VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson called on Monday for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, calling him a “terrific danger” to the United States.

Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition of America and a former presidential candidate, said on “The 700 Club” it was the United States’ duty to stop Chavez from making Venezuela a “launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism.”

Chavez has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of President Bush, accusing the United States of conspiring to topple his government and possibly backing plots to assassinate him. U.S. officials have called the accusations ridiculous.

“You know, I don’t know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it,” Robertson said. “It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war ... and I don’t think any oil shipments will stop.”

Electronic pages and a message to a Robertson spokeswoman were not immediately returned Monday evening."

BTW, have you noticed that, with the exception of Norway, wherever you find oil, you'll find Islamic fundamentalists? Strange coincidence, don't you think?

He and his ilk are going to get too heady with their churchianity and voters will begin to isolate them just as the Mikey Moore dopes are being isolated now.

Human nature.....the masses reject the asses.

BK

It may be more to the point that wherever you find oil, you also find poverty and rampant greed.

But as long as it serves the interests of the conservative religious right, then it has God's "blessing".

I would really like to see who thinks Jesus would advocate assasination?

Jesus said to "turn the other cheek". Hmmm, that makes Jesus sounds so "liberal" doesn't it? Wierd huh?

John 2:5?-10?

And Simon spake, "It is elegantly bodied with a fruity nose, Lord, and I detecteth a hint of cherry with chocolate overtones and a mushroomy finish."
Jesus smiled and looked upon Mary Magdalene. "Come let us partake of this wine," spaketh the Lord, "and as the night groweth darker, I shall showeth thee my etchings."
Josiah heard Jesus' words and his heart was hardened against him. "Have this harlot," Josiah spaketh, "Thou art not the first. Seven times seventy and seven men have known her. She shalt surely mock thy puny centurion"
The Lord rose in righteous anger and using his knowledge of gymkata, smote Josiah by tearing his heart from his chest. The Lord's swiftness was great and Josiah saw his heart beating in Jesus' hand before his spirit had departed him.
Mary spake, "Show me thine etchings now, Lord."
Jesus smiled.

Yeah, those Islamic fundamentalists are all over Canada and Mexico, the two largest oil suppliers to the U.S.

-- Modified on 8/24/2005 1:17:22 AM

Link doesn't work story attached...

Pat Robertson's fatwa

OUR OPINION: IRRESPONSIBLE WORDS SHOULD BE RETRACTED, CONDEMNED

Televangelist Pat Robertson handed President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela a huge and politically useful gift this week. In a regular program of the Christian Broadcasting Network's The 700 Club, Mr. Robertson fed one of the wilder fantasies of the Andean demagogue by declaring that Mr. Chávez deserves to be killed. This amazing and utterly irresponsible statement should be retracted at once. The State Department called it ''inappropriate,'' but surely it deserves stronger condemnation than that.

For months, Mr. Chávez has been spreading the pernicious tale that the United States has marked him for assassination, a fantasy eagerly accepted by his more gullible supporters. This big lie burnishes the president's image as a self-styled David taking on the U.S. Goliath and promotes his populist, anti-American agenda. Trouble is, there wasn't a shred of evidence to support this delusion.

Enter Mr. Robertson: ''You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it,'' he said. ``We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability.''

Was Mr. Robertson consciously imitating John Gotti? Or was he merely stealing a page from the Iranian mullahs who once issued a fatwa against the writer Salman Rushdie? Either way, this gangster rhetoric has no place in a public forum, particularly when it comes from someone purporting to exemplify religious virtue.

Mr. Robertson's views do not reflect U.S. policy at any level, but they no doubt will be seized by Mr. Chávez to show that he isn't as crazy as he sounds. You're not paranoid if they really are out to get you.

The Federal Communications Commission should find this wretched episode of interest, as well. If Janet Jackson's ''wardrobe malfunction'' merits a $550,000 fine, what about an open appeal to commit murder?


-- Modified on 8/24/2005 4:34:14 PM

Hey, Jerry..When that televangelist gig dries up give me a ring...LOL

Reep't of Brotherly Love:Robertson calls for assassination of Chavez

Must have turned him down on some business proposition...not like Liberia, I guess..

Hey it's fun and easy to beat up on the loathsome Rev Pat robertson.  Too easy, in fact.

Why not try a really hard target?  Remind Ariel Sharon re "thou shall not kill."  After all, that little bit of advice makes its first appearance in the Old Testament.  The same book Sharon and company parse so exactingly to rationalize Israeli overlordship on the West Bank and over the hapless Palestinians.

How about "Thou shall not make cruel and unnecessary sport of defenseless targets."?

By advocating this course of action are you not in fact, on an intellectual level, doing to Robertson the very thing you decry when you criticize his words re Hufgo Chavez?

Or are you in the mode of Swift's A Modest Proposal...?

To remedy Robertson's call for violence with a call for similar violence solves nothing however good it feels emotionally [and it does feel good to be sure].

By your logic are you not also being a terrorist?  And is someone like Ralph Read entitled to write similar things about you?

I would GUARANTEE a visit from the FBI if you or I made the statement regarding President Bush in any public forum.

See attached link.

from the right when he said that. Second, Hugo Chavez is the democratically elected president of Venezuela, Hussein was not democratically elected to anything. I thought the Bush Administration was trying to promote democracy. I guess not.
Third, Stephanopolous was no longer Press Secretary when he wrote that, and considering his criticisms of Clinton once he left his post, I really don't think he held much influence.
Finally, I don't understand your point. Are you saying that Robertson was wrong and Stephanopolous was wrong too?