Dont forget and in fact sing out how these are the same protestors who spit on returning Vietnam vetrans. Please point out that these are the same people who send our soulders to fight for what they believe is freedom. Instead they are supporting a communist takover.

1FreeMan| 4.20.10 @ 9:00AM

trea·son   /ˈtrizən/ –noun
1.the offense of acting to overthrow one's government or to harm or kill its sovereign.
2.a violation of allegiance to one's sovereign or to one's state.

Example: Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi signing a document certifying that BH Obama is a Natural Born Citizen of the United States of America and constitutionally eligable to serve as President of the United states. She knowingly signed her name knowing BH Obama is not constitutionally eligable to serve as President of the United States. She is guilty of treason and should be arrested. All others who were complicit in these actions should likewise be arrested, charged and tried. No full form birth certificate is evidence of this treason.

Purpleguy| 4.20.10 @ 10:10PM

I'd be the one who's afraid, if I were you ... He is President, period. Get over it, until you like it. One day you will glad that little black boy grew up to be your President, Commander-in-Chief and Chief of State of the United States of America. Aren't you patriotic?

H| 4.20.10 @ 10:55PM

Obama is half-white....and only leftist racists like you are concerned about skin color. we don't care what color he is....he is a Marxist and that makes him our enemy.

Purpleguy| 4.21.10 @ 10:54PM

Hilarious... you want to call me out for racism, while you remind us he's 1/2 white. Why would that matter, does that make him 1/2 good to you? If you don't know a racist, look in the mirror, but I'm guessing you also have no clue what a Marxist is, let alone who is one. Come on, do you? Tell us, we know...

Hyrdr| 4.22.10 @ 2:07AM

You lefitiats ARE the only ones who ever bring up his race. The rest of us are concerned with his being a Muslem trained half bread bastard son of a white sex slut who was duped into being part of this persidents exiatance. Coincedential how everyone involved with his birth is dead.
It is obvious you are paid to post here. ou have been doing it a long time.

GreyLion| 4.23.10 @ 3:52PM

"does that make him 1/2 good to you?"
Oh geeze, Purp, you are about the best straight guy I have seen, no, it does not make him 1/2 good, it makes him 1/2 assed, just like you.
I love it when they are dumb.

marcia j| 4.22.10 @ 12:15PM

Finally, purpleguy, you make a comment I can fully agree with. Regardless of where Mr. Obama was born, when he took the Oath of Office, he became the President of every American citizen. Period. Anyone still whining about his legitimacy sounds like the Hollyweird idiots who refused to accept President Bush, saying he "stole" the election from Algore.

davelnaf| 4.20.10 @ 9:53AM

Liberals appear to be running scared. Maybe they are, and if they are one cannot blame them. They know that their Obama chickens will soon come home to roost; that the Chosen One’s policies and growing unpopularity will drag the Democratic Party down to election defeat this year and for years to come. So, they have trotted out some of liberalism’s most famous alarmists to start ringing the fire bell of sedition. Maybe all of this anxiety and 'concern' is what it seems to be. But don’t bet on it.

Franklin| 4.20.10 @ 10:12PM

Ha! That's a laugh. If you're really going to vote, what's all the screaming about - who's the one who's afraid. Obama in 2012 .... scary, huh?

Hyrdr| 4.22.10 @ 2:09AM

Obama will have to produce a birth certificate to be reelected in 2012 so dont piss on yourself laughing about this scam. All his laws will face repeal.

Majito| 4.20.10 @ 9:55AM

I would say that was any slur or insult coming from any msm left loon should be a badge of honor...If Sarah is all that these clowns claim her to be (loser, low brain power, pig with liptstick, quitter...ad nauseaum) why are they so bothered by her? Could it be that just by her showing up unannounced thousands of folks will come to cheer her while any setting for this bozos with millions and months of ads will produce a handful of attendees? Who can forget VP Bidden's pre-election meetings where his personal security posse will have more indivduals than the local folks being present...yes i think these loons suffer from at least one of those 7 deadly...Kind of looks similar to the other left loons (godless) who are so bothered by the mention of God or Jesus...if these entities do not exist, then why so much energy devoted to the useless pursuit of diminish, demonize, discredit? I mean you have these guys exalting the virtues of a 600 pound guy self-control teachings(did it help tiger? probably as much as the teacher's pie cravings) who's been death for centuries while vilifying the teachings of an itinerant preacher who went about telling his followers to be kind to each other and cloth their enemies(and this guy did indeed master self-control)...again if it wasn't so pathetic, it may actually be funny...

Randall Dunning| 4.20.10 @ 9:57AM

I suspect that if a conservative is NOT being denounced as an extremist and the conservative’s words are NOT being labeled sedition, that conservative is probably not very effective. Kipling’s words in the immortal poem "IF" ring through the years:

"If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools..."

offering advice and comfort to conservative leaders. Yes Klein and his fellow knaves are indeed twisting the words of Beck, Palin, Limbaugh, and Levin to make a trap for the foolish souls infesting the hard left and the unwary TV addled stumbling along mindlessly behind them.

Bruce| 4.20.10 @ 5:41PM

A few you will never hear the left speak down to:
John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins.

Feel free to add others....

GreyLion| 4.20.10 @ 9:31PM

Good thinking, Bruce,
Graham in particular.

Rebel| 4.20.10 @ 10:37PM

No need to ... they are reasonable Republicans that aren't sucking off Rush Limbaugh's mantits.

Randall Dunning| 12.21.10 @ 8:25AM

Any time left wringers start praising a Republican you can conclude the pol in question is a RINO. The left only praises their own.

Tim| 4.20.10 @ 10:12AM

Most current belt way ivy league Liberals and dems are acting just like the parents who spend years boozing it up, smoking pot and crack and cheating on their taxes and cheating on each other then when their own kids are teenagers they try and hammer home the virtues of clean living.

That said, the last people I will listen to when it comes to moderation in politics is from people who invented the word "Radical"

Bill A| 4.20.10 @ 10:33AM

I am always amused at what media considers important. To be lectured by former President Bill Clinton about the virtuousity of language seems to me to be the height of hypocrisy. Ashame he never applied his desires for a virtuous
life to his family.

NavyBrat| 4.20.10 @ 10:55AM

"It is the absolute right of the state to supervise the formation of public opinion."...Joseph Goebbels

"A forbidden writing is thought to be a certain spark of truth, that flies up in the face of them who seek to tread it out."...Sir Frances Bacon

Nice to see that some things never change. In this case, those "who seek to tread it out" are idiots like Bubba, Klein, & Matthews.

