Posted by
Mark B. on Saturday, May 24, 2008 11:28:41 PM
Though perhaps a better question would be - Are you a modern day Benedict Arnold?
Most everyone knows who Benedict Arnold was and, what he did that made his name synonymous with Treason. Though fortunately for us Arnold's scheme failed and, the British never gained control of the fort at West Point because as the vast majority of historians agree, this nation would have a distinctly different history from the one we know today if the plot had been successful.
That it was also Arnold, perhaps the best General under George Washington's command in the Continental Army, for whom the term "turncoat" was first coined is no mistake. The one time Continental Army's greatest Revolutionary War Hero earned the title after accepting a commission as Brigadier General in the British Army, trading his blue Continental Army uniform for the red uniform of the Brits, "turning coat" became the apt description of his actions. The phrase morphed into "turncoat" and to this day is as interchangeable for "traitor" as is the name Benedict Arnold.
What I fear most today is that there are many Benedict Arnolds walking openly amongst and, that each & every one of them could ultimately achieve what Arnold failed to accomplish through his Treasonous Master Plan. With enough traitors moving about freely in the country it is only a matter of time before they will bring the worlds greatest nation to its knees. So, I ask again. Are you a Benedict Arnold, a turncoat, traitor & Treasonous scum?
Think for a moment before you answer because everyones kneejerk response will obviously be - "No way! Not Me!"
BUT listed below are a few questions you should ask yourself before making the determination of whether or not you are and, if not do you at least have the potential of becoming a "modern day Benedict Arnold" under the right circumstances. Only truthful answers will give you honest results. So be true to yourself. You may not like the ultimate answer but at least you'll know the truth about yourself.
Though espionage is commonly thought of as an act of Treason.
Article 3, Section 3 of the Constitution describes it as such:
"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court."
Article 3 would seem to bolster the premise that indeed, espionage meets the criteria for Treason through it's assertion that Treason consists of "adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort" but even Julius & Ethel Rosenberg weren't charged with Treason and, were in fact charged, tried, convicted, and executed, for the crime of "conspiracy to commit espionage against the United States," becoming the first American civilians ever to be executed for espionage. But were they also guilty of Treason?
"Levying war against" the country would, to a reasonable person, seem to have been enough to charge Timothy McVeigh with Treason but the protection included in Article 3 - "No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court." - would have made it near impossible to convict him of Treason.
It was a much easier task for the prosecution to charge and convict McVeigh on multiple counts of Murder among other things. McVeigh's receiving the Death Penalty was the correct sentence regardless of which crime he was charged with but to call McVeigh a "domestic terrorist" and, not a Benedict Arnold, traitor or turncoat (ironicaly both were decorated military men - McVeigh was a Bronze Star recipient) is to miss the finer point. Thus the question remains - Despite the 'protections' afforded McVeigh under article 3, was the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building an act of Treason? Or was it just a case of "domestic terror"?
And what of Barack Obama's 'friends' William Ayers and his wife, Bernadette Dohrn? Or as Barak would call them, a married couple "from my neighborhood". In the 1970s (before they met Obama) both Ayers & Dohrn were members of the "Weather Underground", an anti-Vietnam War group that protested U.S. policies by bombing the Pentagon, U.S. Capitol and a string of other government buildings. Basically the same crime as Timothy McVeigh, though none of their attacks injured anyone (although the Weather Underground is linked to the deaths of at least 4 police officers in various cities killed during bank robberies performed by the group).
Once again, Article 3 states: "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort." Would the attacks on the United States government (and by extension you & me) meet the criteria laid out in the Constitution and be enough to charge by Ayers & Dohrn with treason?
We'll never know because Federal charges against the pair were dismissed when it was revealed evidence was obtained through "improper surveillance" techniques. Funny isn't it...the same government they were trying to bring down kept them from being sent to prison by guaranteeing their right to a fair trial. But the story of Ayers doesn't stop there. Bill Ayers has since become more brazen about his life as a "domestic terrorist" and has even written a book about those days (I'm sure he looks back fondly upon them as "the good old days"). In fact, far from being repentant Ayers, in an interview with the New York Times that ran on Sept. 11, 2001 (could there have been a worse case of timing), was quoted saying - "I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough."
Oddly enough I feel the same way...I feel WE the people didn't do enough to lock these enemies of the state up for a long, long time!
Domestic Terrorism can take many forms but to lable attacks on the United States government, its buildings, monuments and institutions "domestic terror" is to lose sight of the fact that some crimes commited against the country and, its people truly are acts of Treason.
Strangely enough Barak Hussein Obama's relationships with "iffy" people doesn't begin nor end with Mr and Mrs Bill Ayers. There is the well documented and, well publicized 'relationship' between Obama and his "iffy" if not "wacky" Pastor, the (ir)Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Wright (who in Barak's own words is or at least was FOR TWENTY YEARS his "spiritual advisor") who screamed loudly enough from his pulpit for the whole country to hear "G** D*** America! G** D*** America!!"
Wright sold videos of his sermons in which he accused the US government of all sorts of crimes perpetrated "against the black man". But none of what the Reverend, has said comes close to Treason. Even IF Jerry has gone over the line of seperation of church & state preaching Pro-Obama political rhetoric from the pulpit, 'cheating' on your taxes does not meet the standard necessary to be counted among the highest of High Crimes one can perpetrate against the country. So everyone can take a deep breath now, that is not where this essay is heading.
