Robertson vs. Chavez Firestorm Just Won't Go Away

As an update to my August 24th post on evangelist Pat Robertson's comments about President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela I wanted to point my readers to two very good blog authors writing on this subject (and lot's of other good stuff). Boz of Bloggings by Boz stopped by to say thanks for a comment I left at his place yesterday. Boz specializes on Latin America and Foregin Policy issues and he provides very good analysis. Please read his informative post on the Robertson vs. Chavez debate titled "Run away from Robertson".

Boz's post was also featured over at the new TPMCafe: The Coffeehouse blog in the Top Readers section (No decaf, please). Don't miss the TPMCafe's special guest blogger retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark who will be blogging LIVE starting August 29th, 2005 at the Tabel for One section. Nice blog they have there, real nice, and they are using a very cool open-source community publishing software named SCOOP.

Boz points us to an award-winning blog named Venezuelan News and Views. Daniel, a Venezuelan national and author of this blog, has written a fine post titled "A Tale of Two Preachers". This blog has many useful links to other blogs and websites focused on Venezuela and Latin America, so do have a look around Daniel's place. Are these guys listed over at Global Voices Online? They certainly should be.

In my previous post on Robertson vs. Chavez I raised the question (tongue-in-cheek) about the legality of calling for the assassination of a foreign leader while standing on U.S. soil. You can do this openly in many other countries (I hear it all the time here in Germany, all the time) but you have to kinda watch that kind of thing back home. John Dean, former Counsel to the President of the United States (remember Richard Nixon?) writing for FindLaw.com's FindLaw's Writ thinks that Marion "Pat" Robertson may have done just that: broken U.S. Federal laws. Here is an excerpt of what Mr. Dean had to say about all of this in his article titled:

Was Pat Robertson's Call for the Assassination of a Foreign Leader a Crime? Had he been a Democrat, he'd probably be hiring a Criminal Attorney.

"From the moment I heard Robertson's remark, on the radio, I thought of the federal criminal statutes prohibiting such threats. Do they apply?

For me, the answer is yes. Indeed, had these comments been made by a Dan Rather, a Bill Moyers, or Jesse Jackson, it is not difficult to imagine some conservative prosecutor taking a passing look at these laws - as, say, Pat Robertson might read them -- and saying, "Let's prosecute." ...read more

I also went back today to review the streaming video of Pat Robertson's TV Blooper as featured on the Media Matters website on August 22nd and noticed a related article about the Fox News Channel TV broadcast Hannity & Colmes on the subject which aired August 25th. According to an interview conducted with former CIA operative Wayne Simmons calling for the assassination of foreign leaders may be reaching the EPIDEMIC STAGE back home! Here is an excerpt from that interview on Fox's Hannity & Colmes show. Tonto, let's go to the videotape of the August 24th edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes please:

HANNITY: But first, Pat Robertson caused a bit of a media firestorm this week when he advocated, some say, the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Now Pat Robertson apologized for those remarks today, but who is Hugo Chavez? Is he a threat to the United States that must be dealt with?

[...]

ALAN COLMES (co-host): Should we assassinate him?

SIMMONS: Well, listen, if a stray bullet from a hunter in Kentucky should find its way between these guy's -- this guy's eyes --

COLMES: Just by accident?

SIMMONS: -- no American --

COLMES: Who knew?

SIMMONS: Yes, who knew? No American should lose any sleep over it.

This guy Simmons worked for the Feds as a CIA operative?? You can't be serious! Oder? What was his field of expertise? Whacking foreign leaders and deer hunting?

Religion Politics Pat Robertson