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. ‒ U.S. Constitution, Art. III, Sec. 3
Jerk: A contemptibly foolish person. – Oxford English Dictionary
Treason is the only crime defined in the Constitution. The Framers wanted to be sure that persons who merely opposed the current government could never be charged with treason, as had happened in England. For example, even during the height of the Cold War, when Americans gave atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, they were charged with espionage, not treason, because there was no declared war.
Throwing around charges of “treason” is both despicable and dangerous. Still, if leftists insist on using “traitor” as a synonym for “we hate you,” do they not realize that this charge may boomerang back on them? Stretching this terrible accusation the way leftists do, conservatives could throw it on some prominent people.
Former CIA director John Brennan, who has made himself a claque for the Democratic Party, accused President Trump of “treason” for the Helsinki meeting with Putin. Exactly what the “treason” consisted of Brennan did not say. But as a young man, Brennan voted for Communist Gus Hall for president. Oddly, this did not prevent Brennan from being hired by the CIA, or even eventually from becoming its director. What does this say about the security procedures of the CIA?
And what does it say about the colossal arrogance of a man who voted for a candidate advocating the violent overthrow of our government, but who now has the gall to accuse President Trump of “treason”? Self-awareness? Humility? Integrity? No, those qualities are so “yesterday,” so old-fashioned, so obsolete. Hyper-partisan hyperbole and over-the-top accusations are much more up-to-date.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters is among the most strident critics of President Trump. Recently supporters congregated outside her Los Angeles office, armed with baseball bats and pipes, to combat anti-Waters demonstrators ‒ who never appeared. Frustrated, they burned an American flag.
But what flag was flown by the Union Army that won the Civil War and thereby ended slavery? What flag was flown by the 101st Airborne sent by President Eisenhower to desegregate Central High School in Little Rock? What flag was flown by U.S. Marshals who escorted the little black girl to school in New Orleans? Yes, that flag, the flag the anti-American demonstrators burned. Gratitude? Who needs gratitude? They’re leftists, which entitles them to be angry and resentful everywhere to everyone.
Then we have former presidential hopeful and lifelong socialist Senator Bernie Sanders. Bernie chose the Soviet Union as the locale for his honeymoon, and displayed a Soviet flag in his office for a decade. The same Democrats who now accuse President Trump of “collusion” with Russia had only good things to say about unreconstructed Marxist Bernie. If these people didn’t have double standards, they wouldn’t have any standards at all.
Remember then-President Obama bowing obsequiously to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, and to Emperor Akihito of Japan? Obama was both chief of state (equivalent to a king) and head of government (equivalent to a prime minister). As such, he should have greeted foreign leaders with respect, but as equals − which they are, according to official protocol.
And remember Obama’s affectionate handshake with the late, unlamented, unreformed Marxist Hugo Chavez of Venezuela?
While not as disgraceful as bowing, this warm greeting of an anti-American enemy of freedom symbolized Obama’s world view: Be submissive to those who show us hostility, but be hostile to those who have a record of being our friends.
And what about Senator Ted Kennedy, who proposed to Yuri Andropov, former head of the KGB and then boss of the Soviet Union, that Kennedy help Andropov deal with newly elected President Reagan, in return for which Andropov would help the Democrats defeat Reagan in the next election? Ted is no longer with us, but former Secretary of State John Kerry is. After leaving office, he traveled to Iran to advise them how to evade the restrictions imposed by newly elected President Trump. How can people who said nothing about these two examples of collusion on steroids dare to accuse Trump of anything?
To top things off, remember when then-President Obama met with Russian President Medvedev, who was acting as a place-holder until Putin could run again? Remember when Obama, unaware that the microphone was still live, put his hand on Medvedev’s knee, and told him to assure “Vladimir” [Putin] that Obama could be more “flexible” after Obama was reelected?
Collusion? Who needs collusion, when you can have overt collaboration? But did anyone, even the staunchest conservative, accuse Obama of “treason”? No? Why not? Perhaps it is because conservatives take patriotism more seriously, so they take accusations of treason more seriously as well. And perhaps it is also because conservatives still believe in civil discourse, on which a free nation depends.
But what do we do with traitors? We kill them. Perhaps that explains the upsurge in images of Trump being beheaded. Those who spew vile insults are sowing the wind. If they don’t moderate their over-the-top rhetoric, we will all reap the whirlwind. Let us tone down the violent words before they provoke real violence.
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