Drew| 4.20.10 @ 11:02AM

The curious case of the American Standard and its typical double standard:

Quote: Joe Klein and John Heilemann, and those who agree with them, should be mindful..

Last time I checked, both Joe Klein and John Heilemann were journalists - not officials of the Obama administration or of the Democratic Party. As journalists they are just as free to express their opinions as "journalists" like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, or (calling her a journalist is a bit of a stretch) Sarah Palin.

The day you see the Obama Justice Department filing sedition or treason charges is the day you've got something to complain about. Until that day - you're just blowing hot air.

NavyBrat| 4.20.10 @ 11:56AM

"The day you see the Obama Justice Department filing sedition or treason charges is the day you've got something to complain about. Until that day - you're just blowing hot air."

No more hot air than useful idiots like you, Klein, Bubba, & Heilemann. And if the "double standard" on this site is more than you can bear, I offer you this:

"Some cause happiness wherever they go. Others, whenever they go."...Oscar Wilde

Please Drew, just go. I don't think we'll miss your sophomoric screeds & diatribes.

Drew| 4.20.10 @ 12:21PM

Another fact-free, name-calling, ad hominen squawk from an AS commenter. How surprising.

If you don't like the glaring inconsistencies and hypocrisy of the American Spectator being pointed out, maybe you should suggest the contributors to the site write better articles.

NavyBrat| 4.20.10 @ 12:28PM

Really Drew? And what facts did YOU post? I'm getting a lesson in debate from someone who's admitted that they don't read links that other put in their posts. As to your second comment, show me one "mainstream" media source that isn't biased to YOUR warped vision. Go pitch your fart in a gale logic elsewhere, junior.

Drew| 4.20.10 @ 1:07PM

Let me make this really simple for you.

Following a somewhat shopworn formula, the author of this article attempts to make a parallel between an historical event and something from today's news, suggesting it heralds doom or peril.

In particular, he writes about the Sedition Act, a piece of legislation that was enacted July 14, 1798 by a Federalist controlled administration and Congress,.

Note: The historical event he is talking about was a piece of legislation.

Where the parallel falls down is in trying to compare a piece of legislation from the writings or speech of a journalist.

Journalists say and write things all the time that are, to put it mildly, a little over the top. It is, one might note, a hallmark of living in a free and open society - as opposed to a regime.

If you don't understand the difference between a journalist expressing his or her opinion and an Act of Congress - then there really isn't any point in discussing this any further.

NavyBrat| 4.20.10 @ 1:30PM

I understand the difference just fine, thank you. YOU are the one that brought up the issue of the "double standard." The gist of the piece is that it's always "patriotic" when liberals & dems express concern & protest when Repubs are in power. But now that the shoe is on the other foot, those who express their discontent are being "seditious." Sedition is a pretty big charge to level at those who are merely expressing their misgivings about the direction that their country is taking. THAT is the true double standard.

PS. For the record, the only liberal attacks on GW that I would've labeled "seditious" were the ones that waxed eloquently about his demise. The rest of that tripe was stupid, but not seditious. Why should this instance any different?

Purpleguy| 4.20.10 @ 10:43PM

Alright, Einstein... stop the Sedition talk. Now for some facts ... just as Drew said. It's not Sedition you need to worry about, it's Treason dittohead. Sedition laws are gone, but Treason laws are alive and well. Say what you want, but if DO anything, it's jail, baby, and, now, thanks to Baby Bush, you can be locked up and the key thrown away since Habeas Corpus is still suspended. Now you should be afraid, very afraid. They're watching you and they can snatch you just like the Nazis did - thanks to Bush-Cheney brilliant upholding of the Constitution. You people never think about what you're talking about. It's anti-Obama all the time, for anything. He won, you lost, get over it. We waited for Dittohead-in-Chief to get lost, now it's your turn. Get over it.

H| 4.20.10 @ 10:58PM

suspended habeas corpus? you're a leftist libtard.

Convet| 4.22.10 @ 1:57PM

Don't annoy the TROLL!

GW| 4.20.10 @ 2:37PM

No where in the article is Obama administration accused of citing sedition with regard to its critics. We understand the difference between two liberals making laughable statements and the "regime" actually threatening its opposition with criminal charges. The writer is merely pointing out Mr. Klein is dead wrong and why he is wrong...the country has tried people for sedition before but it never stood up under the 1st amendment. However, I can tell you the administration and its allies have talked about a return to the "fairness" doctrine. So I wouldn't put it past them to go a step further and begin charging Tea Partiers with "sedition"...that is, if they could get away with it.

Tim*| 4.20.10 @ 4:05PM

Why Certainly Obamaphile Drew.

Aaaaand ,
Following a somewhat shopworn formula, the journalist Joey Boy Klein attempts to make a parallel between an historical event and something from today's news, suggesting it heralds doom or peril.

Se that ,you're helping to make our point against Klein for us.

Thank You !

marcia j| 4.22.10 @ 12:31PM

"If you don't understand the difference between a journalist expressing his or her opinion . . . "

I majored in journalism. Journalists are charged with reporting the news, free of bias and opinion. Now, that's showing my age . . . what an antique notion! Those on news radio or with their own TV shows are not representing themselves as journalists, they are entertainers. The only place for journalistic "opinion" is on the aptly named "op-ed" page.

GreyLion| 4.20.10 @ 4:02PM

Drew,
You don't know how spell ad hominem let alone what it means. Since you appear to have been a visual learner at one time or another I dont expect you to understand what it means to indulge in an "ad hominem" attack any time soon.
I don't want you to be ignorant. I know that that is a loosing battle. However, let me give you an example of such an attack.
"Drew is an idiot"

Purpleguy| 4.20.10 @ 10:45PM

Might help your argument if you knew English grammar...

GreyLion| 4.22.10 @ 11:50AM

Hey jetblast,
sounds like you pulled your rip cord in the cockpit. If I used English grammer it would be above your head.

Warrior| 4.20.10 @ 12:17PM

You are a true moron Drew. There would only be a double standard if AS called for these "journalists" to be tried for sedition for their writings during the Bush "regime." Remember then it was okay to publish and produce materials on presidential assassinations and the like. Dan Rather even used forge/invented "evidence" to sway and election and rationalize its acceptability through his own twisted logic.

The Obama dictatorship will only silence it critics through another version of the Fairness doctrine which will be implemented when they can coax a home grown terrorist to perform some heinous act. Then they will blame the "echo chamber" and initiate its shutdown by stating it's for the welfare of all Americans.

