Posted on 02/13/2007 5:43:31 AM PST by SJackson
Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hanged.
— President Abraham Lincoln
It is, of course, unimaginable that the penalties proposed by one of our most admired presidents for the crime of dividing America in the face of the enemy would be contemplated — let alone applied — today.
Still, as the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate engage in interminable debate about resolutions whose effects can only be to "damage morale and undermine the military" while emboldening our enemies, it is time to reflect on what constitutes inappropriate behavior in time of war.
Scarcely anyone seems to consider the conduct of the Congress inappropriate, to say nothing of a hanging offense. As various sitting members, whose day jobs increasingly are those of presidential candidates, jockey to outbid one another in their defeatism, the talk is not about whether such behavior is appropriate in time of war — or consistent with the national interest.
(Excerpt) Read more at jewishworldreview.com ...
You are right, in that Kerry, Kennedy and other could be prosecuted under this statue, but for one thing.
We do not as a nation agree what the "enemy" is. Now most on this site have a good idea of who and what that enemy is, but sadly most people in the US will not admit it. Heck, a large portion believe that the Enemy is Bush, Christians, and Rush Limbaugh in no specific order.
So, until and unless we have a legally declared war (meaning an actual declaration of war from Congress), "Treason" can not be defined, much less prosecuted.
I notice how "THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX" was just a 'catch' phrase of the moment post 911. The common wisdom is now exactly what it was pre 911. Don't disagree, don't offer alternative views, go along, get along, and don't make waves because if you do, you will be considered a manipulative, underhanded war monger!!
While all that may be true, he was still right about the media.
Treason can be easily defined. It is making war on the U.S., or aiding those who do, in an overt act that can be testifed to by two people. Whomever the U.S. has declared war on is moot; "enemy" is defined by the actions of those who wage war on us. There are only three questions at issue. 1) Was there an overt attack or attempt to damage or injure the United States? 2) Was a citizen of the U.S. involved in the attack directly, or in direct, overt aide and/or support? 3) Are there at least two witnesses or a confession?
The will to prosecute traitors is a different question. The answer to that is obviously no, or Hanoi Jane would have been serving time instead of videotaping exercise programs.
Filthy treasonous demoRAT bump.
"While all that may be true, he was still right about the media."
I suppose you would prefer the kind that answers to the gov't?
I can't stand the MSM but it's better than what Hugo Chavez has control of in his country.
The supposed quote in question is not a quote at all, and I never intended it to be construed as one. It was my lead sentence in the article that a copy editor mistakenly turned into a quote by incorrectly inserting quotation marks.
It was Waller, in The Washington Times’ Insight Magazine, urging that anti-war Congressmen be hanged—not Abraham Lincoln.
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