Contributed by: filbert Wednesday, August 24 2005 @ 07:18 AM CST
(2005-08-23) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez beefed up security at his residence and offices today after reports that Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson has issued a fatwa calling for the assassination of the South American communist dictator.
Venezuelan police have begun detaining and searching “clean cut, Bible-toting men in unfashionable clothing” as likely followers of the wealthy, charismatic religious personality. However, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) immediately lodged a protest with the Venezuelan government over the “profiling” of ‘700 Club’ devotees by security forces.
Mr. Robertson is revered among his fanatical TV viewers, who each year contribute millions of dollars to advance his so-called “ministry,” as much as he’s feared by the teams of U.S. journalists who track his movements and record his remarks.
The Pentagon immediately denied that Mr. Robertson’s name had previously appeared on any Defense Department “watch list,” but a spokesman discouraged news networks from airing video of the Robertson fatwa announcement, fearing his remarks might contain coded instructions for Christian cell groups around the world.
Perhaps instead of multiculturally patting radical Islamic mullahs on the head at their death-filled tirades, we should respond to them with the same derision that Robertson is rightfully receiving.