Tim*| 4.20.10 @ 3:54PM

Of Course Obamaphile Drew.

Aaaand " In the November 17, 2008 issue of New York, Heilemann wrote that Obama's choice of veterans of previous administrations satisfied some supporters, "But for other Obamaphiles, it fuels the anxiety that the regimes of the new boss and the old boss will end up resembling one another all too much."

See , Heilemann is in perfect agreement with Limbaugh.

Bruce| 4.20.10 @ 5:45PM

Why do you and your fellow lefties constantly need reminding that neither Rush, Beck, or Palin consider themselves to be journalists? The first two are political commentators, while Palin is a politician. Whether Klein or Heileman consider themselves to be true journalists (or you do) remains in the mind of the reader. A true journalist is an objective voice. In that sense, NEITHER of them qualify.

Stephen Zierak| 4.20.10 @ 11:19AM

I find it hilarious that today's Dhimmicrats honor Jefferson & Jackson at their tiresome political dinners. The modern, enlightened ones couldn't be farther away from the Jefferson belief that "government that governs least governs best", or Jackson's opposition to what he considered extra-Constitutional spending, including popular internal public works. And who can forget Jackson's successful opposition to the crony capitalism of the Second National Bank, the forerunner to the Wilsonian created Fed? AJ also knew how to deal with those who would threaten violence against the Republic. Tea Partiers should demonstrate at Jefferson Jackson Day dinners, and remind those who have forgotten (or never knew) American History how far our fascist appeasers of Islamic nutcases have strayed from those figures they claim to honor.

Purpleguy| 4.20.10 @ 10:52PM

Ha! Then throw Eisenhower under the bus, dittohead. The Interstate Highway System is illegal according to the Constitution - and James Madison in the early 1800's. Go luck up his stance on the Federal government overseeing State cooperation for a countrywide program. You want to abolish the Interstate, do ya? Oh, and btw, Jackson would have reamed y'all a new one if you challenged his authority. He was boss, period, and took no shit from anyone. Hmmm, you want your President to emulate him? I doubt it, but then you really don't know your history, do ye? The Founders were progressives, and the Tories, or loyalists were the conservatives .. On the wrong side of history - as usual. But - you won't hear that from Rush or Fox Noise ... they're lying to you telling what they think you want to hear ... (Joseph Goebbels, anyone?)

fl.jd| 4.21.10 @ 10:48AM

Where did Joseph Goebbels get the inspiration for propaganda? Can you say Woodrow Wilson and the Committee on Public Information, which was led by journalist George Creel?

Edward Bernays, an adviser to Wilson and participant in CPI operations, characterized the mission of CPI as the “engineering of consent," “the conscious manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses," lie to Americans and manipulate them into supporting even unconstitutional actions of the government."

Wilson was a, you guessed it!, Progressive!

Purpleguy| 4.21.10 @ 2:27PM

So you're saying propaganda originated with Wilson? Really? You have nothing to teach us if that's what you mean. Of course, you misinterpreted my argument that the Rushboy is lying to you, telling you what you want to hear.

Petronius| 4.20.10 @ 11:19AM

To this "regime", Thomas Jefferson is but another "dead white guy".

Len| 4.20.10 @ 11:47AM

The US constitution defines our government through the enumerated powers which are delegated, the rest of the powers belong to the states or the people, and in the case of the states, regardless of what a state constitution may say, those powers are also delegated. It being the case then that in areas of governance not delegated to a polity the individual remains his government, and when anyone or any government seeks to overthrow that government that person retains the right to defend himself from such acts.
My point in the above is that as it says in the Declaration of Independence it is our right and even our duty to abolish any form of tyrannical government and/or to restore a proper freedom enabling government. If force is a necessary then so be it, but why should be people be maligned who are the true government or who would only seek to RESTORE, not overthrow the legitimate government.
The government in these United States starts from the bottom down, and if our agents cross the line and refuse to cease continual acts of oppression by using the instrument created for our liberty are we to then lie down and submit and thus become the slaves or property of those who would dictate our thoughts and actions? That is absurd, and merits ridicule.

Purpleguy| 4.20.10 @ 10:59PM

Well, another brainiac who doesn't know his own history. The interpretation of the Constitution changed after the Civil War and again after the New Deal ... but I guess they didn't teach you that in palookaville. Today's Constitution interpretation is far from the original intent, whatever that is, since even that is open for interpretation. - "A corporation is treated like a person, with free speech rights" - and that's a conservative opinion! That makes sense to you? Madison, Hamilton, Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin must be flipping over that one. Get out of the right-wing echo chamber and THINK. It's not Barack Obama you need to fear, it's GE, Exxon, Wal-Mart, and IBM you need to fear. You will be made their corporate slaves.

fl.jd| 4.21.10 @ 10:52AM

As I have tried to teach you before, corporations have had personhood under the law, a legal fiction, since 1819 and Constitutional rights since 1886.

You remind me of the old legal saw... If the facts aren't on your side, argue the law. If the law isn't on your side, argue the facts. If neither is on your side, scream and cry like a baby. Maybe, the judge will empathize with you.

Purpleguy| 4.21.10 @ 2:19PM

If you really care about the original intent of the Constitution, read the Federalist Papers... If you can find any definition of a corporation as personhood in there or in the US Constitution, point it out. Otherwise you are pointing to interpretations of the Constitution, based on society of the day - not a strict-constructionist view of the Constitution. If you really can teach something, can you show us how a corporation, a made up legal entity, is really a person? Otherwise you must agree with my premise.

JmsA| 4.21.10 @ 11:38PM

"It's not Barack Obama you need to fear, it's GE, Exxon, Wal-Mart, and IBM you need to fear. You
will be their corporate slaves."

Why would being a corporate slave matter so much? After all, we're already the slaves of the government, and more so with every passing day.

I believe you might be a bit confused about GE. Did you actually mean General Electric, for if so, their subsidiary NBC/MSNBC, is where the biggest shills for the One reside, including but not limited to the one with the tingly leg and the hyperventilating one that used be a sportscaster. I would have never thought that you'd be against GE.

Please, kindly stop using the passive tense to refer to the changing constitution; it was and continues to be changed by fiat against the intent of the founders and the will of people by those whose attempts to tread upon our rights and limit our freedom have been otherwise thwarted. 11/02/2010

Peter McGrath| 4.20.10 @ 11:48AM

Pathetic is the best word to describe the Left's latest fig leaf for their own manifest folly.

Anyone with a checking account knows that the Obama/Pelosi/Reid cabal is engaged in active destruction of our nation in profound, obvious ways.