Though there is another example of a Barak supporter who may be guilty of Treason (is there a statute of limitation on Treason?) and, THAT supporter in Obama's own words is his campaigns "champion". Yes, the Benedict Arnold of the Obama inner circle is none other than the Senior Senator from Massachusetts, Edward "Ted" Kennedy!
During the 1980 Presidential Campaign Ted Kennedy initiated unsanctioned back-channel talks with Soviet Premier Uri Andropov. His 'offer' to Andropov was to appear on American TV on CBS' "60 Minutes" for the entire one hour of the show so's Uri could 'explain' to the American audience that Ronald Reagan was "more of a danger to world peace" than Andropov and the USSR was. The 'coup' came at a time when Teddy was also challenging Jimmy Carter, the sitting President from his own party who was running for re-election and, Ted thought the Dems would abandon Carter for him because of his obvious ability to talk to the communist leader
The incident, to my way of thinking, fits the definition of Treason, though it took a long time for the story to become public and the MSM never ran with it (surprised?). The result of course is that the (now ailing) Senator from Massachusetts has never been held to account for his actions.
So where does it begin and where does it end, this list of 'actionable' Treasonous crimes?
I would guess most people reading this, being politically astute, would know who Bill Richardson is and, are aware of what he did recently to draw the ire of Hillary and her supporters. But switching his allegiance, along with his important Super-Delegate Vote, from the Clinton For President camp to the Obama 'juggernaut', does not measure up to what is defined as Treason. It is certainly not a National Security issue and, despite what James Carville might have opined, I don't think it measures up as a tragedy on the Biblical level either. Governor Richardson may have brought to the mind of every member of Team Clinton either Benedict Arnold or in Carvilles case, Judas but let's face it, both references are just a lot of hyperbole.
The same can be said about Rush Limbaugh. When Democrats discuss Limbaugh's "Operation Chaos" they use terms like "un-American" to describe the conservative talk show host's urging his listeners to "switch party affiliation" for the primaries and "vote for Mrs Clinton" as a means to drag out the Democrat party's nominating process for as long as possible. Democrat voters in Michigan and Florida, two states that were being penalized by the DNC for moving their primaries to a date earlier than the DNC allowed and, had already "crossed over" to vote for the Republican candidate they thought would be the easiest to beat in November and, then had the nerve to brag about their actions probably also helped spur Limbaugh to do something to even the score.
But then the inevitable happened. In several states the Democrat State Committees & the DNC began threatening that they intended to "challenge voters" they believed were following Limbaugh's directive and, would prosecute those found to be doing so. Nothing came of the empty threats. There were scattered reports of voters who had indeed been challenged and, as a result were either 'forced' or 'asked' (depending on the storyteller) to sign a 'pledge of loyalty' to the Democrat Party. Talk about Un-American!
Short of a confession on the part of any voter who did take part in "Operation Chaos" I can't think of a way the Democrat challengers could prove how anyone actually voted. But it left me wondering - if an individuals secret ballot could be examined or traced to a particular voter would that act in and, of itself border on Treason? Deliberately circumventing or interfering in any way with a citizen's Constitutional guarantee of "freedom of choice" and, their "right to vote" strikes me as an assault on the Constitution itself and, that is about as harmful to US National Security as it gets. Is that Treason? Or is it just another example of domestic terrorism? Does it at least reach the threshold of a Capital Crime? Is it really a crime at all?
And now for those questions that will help you decide whether or not YOU are a modern day Benedict Arnold.
Are you a Conservative/Republican who will not vote for John McCain because -
A. You feel or have said - "Let the Dems screw things up so they can't blame us Republicans"?
B. You think the Dems can't make things so bad in four years the damage can't be repaired?
C. McCain is "not conservative enough" for you?
D. He has crossed the aisle too many times for your liking?
E. He co-sponsored McCain-Feingold?
F. He co-sponsored McCain-Kennedy aka the "comprehensive immigration reform bill"?
G. You feel the immigration bill is actually "McAmnasty"?
H. To you Sen.McCain is Sen."McShame" or "McLame" or some other derogatory variation?
I. You think after four years of Liberal Democrat rule, the voters of this country will come running back to the Republicans?
Are you a registered Republican who will not vote for John McCain because -
1.You are staying home on November 4 in protest?
2.You plan to vote for a Third Party candidate in protest?
3.You are voting for the Democrat to teach the RNC/GOP a lesson.
4.You want to feel superior to those that do.
Finally -
a. Are you willing to contribute to the victory of the presumptive Democrat nominee, Barak Hussein Obama, in the 2008 Presidential Election? Are you willing to risk the destruction of the country you profess to love so much by turning it over to this most dangerous of candidates we have encountered in at least OUR lifetimes & perhaps the Nations lifetime? Are you willing to tear asunder the Rights & Freedoms so many have died protecting and preserving for YOU?
If you answered YES to any one of the questions "A" through "I"
OR
Answered YES to either question 1, 2, 3 or 4
THEN
Your answer to question "a" must be YES.
In which case then you have more in common with Benedict Arnold than you do with...
George Washington, Abe Lincoln, Ronald Reagan or most any other great & patriotic American.
This is one of those rare times when words from the past echo through time, ringing more true now than when first spoken.
So keep in mind all you Benedict Arnold-types out there -
For evil to succeed, all it takes is for good men to do nothing!
W/O=