The "T" Word.

Treason, noun: the crime of betraying one's country, especially by attempting to kill the sovereign or overthrow the government.

Collectivist Jay Michaelson rends his garments, gnashes his teeth and wails, "Did The Four Dissenting Justices In Gay Marriage Case Just Suggest Treason?"

In other words, the majority is arrogant, unrestrained, and thus not to be respected. It has an “extravagant conception of judicial supremacy.” “Those who founded our country would not recognize the majority’s conception of the judicial role.” And “The Court’s accumulation of power does not occur in a vacuum. It comes at the expense of the people. And they know it.” Why not just tell the Religious Right to buy pitchforks and blowtorches?

"Pitchforks and blowtorches?" Pitchforks and torches, perhaps. These are the hallmarks of peasant mobs. But blowtorches? Of course, blowtorches are often used by the secret police agencies of collectivist dictatorships as interrogation tools, so perhaps he's just falling back on the familiar.

Count De Monet - Sir, the peasants are revolting!

King Louis - You said it. They stink on ice.

-- History of the World, Part One.

But, I don't think we need a Supreme Court justice to tell us to buy pitchforks and torches, if that's what he means. Besides, that's so 16th Century (although he betrays himself with this insulting allusion to the religious folks of this country as peasantry). Today's peasants are more likely to use .30-06 deer rifles with much greater direct effect upon the tyrants' continued access to oxygen. Nor do we need anyone to tell us that this past week's events constitute the dictionary definition of treason to the Founders' Republic.

Of course the Founders, who were themselves considered traitors by the King for mere "treasonable utterances," were very careful to limit the meaning of the term in the Constitution:

The Treason Clause traces its roots back to an English statute enacted during the reign of Edward III (1327–1377). This statute prohibited levying war against the king, adhering to his enemies, or contemplating his death. Although this law defined treason to include disloyal and subversive thoughts, it effectively circumscribed the crime as it existed under the Common Law. During the thirteenth century, the crime of treason encompassed virtually every act contrary to the king's will and became a political tool of the Crown. Building on the tradition begun by Edward III, the Founding Fathers carefully delineated the crime of treason in Article III of the U.S. Constitution, narrowly defining its elements and setting forth stringent evidentiary requirements.

Under Article III, Section 3, of the Constitution, any person who levies war against the United States or adheres to its enemies by giving them Aid and Comfort has committed treason within the meaning of the Constitution. The term aid and comfort refers to any act that manifests a betrayal of allegiance to the United States, such as furnishing enemies with arms, troops, transportation, shelter, or classified information. If a subversive act has any tendency to weaken the power of the United States to attack or resist its enemies, aid and comfort has been given.

The Treason Clause applies only to disloyal acts committed during times of war. Acts of dis-loyalty during peacetime are not considered treasonous under the Constitution. Nor do acts of Espionage committed on behalf of an ally constitute treason. For example, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of espionage, in 1951, for helping the Soviet Union steal atomic secrets from the United States during World War II. The Rosenbergs were not tried for treason because the United States and the Soviet Union were allies during World War II.

Under Article III a person can levy war against the United States without the use of arms, weapons, or military equipment. Persons who play only a peripheral role in a conspiracy to levy war are still considered traitors under the Constitution if an armed rebellion against the United States results. (Emphasis supplied, MBV) -- Free Legal Dictionary.

This definition has not stopped the collectivists from calling US traitors and demanding we be punished for simple free speech. See: "GOP Tea Party Traitors to the Constitution Must Be Prosecuted to the Fullest Extent of the Law" and "Robert Reich to Tea Party: Americans Don't Like Traitors to Our System of Government" and Tea Party Traitors. I have been personally labeled as a "traitor to his country" by collectivists of all stripes from communists to Nazis over the past 20 years. I am, I suppose, a traitor to THEIR country, but not to the Founders' Republic. The same cannot be said of them.

Which brings me back to that definition of Constitutional treason above: "Persons who play only a peripheral role in a conspiracy to levy war are still considered traitors under the Constitution if an armed rebellion against the United States results." There is no doubt that our collectivist enemies are engaged in a conspiracy to overthrow the Constitution and the rule of law it codifies. As I have said and written many times, the Founders would declare them to be domestic enemies of the Constitution. It is they who are the revolutionaries in rebellion against the Founders' Republic. And there is no doubt that they seek, by force of arms if necessary, to accomplish their purpose. It is perhaps ironic that they have, by their successful, infinitely patient sedition, achieved control over the government's arms to work their conspiracy upon the liberty, property and lives of the people. I'm not sure the Founders expected that when they crafted the Constitution but it is nonetheless true.

So, who are the "traitors," them or us? That will be decided by the outcome of the civil war they seek to start.