Their response to the crash of 2008 ($800 billion slush-fund "stimulus", Federal takeovers of banks, auto companies, etc.) was akin to a shoving a lead foot on the accelerator while hurtling toward a cliff.

The hash they made of healthcare "reform" is a national disgrace, to the everlasting shame of the cowards, liars and hucksters who promoted and passed it through Congress.

The CMC (Chief Moral Coward) overseeing this calamity has managed to play golf - 32 times since in office, more than any other President over their entire term in office - while our nation slides into decline. He is a fool who should never have been allowed near the Oval Office, or any important post, including the executive bathroom. An arrogant, glib poltroon of the most despicable kind, he presides over an unhinged, totally corrupt legislature which is completely detached from the reality faced, and values shared, by the vast majority of Americans.

Obama and his minions have profoundly weakened the nation and demoralized the citizenry. Their hamfisted efforts to dismantle the free market institutions that have made America a (once) great nation - on a blatantly partisan basis - are a gigantic act of betrayal of the people and our constitution.

This is not a government against which "sedition" is possible. It is a collection of cheap-jacks, goons, fools and tyrants. Exposing their vileness is the duty of every American. Once exposed, their impending irrelevancy will be richly deserved. Joe Klein (and that loathesome piece of moral trash, Clinton) are invited to commit the impossible act - while the cretins they defend do the same to our country and its people.

uncle curmudgeon| 4.20.10 @ 12:29PM

Speaking of Jefferson, I have always thought that the great divide between progressives and conservatives is that we are the "we" who "hold these truths to be self-evident" whereas they don't seem to have a clue. Let's assume Klein has good intentions. Now we can posit where he is heading. Bon voyage, Joe.

Ps. Don't miss RET's piece on conseratives in today's post. It's the right stuff!

Purpleguy| 4.20.10 @ 11:02PM

Nice try, dittohead. The Founders were progressives, including Jefferson, the conservatives were on the losing side of the Revolution. Salute the Progressives ... they gave you this country, Einstein.

Radegunda| 4.21.10 @ 1:23AM

When you make the most moronic comment on this thread, you don't improve it by repeating it.

Purpleguy| 4.21.10 @ 8:25AM

I know the truth hurts, but investigate if you don't believe me - don't just defend without knowledge or facts. Free speech allows me to be on this or any other site.... are you suggesting curtailing my
Free Speech? Debate me, but with facts, not opinions, not hype, not Rush Loudmouth talking points. Short of that, you have nothing to add to the conversation - so shut up and go away.

Convet| 4.22.10 @ 2:02PM

You wouldn't know the truth if it came up and INTRODUCED ITSELF. Go back to your Huff-n-fuffington Compost, Washington Compost, Daily Kostic, San Fran Crankicle and New York Crimes TROLL.

JmsA| 4.24.10 @ 7:32PM

Oh, purpleturd, here's some investigatin' for ya: As of 4/24/2010, the annualized rate of average hourly earnings growth was:

During Bush's terms, 01/2001 to 01/2009: +3.2% per year

During Bush's last year, 01/2008 to 01/2009: +3.8% per year

During Obama's first year, 01/2009 to 01/2010): +2.6% per year

During the last two months, 01/2010 to 03/20010: 0.0%

During that month: -1.3%

What's that? Yes we can. Indeed. How's that hopey changey thing working out? No too well, I see. That stimulus was a real banger, wasn't it? Problematic things those facts, aren't they? They keep on getting on the way of the bs. 11/02/2010

PS: I don't believe blaming Bush, or Hoover for that matter , will help, do you?

JmsA| 4.22.10 @ 4:21PM

No, purpleturd, they were constitutionalists who put in place the systems and constitutional safeguards under which the country grew and thrived. That is, until the progressives with their restrictive taxation and over-regulation, began to tear it down-- as is presently being done by the current regime in the White House and the democrat-led congress. The founders sought preserve and expand freedom while the progressives, leftists, socialists, communists--the rabble that they all are, endeavor to destroy it. Your revisionist bs is not fooling anyone. By the way, where does the general population approval of the government stand? At 20 percent. And who's presently in charge of the government? You don't suppose I have to answer that for you, do I? So get over yourself, stop your puerile condescension of other posters herein, and embrace the future, including 11/02/2010.

Ken (Old Texican)| 4.20.10 @ 12:07PM

Craig,
I suppose I "rub right up close" as well, every time I use the words, "communists" (pardon the shorthand), to describe the present regime.

I suppose I'm on all their lists. I expect a knock on my door just any 3:00 AM morning, or possibly just an audit by the IRS.

fl.jd| 4.20.10 @ 12:23PM

The Sedition Act of 1918 was an Act of the United States Congress signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on May 16, 1918. It forbade the use of "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the United States government, its flag, or its armed forces or that caused others to view the American government or its institutions with contempt. The act also allowed the Postmaster General to refuse to deliver mail that met those same standards for punishable speech or opinion. It applied only to times "when the United States is in war." It was repealed on December 13, 1920. Further, for all intents and purposes, Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969), was a United States Supreme Court case based on the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It held that government cannot punish inflammatory speech unless it is directed to inciting and likely to incite imminent lawless action. In particular, it overruled Ohio's criminal syndicalism statute, because that statute broadly prohibited the mere advocacy of violence.

I suppose that when one does his research on a cocktail napkin, he it not likely to be the brightest CFL bulb in the chandelier. I also wonder whether he would have supported sedition charges against Hanoi Jane, Tom Hayden, Bill Ayres, John Kerry, John Murtha, and even Barack Obama. I think not. After all, they were singing from the same cocktail napkin.

NavyBrat| 4.20.10 @ 1:43PM

An entry from my blog. I wonder if the Philippics of Cicero & Demosthenes would be considered "seditious" in the opinion of our omnipotent media & Bubba:

The Philippics are perhaps some of the most historically important orations in Western civilization. The original Philippics were a series of letters and orations made by Greek orator & statesman Demosthenes against the encroachments & power grabs of Philip II of Macedon (Alexander's father). They were Demosthenes' attempt to awaken the government of Athens to the inherent danger posed by Philip's totalitarian power grabs. After Philip's death, it was Demothenes who sparked a full blown uprising against Philip's son and successor, Alexander. Without mercy or hesitation, Alexander dispatched his hatchet man, Antipater, to arrest Demosthenes. Rather than suffer the humiliation of arrest, trial, and use as a propaganda tool, Demosthenes took his own life. He was valiant & noble voice against the ever present threat of totalitarian usurpations that would have spelled the end for his country.

