[dpwiener]

It is against federal law NOT to report a threat against a Federal official.

I strongly doubt that there is any legal obligation to report a threat if the attack is not expected to take place. If someone says "I'm so angry at my Congressman that I'd like to kill him" do you have to report that "threat"? Perhaps you do if you think the person will actually carry out the threat, but not if you believe he won't. In the latter case both his and your First Amendment rights would be violated by such a legal requirement.

If you can point me to this mythical federal law which really requires all "threats" to be reported, I'll concede I'm wrong. I don't believe that such a law exists. Any federal law you can find regarding threats to federal officials is certain to be limited and circumscribed. Because if it did exist in the form you describe, it would long ago have been ruled unconstitutional.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

You are likely correct about the legal points. Then there is the ethical side. Someone in that group did later commit a political assassination. It was low level, a superintendent of schools I think it was. Kerry might have been able to prevent that. And, as I said before, Kerry also made a public joke about assassinating Dan Quail. That was back in the late 80s or early 90s. There you have it. Kerry is clearly an immoral person with a jaded sense of humor and pent up frustrations that would make him a danger to anyone who crossed him if he had executive power. This is also backed up by his temper tantrums. Hitler had a comparable temper. Anger is ok if one knows how to vent it properly. Making public assassination jokes about a vice president is not a good way to vent anger.

[cyncooper]

Look, the proposal was put to a vote.

It was not some hothead proposing it and getting shouted down or reviled. The group changed their meeting place three times to avoid surveillance in order to discuss and take the vote.

And Camil (who came up with the idea) has been invited to join the Kerry campaign.

Also Kerry lied for years about not being there. It's not like the meeting was dreamed up by right-wingers. It was discussed in books and such with always the point being stressed Kerry was no longer a member and so on, and then lo and behold, that was false.

I'm all for going after Kerry on "the issues", but I most certainly find this topic fascinating and intend to discuss it.