Pat Robertson's still around? And people pay attention to him? He's so...1985, but bad 1985.

I don't know in which context Robertson's words were used, but I don't think advocating murder is protected under the first amendment.
It's not that far of a stretch to suggest that what Robertson did is no different than, say, an iman in Saudi Arabia calling for the assassination of George Bush.

Freedom of speech does not cover death threats... Send the bastard to Gitmo

Saudi Arabia doesn't have freedom of speech. Neither do most other countries. But we do.

It wasn't a death threat, Robertson didn't say he's going to be taking a shot at Chavez.

Should the protestors who have signs saying 'we support our troops when they shoot their officers' or scream death to Bush be punished as well?

I think that we either have freedom of speech in this country, or we don't have freedom of speech in this country. We have decided to have it. Accordingly, we can't cry and get sensitive when Pat Robertson says something that a lot us don't agree with. It is his right to do so. In fact, the whole point of freedom is that we have the right to be wrong.

Karol - Try saying the same thing about our President. You would be jailed instantly.

DL - It's about context. If you were attending a rally for the president and shouted "Death to Bush!", then I would hope the secret service would instantly grab you and put you in jail. But after you were searched and a background check completed, I suspect you'd be released after they discovered you weren't actually a threat. If you were to make the same statement in the press and it was clear that you were not actually encouraging anyone to kill the president (as appears to be the case for the remarkably stupid Robertson), then your fear of being jalied is misplaced.

When Americans debate whether to go to war or not, we are implicitly debating whether people should be killed. If that kind of political speech is protected in this republic, why should it be illegal to call for the death of a foreign despot?

What the F Karol,

Total incorrect use of the expression duuuude! That is what you say when someone drops a bong, Not when a pyschotic fundamentalist christian says lets abandon the teachings of Christ and assasinate a world leader. He sounds exactly like a mullah in Iran calling for the head of your beloved GW. So please in the future do not apply my dudeisms in matters of such blatant hipocracy. Second I can't believe your not bashing his staements more. Yeah I don't like Chavez either, but in my opinion Robertson is just as bad as a muslim cleric that wants Salmond Rushdie dead. Lets be honest no matter what VP Rangel said it still sounds more intelligent than what Robertson said.(remember he is supposed to be a minister of Christ)

Yeah, there he was, on his 700 Club set, calling for the state sponsored death (by gov't operative) of President Chavez....so I sent 'ol Pat an e-mail on the Club's site. Funny, because he sounds like Bush by using the phrase "Bring it on!" when he asks if you'd like to send him a question. So I did...

I asked Pat how, as a declared Christian, he could actually call for assassinating Chavez when every bible school child learns from day one that God says "Thou shall not kill". I advised Pat to go back and read the bible (among other things - one piece did concern a part of his anatomy.) As I was typing b-i-b-l-e and the video from today's show was playing, I heard Pat mention the bible when it came to comparing today's terrorists to the bad boys of so long ago...and how "we can keep killing them and killing them, but their determination is as fierce and wild as those who opposed Jesus."

Kinda like you Pat, wouldn't ya say?

The world would be a better place if Chavez was dead.
The debate is how he should die.

See, I guess the thing is that I agree with Jake and with Pat on Chavez. Like I wrote in the post, the people of Venezuela will be starving just like the people of Cuba and North Korea. It is Communism's legacy.

And, before the Iraq war began, who was against taking out Saddam?

As for the Christian argument, I can't imagine that it's not better to kill one person who would otherwise kill thousands.

So, the thing that makes Pat's comments really dumb is his position and his influence.

Kill Chavez? No, no, no. That would just prove him right and make him a martyr. What does need to happen to Chavez? Humiliation. We could rig a soccer match having Venezuela lose and frame Chavez for it. We could link Chavez to Micheal Jackson. The possibilities are limited only by imagination and budget, whichever dries up first.

Freedom of speech: good.

Pat Robertson: bad.

Hugo Chavez: bad.

(Except when he says FU to the DEA!)

And, in the US, the media and government call religious extremists "stupid" and "irresponsible" (Norm Coleman's words, I believe).

In Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and "Palestine", they wouldn't dare.