"Beware lest in your anxiety to avoid war you obtain a master."...Demosthenes

"Every dictator is an enemy of freedom, an opponent of law."...Demosthenes

"There are all kinds of devices invented for the protection of countries: defensive barriers, forts, trenches, and the like... But prudent minds have as a natural gift one safeguard which is the common possession of all, and this applies especially to the dealings of democracies. What is this safeguard? Skepticism. This you must preserve. This you must retain. If you keep this, you need fear no harm."...Demosthenes

The perhaps more well known Philippics came from one of the greatest orators, lawyers, and statesmen of all time, Marcus Tullis Cicero. Cicero is regarded by many to be one of the first examples of a conservative politicians in history. He certainly was one of the most elegant orators in the entire history of Rome, either the Republic OR the Empire. Cicero's Philippics were his series of orations decrying the usurpations of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and later, Octavian. The main focus of these barb laden yet eloquent orations (14 of them) is Antony. While the conservative faction to which Cicero belonged had more successes than that of Demosthenes, it eventualy suffered the same fate.

The murderers of Caesar, chiefly Brutus and Cassius, (Cicero was NOT involved with, though he approved of , Caesar's murder) were pursued by Antony shortly after the deed was committed. Antony & Octavian, who was named Caesar's son in his will, combined their forces & began the pursuit of the forces of Brutus & Cassius. They met at the battle of, ironically enough, Philippi. After the battle, with Cassius having committed suicide when his positions were overrun by Antony's forces, Brutus fled, later to end his life in the same way.

Cicero, in the meantime had been in exile. On December 7, 43 BC, Antony's assassins finally caught up with him & slew him. His last words, according to Plutarch, were said to have been, "There is nothing proper about what you are doing soldier, but do try to kill me properly." On Antony's orders, Cicero's head and hands were cut off and displayed in the Forum in Rome as a waring to those who might seek follow his example and take up his cause.

Shortly after Cicero's murder, the Roman Republic had effectively ceased to be and the age of the Empire had begun. And, like all empires, oligarchies, and absolutist systems of government, the Roman Empire came into being "with the consent of the people." Caesar had promised the Roman people untold amounts of public benefits and played the populism card with tremendous skill & aplomb. He subverted the law and the Roman Senate in ways that not many, other than Cicero, Brutus, and Cassius, saw. By the time of the civil war after Caesar's murder, the framework of Caesar's edicts were in place. After Antony and Octavian had declared a truce between themselves at the conclusion of their battle at Mutina, they combined their forces to crush those of Brutus and Cassius at Philippi. This was the beginning of the end of the Republic. The assassination of Cicero, a man loved and lauded by the Roman public, and by far the most powerful proponent of the Republic, was the final nail in the coffin.

The time we live in now is not all that dis-similar to that of Cicero, and to a lesser extent, Demosthenes. Both men railed against the stealing and usurpation of liberties and freedoms from their respective countires. In the case of Demosthenes, it was encroachement from outside his nation's borders. In the case of Cicero, as in ours today, the ecroachments come from within. Our Founders learned from these men and changed the track record of the success of such movements. They did not suffer the same fates as their ancient predecessors, and that was surely that fate that awaited them, had they failed.

So the question is simple. Do we posses, amongst our modern day population, those who can take up the same mantle as that of Demosthenes, Cicero, and our Founders? Are there any leaders amongst us who will sacrifice as much as these men did? Since our Founders showed us that it WAS, in fact, possible to espouse the same principles as Demosthenes and Cicero without sharing their fates, I still have faith that WE THE PEOPLE are still up to the task. We MUST be. The future of OUR Republic depends on it.

Excerpts from the First Philippic:

"Men ask, what is the reason why I, or why any one of you, O conscript fathers, should be afraid of bad laws while we have virtuous tribunes of the people? We ahve men ready to interpose their veto; ready to defend the republic with the sanctions of religion. We ought to be strangers to fear. What do you mean by interposing the veto? says he; what are these sanctions of religion which you are talking about? Those, forsooth, on which the safety of republic depends. We are neglecting those things, and thinking them too old fashioned and foolish. The forum will be surrounded, every entrance of it will be blocked up; ARMED MEN will be placed in garrison, as it were, at many points. What then?--whatever is accomplished by those means will be law. And you will order, I suppose, all those regularly passed decrees to be engraved on brazen tablets. 'The consuls consulted the people in the regular form,' (Is this the way of consulting the people that we have received from our ancestors?) 'and the people voted it with due regularity.' What people? that which was excluded from the forum? Under what law did they do so? under that which has been wholly abrogated by violence of arms? But I am saying all this with reference to the future; because it is the part of a friend to point out evils which may be avoided: and if they never ensue, that will be the best refutation of my speech. I am speaking of laws which have been proposed; concerning which you have still full power to decide either way. I am pointing out the defects; away with them I am denouncing violence and arms; away with them too!"...Marcus Tullius Cicero, The First Philippic

"Let him employ arms, if it is neccessary, as he says it is, for his own defence: only let not those arms injure those men who have declared their honest sentiments in the affairs of the republic. Now, what can be more reasonable than this demand? But if, as has been said to me by some of his [Antony's] intimate friends, every speech which is contrary to his inclination is violently offensive, to him, even if there be no insult in it whatever, then we will bear the natural disposition of our friend. But those men, at the same time, say to me, 'you will not have the same license granted to you who are the adversary of Caesar as might be claimed by Piso his father in law.' And then they warn me of something of which I must guard against; and certainly, the excuse which sickness supplies me with, for not coming to the senate, will not be a more valid one than that which is furnished by death."...Marcus Tullius Cicero, The First Philippic

"The more laws, the less justice."...Cicero

Purpleguy| 4.20.10 @ 11:04PM

So your point is what, windbag - you want to take your own life? Go for it ...

NavyBrat| 4.21.10 @ 12:49PM

Aww. Poor little PurplePuke. Guess my entry was just too much for your pathetic 3rd grade intellect to grasp. Maybe you can ask your mommy to explain it to you junior.

JmsA| 4.22.10 @ 12:21AM

That's a good and profound remark about a poignant reprise of the classics in light of current events. (That was sarcasm, in case you didn't get it, OK, purpleturd?)

I must thank you nonetheless, for you have not only demonstrated your ignorance, but the extent to which you are not only besotted with the One and his demagogic ways--, while in doing so, showing yourself to be but a wooden puppet moved by extraneous forces in their quest against freedom and all that is good and right in this world, despite your ample yet disingenuous pretensions to the contrary.

Convet| 4.22.10 @ 2:03PM

You first...

JmsA| 4.22.10 @ 12:33AM

Thank you, NavyBrat, that was a good posting, which along with the subject essay brought to mind the following:

"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague."

--Marcus Tullius Cicero

All Fed Up| 4.20.10 @ 2:18PM

Cries of "Sedition! Sedition! Sedition!" are what you get with the last several decades of "liberal" distortion of American history in our institutions of "higher" education. Dictators and wanna-be tyrants like to shut the people up because it is so much easier to do that than actually having an honest debate with people who think and do for themselves rather than resorting to slimy smear tactics and bald-faced lies.

As far as the Oklahoma bomber, he is the kissing cousin of William "The Bomber" Ayers -- who is himself a character who our president admires so very much while claiming that they just happened to live in the same neighborhood.

If the Tea Party is a "threat" like the Oklahoma Bomber, and if the Oklahoma Bomber is akin to Bomber Ayers, and if our president is a real good buddy of Bomber Ayers, then it would appear that our president would also be a big fan of the Tea Party. Oh, but that's right -- our president only likes a bomber who shares his own radical ideology and Alinsky tactics.

Can we move the elections up this year? America needs a 180 degree change of direction from all these fear-mongering demagogues now in power by virtue of lying ways and progandizing smears.

Stephanie| 4.20.10 @ 3:02PM

All Fed Up, How do you know that the bomber was a cousin of Ayers? Any proof of this?
Really, I would like proof of this.

Bruce| 4.20.10 @ 5:54PM

My God - are you really that stupid that you don't get the point AFU was making there?

Another product of the American indoctrination system. Thank you, American Federation of Teachers/NEA.

Purpleguy| 4.20.10 @ 11:06PM

It's called sarcasm, you twit. Obviously, you have only the palookaville schoolhouse to thank for your indoctrination....

fl.jd| 4.20.10 @ 8:14PM

"akin" - means essentially similar, related, or compatible, i.e., his interests are akin to mine.

"a kin" - is a relative, not necessarily a cousin.

My friend is so akin to a family member, she could be kin.

sestamibi| 4.20.10 @ 2:19PM

Was David Brown an ancestor of Scott?

Franklin| 4.20.10 @ 11:06PM

No, James Brown was....

Stephanie| 4.20.10 @ 2:22PM

Seems the left and their water carriers, the MSM are getting more and more shrill and frantic. What will they do in November when the House flips and their obama is a lame duck?

Bill from WV| 4.20.10 @ 2:28PM

Suggesting shooting President Bush and Vise President Chaney at the time (Bill Maher), calling President Bush a nazi,(Pelosi),claioming Marines were terrorist and murders ((Murtha), Calling Marines murders,baby killers (Kerry)!
Now THESE are acts of SEDITION!

Bill from WV

Purpleguy| 4.20.10 @ 11:08PM

It's called Free Speech - from, you know, that pesky First Amendment that is in that big, ol', dusty document you were supposed to study in school.... Say it, you're fine - Act on it, and it's jailtime for Rocko!

B ydand76| 4.21.10 @ 5:56AM

Purpledouche!

Shut up. You don know what you are talking about.
Suggestive comments indicating violence towards the executive are not covered by the First Amendment in the Constitution.

Don't believe me?

Try it.

Purpleguy| 4.21.10 @ 8:22AM

HA! You're an idiot ... there is no such thing as Sedition anymore. It's dead as a legal issue. You can scream and yell and criticize all you want. But the moment you throw the brick, spit on someone, you have crossed the line, and have broken the law, period. And, that's in California or Mississippi and everywhere in between.

JmsA| 4.22.10 @ 1:04PM

Oh, I see: It's free speech when Bush, Cheney et al. are attacked, but sedition when it's directed at the One and the democrats. Got it! Keep on prating, purpleturd; you're making the case against yourself and those like you. Thanks. 11/02/2010

Oldefarte| 4.20.10 @ 3:01PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JamlN971AY

james| 4.20.10 @ 3:56PM

This is of course good, short history. But it ignores the fact that Klein and people like him are not Federalists or Democrats gone wrong: they are vicious little tinpot throne-sniffers who don't worry about getting voted out because they intend to control the vote through fraud and payoffs.

Purpleguy| 4.20.10 @ 11:10PM

Only an assbag would know a throne sniffer. Oops, you're outted.

GreyLion| 4.21.10 @ 12:27PM

Purp,
Ya look so cute when your mad. Whats the matter? Get your nose caught under the toilet seat did ya?

Purpleguy| 4.21.10 @ 4:19PM

Why are you looking at my ass?

JmsA| 4.22.10 @ 12:51AM

Because given your brainless rants, it makes sense to look for it there.

GreyLion| 4.22.10 @ 11:59AM

LOL,
heck son its your only recognizable feature.

Rodman| 4.22.10 @ 5:07PM

@ James:

I wonder if you felt that way about the Republicans and their ambition for a Permanent Republican Majority, in which they overtly schemed to enthrone themselves and make the democratic process irrelevant.

Another inconvenient fact flushed down the memory hole so Right wingnuts can pretend they are victims of Obama.

Another exhibition of the plastic standards and convenient amnesia of the willfully duped.

edda| 4.20.10 @ 4:23PM

Methinks Dr. Frank Luntz explained 'sedition' accurately in chapter IX of his 2007 bestseller, "Words That Work - It's Not What You Say.............". Titled 'Myths & Realities About Language & People', he co-opted Klein, Clinton, Matthews et al uber elites in Washington and in the MSM in one brief phrase at chapter's end. Here it is, writ large: FED UP> FED UP> FED UP.

Barack Obama| 4.20.10 @ 6:12PM

All of you were warned but you failed to heed, now you will pay. We know who you are and where you are at. All you had to do what submit , obey and serve. Soon you will do all of these, the camps will be finished soon and then you'll learn waht sedition really is.

fl.jd| 4.20.10 @ 8:51PM

You are, hopefully, joking, but Obama wouldn't be the first.

Wilson created his own fascisti, the American Protective League , where chosen Americans spied on fellow Americans. He also created the Committee on Public Information, the first propaganda ministry in the West. He approved of the Palmer Raids. Before and under his Sedition Act, he incarcerated approximately 175,000 Americans without due process--many of which for antiwar protestations.

“Woe be to the man or group of men that seeks to stand in our way,” said Wilson in June 1917 to counter protests to the fascist regime that he created upon entering WW I.

Richard Baker| 4.20.10 @ 10:43PM

Purpleguy:
So what would you do if your Liberty and Freedom were taken? Cheer and applaud? Crazy children or in German verruckt kind are you and your "useful idiot friends."

JmsA| 4.22.10 @ 1:08PM

Purpleturd, in case you wonder, verruckt means crazy.

Purpleguy| 4.20.10 @ 11:15PM

Liberty and Freedom, huh? Hey Einstein, check this out:
"Liberty: The condition of being physically and legally free from confinement, servitude, or forced labor. See synonyms at freedom." They are the same thing dittohead. "SYNONYMS freedom, liberty, license. These nouns refer to the power to act, speak, or think without externally imposed restraints." I guess if they're both lost, I'd be fricked.

Radegunda| 4.21.10 @ 1:27AM

Are you really unaware that words listed as synonyms in your dictionary are used in ways with different nuances?

Given the moronic level of your comments overall, it's clear that any intellectual subtlety would be completely beyond your grasp.

rmb| 4.22.10 @ 12:38PM

He's just a college kid using Alinsky tactics. I don't know why anyone is even bothering with him (or her).

Bydand76| 4.21.10 @ 6:01AM

"It is easy to take Liberty for granted when you have never had it taken away from you".-D Cheney.

Purple-douche illustrates this point magnificently.

Rodman| 4.22.10 @ 5:13PM

Ironic statement, coming from the reigning champion of Liberty infringements.

Seriously, did you all sleep through the epic overstepping of the Bush/Cheney monarchy? How can you seriously attack Obama based on all these myths and halucinations while ignoring, real, tangible infringements by the previous administration?

And, why can't any of you make a point without the obscene psuedonyms?

Jeanette| 4.24.10 @ 6:30AM

Why can't you, as a rather typical Obama supporter, make a point without comparing Obama to Bush? Easy to spot liberals, they hold relative values: this is not-as-bad-as, this-is-better-than.... Nothing to a liberal is right or wrong. They can't conceive of it. It's always comparisons -- so we end up with incremental corruption, which eventually reaches the core as the margins begin to crowd out the middle.

If you believe Cheney was wrong, does that automatically make Obama right? That's idiotic.

When either Cheney or Obama violates the US Constitution neither one is right; both are wrong. However, Cheney never worked so damn hard at going at the nation with a meat-axe, as is the Obama regime. But Cheney was more concerned with foreign affairs than with wrecking the USA from within.

Rodman| 4.30.10 @ 3:28AM

My position is not relativist. It is absolute. I am objecting to the relativism I see in this comment stream. Relativism that says it's OK when we do it but YOU'D better not. Relativism that allowed them to call blind obedience 'patriotism' while actual, concrete constitutional principles were being controverted by the previous administration then, suddenly, they wake up and want to be taken seriously when they parrot the TV and radio talking heads with their accusations of Obama's overstepping.

THAT is relativism. That I point it out makes me neither an Obama apologist NOR a Liberal. I'm an American REPULSED by the contradiction, duplicity and mendacity that defines Republicansim today.

If ANY of the real problems with health care reform had been brought up and addressed honestly and directly we just might have a better law in place. Instead we got a litany of fables and hallucinations from corporate apologists that became the stuff of protest placards and 1/2 hour weeping rants on Glen Beck. Reality? Nowhere to be seen.

What happened under Bush was a subjugation; a Congress so paralyzed by fear of seeming 'unpatriotic' that they refused to defend our rights, like patriots. What happened under Obama, was an abdication, a minority so mired in their electoral sour grapes that they refused to do their jobs; opting instead to become fable-tellers in an effort to convert their entire presence into a campaign stunt. We needed lawmakers, statesmen and thinkers - instead we had obstructionists, whiners and liars.

Now, they've picked up the mantle of the Constitution, the same one they tossed out the window in '02 when it became just a bit to dangerous to carry; and you call me Relativist for pointing it out?

You run a spin job on my statement though in arriving at your accusation. I did NOT say that because Cheney was wrong, Obama must be right. You read that into what I said so you could base your straw-man argument on a recasting of my actual comments.

I'm saying Cheney was wrong because what he did was wrong. Nothing relative about it. IT WAS WRONG. I'm saying also that to have ignored those wrongs and expect to be taken seriously in attacking Obama for offenses that are, at worst, faint shadows of those committed by Bush and Cheney, is hypocritical.

That's the price you pay. If you want to attack your enemy for violations of principle tomorrow, you'd better say something to your friend who violates that principle today.

JmsA| 4.22.10 @ 12:58AM

When the left criticizes, it's called patriotic. When the right does it, it's called sedition, treason, and radicalism. Isn't that what you mean in a manner of doublespeak, purpleturd? Don't worry, there's not need to be fricked; you're already toeing the party line according to the mandates of the current regime. Before I forget, 11/02/2010

Rodman| 4.22.10 @ 5:22PM

@ JmsA

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Do you remember the protests, the violence the nationwide boycott, the assasination threats against, of all people, a SINGER who happened to voice her opinion?

And you pretend now that the Right are victims of some double standard imposed by the left?

We come out of an era of militant, nationalist (semi-fascist) demonstrations in favor of one Administration in which opposition was equated to treason and into an era of militant, nationalist, semi-fascist demonstrations against the next administration in which support or even the refusal to be lied to is equated to treason;
and the perpetrators of both now want to be treated as victims?

Yes, of course 11/02/2010: The date that (if you have your way) the propagation of lies and threats against the majority changes from a patriotic virtue to a treasonous vice. I'll mark my calendar.

Mike Lee| 4.20.10 @ 11:57PM

Joe Klein and John Heilemann, and those who agree with them, should be mindful that the last time a dominant American political party attempted to limit the free speech of their political opposition that party was thrown out of office and soon ceased to exist.

From your mouth to God's ears.

Libertyman13| 4.22.10 @ 11:25AM

Hmmm, I think the last time that happened was about 3 or 4 years ago. The first part already happened. You guys keep it up, so will the second. :)

k962| 4.21.10 @ 6:12AM

The left is having a nervous breakdon. They do not believe in political dissent and they are frantically trying everything in the Alinsky playbook to stifle dissent. Now sedition? Gimme a break!

Purpleguy| 4.21.10 @ 8:17AM

Dissent is the American way - nothing wrong with that. Only when you cross from speech to acting out the rhetoric do you cross the line - and the law is there to stop you. Not Democratic or Republican - but American Law. So, scream and yell, support who you will, but do not act in unlawful ways. A healthy debate is a cleansing action, but remember neither side has ALL the answers. Have a nice day!

Oldefarte| 4.21.10 @ 11:47AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JamlN971AY

NavyBrat| 4.21.10 @ 12:54PM

Oldfarte, thank you so much for posting this video. Gee, that crowd couldn't POSSIBLY have had anything to do with Jindal's staffer getting beat up, could they? Naw, PERISH the thought.

carnot| 4.21.10 @ 9:08PM

so you object to the "passive resistance" that often transgressed the Law that the Left and various factional one issue groups (e.g., environmentalists) has practiced for decades?

great!

JmsA| 4.21.10 @ 11:49PM

"A healthy debate is a cleansing action, but remember neither side has ALL the answers."

If you'd only live up to your self-aggrandizing comments, not withstanding, of course, your sarcastic and puerile condescension, amply demonstrated by your ignorance, misunderstood historical facts, and sarcastically-laden reference to others as "stupid" "windbag," etc.

Aelfgyva| 4.21.10 @ 12:02PM

I worked many years as an alcohol/drug abuse counselor and I must say that the picture of Klein in the menu screams of liver disease. That is one helluva yellow tint to that skin, Joe.

Aelfgyva| 4.21.10 @ 12:02PM

I worked many years as an alcohol/drug abuse counselor and I must say that the picture of Klein in the menu screams of liver disease. That is one helluva yellow tint to that skin, Joe.

JeffT| 4.21.10 @ 2:41PM

Let's not forget the Unibomber, a devote of Algore and his loony beliefs on AGW, was driven to his evil deeds by Algore's words.

Yosemeti Sam| 4.21.10 @ 9:53PM

" ... Time columnist Joe Klein's words as
delivered on NBC's April 18 The Chris Matthews Show were not. He accused former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, along with Fox News host
Glenn Beck, of sedition. "I did a little bit of research just before this show -- it's on this little napkin here," said Klein. "I looked up the definition of sedition which is conduct or language inciting rebellion against the authority of the state ...."

Well then - Holmes Klein and your Leftoid
clique claque soul-mates in yellow journalism - I dare ya to ferret out where that Mao Zedong White House Christmas tree ornament is at!

Memo yourselves on napkins or palms - and start
scratching!

Don't overlook BHOs' erstwhile anti-American spiritual leader - Mr. Wright - for some seditional talking points insights while you're doing a little bit of research on that ornament. Multitask!

Libertyman13| 4.22.10 @ 11:22AM

It's funny, liberals say that a bunch of angry lunatics walking around with guns talking about objectively false beliefs, refusing to be reasoned with, are on the border of sedition...

Conservatives then say, even in these comments, that holding America to our own ideals is treason; lock up protestors in free speech zones; spy on our own citizens; lock up people indefinitely; invade privacy left and right; seek to pass constitutional amendments limiting free speech. Yep, its that terrible liberal tyranny you've got to worry about. Not conservative tyranny of police state and morality standards, its regulations on insurance so they can't drop you when you're sick! You'd be funny if your intellectual disconnects weren't so terrifying.

marcia j| 4.22.10 @ 12:41PM

That's why I'm a proud libertarian.

Rodman| 4.22.10 @ 5:34PM

Your speaking to puppets. When the strings move.... well, - puppets don't have 'intellectual disconncts'.

Mario G| 4.22.10 @ 2:36PM

When Rush says that liberals HAVE to lie about everything to avoid being run out of town, he is talking specifically of people like Joe Klein and Bill Clinton, the very personification of delusional. There is no sense arguing with these prevaricating morons; the only come-uppance that counts is to defeat them at the ballt box.

mac| 4.22.10 @ 2:51PM

This fool, purpleguy posting here is one unhinged character. Obviously an Obama minion tasked with defending his idol on message boards. All his talk about sedition, I wonder what he calls CNN's publicizing the method we were using to track Osama and resulted in losing him. And then there's Sandy Berger's incident at the National archives and the countless New York Times' incidents. Nah, his definition of sedition is disagreeing with Obama.

Rubicon| 4.22.10 @ 3:04PM

Nobody has advocated overthrow of the government. They have advocated overthrowing the current political party in power. That is NOT treason, that is political discourse, just as it was when Bush was president. It seems many think its OK to degrade, defame, & attack a conservative, but its never OK to do the same to a liberal. Bush wasn't really one of "US", he was a compassionate conservative. We call that a RINO, or Democrat light!
Why was it patriotic to protest Bush but some want to claim its treason to protest Obama?
And what's with the left trying to attach race to everything. Seems to me its an act of those desperate to make points because their positions are intellectually bankrupt!

MattZ| 4.22.10 @ 6:12PM

"I do not ordinarily listen to Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, or Rush Limbaugh, but from what I have read and heard none of them has advocated the violent overthrow of the government."

Of course not! Every time they do, they walk it back and have apologists all over the echo chamber to claim that terms like "reload" do not conjure up violent imagery whatsoever. And to believe that an unhinged Glenn Beck fan (okay, that's a bit redundant) shooting at a government building is beyond the realm of plausibilty is just a cop out, plain and simple.

Have you even heard the bile these hatemeisters spew on a daily basis?
Maybe not; this is the American Spectator, after all, so it probably flies by unnoticed.

MattZ| 4.22.10 @ 6:28PM

Oh, and today Glenn Beck "seriously" suggested that the Nazis (and by inference, progressives)would love today's technology since it can be used to spy on everybody and urged vigilance.

Obviously, this is too nonspecific to be considered a threat, but therein lies the mendacity. He's not *saying* that progressives are live Nazis and want to take away your god-given freedom and you should oppose them, but he's certainly not not saying it.
MZ

ONTIME| 4.23.10 @ 1:50AM

Like the creatue on Seasame St. the elite Deemer Party lives in a garbage can, if the lid is lifted a obnoxius odor escapes and it takes a long time to disapate into the fresh air....the smell is getting worse and lasting longer, put a lid on it and keep the deemers in the can.

Vic| 4.23.10 @ 2:19AM

Want to see hate? Go back to kos, and read the comments. Beck is a rank armature compared to that crowd.

Jeanette| 4.24.10 @ 6:19AM

Interesting... Talking to a friend recently who was a student during the 60's campus upheavals, and who gathered information about various groups for the FBI. He told me he spoke to one radical leader in Chicago in 1968, asked the leader what he planned to do with those who disagreed with him. The leader said, "We don't care if they disagree. We just want to shut them up."

Sound familiar?

Or as Stalin once said, "Ideas, like guns, are dangerous things. We don't let our people have guns. Why should we let them have ideas?"

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