I am no legal scholar. Yet it is clear, a Seditious Conspiracy has been undertaken with the result of Treason, and this most heinous act has been perpetrated under color of authority.

To begin - Cornell University indicates current law regarding Seditious Conspiracy is as follows:

18 USC § 2384 - Seditious conspiracy

If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

Cornell University also indicates current law regarding Treason is as follows:

18 USC § 2381 - Treason

Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.

As to the history of Sedition: an examination of the various acts passed by Congress:

1. Sedition Act - approved by Congress July 14, 1798 aims at a conspiracy of ideas incorporated into speech with the intent to oppose the federal government, to scandalize or to cause it to fall into disrepute. This act was allowed to expire in 1801.

2. Sedition Act of 1918, as Representative Percy Quin (D-MS) made clear was also about speech. It was, in essence, a prohibition against lies that hindered U.S. intervention in France at the close of World War One. Wiki indicates that major news media favored this measure - and that despite their own dependence on the principle of Free Speech. It was repealed December 13, 1920.

   • Prosecution under this act, appealed to the Supreme Court, gave rise to the term in a dissenting opinion, coined by Oliver Holmes, which may be paraphrased as: free trade in the market place of ideas which holds that if debate is transparent and reason unfettered, then lies cannot stand and therefore there is no need of any government restriction.

3. Other legislative efforts have been undertaken, to include acts by Congress in 1940, and 2007. Current law, as I understand it, is as stated under 18 USC § 2384.

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It must be acknowledged at the outset that the Principle of Free Speech, as it is enshrined in the United States Constitution, is vital to any properly functioning democracy and must be upheld. Toward that end, let us review the first of our civil liberties:

The First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

That is our First Amendment. Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech. From this we may infer that while we are indeed free to threaten the assassination of our elected officials, we are also free to accept responsibility for such acts, whether we will or no. Against this there is no debate that I am aware of, and I know of no argument that might be put forth contrary to the established practice. And so we may say without reservation, that those who exercise free speech in a manner that is a clear threat to the functioning of our government, or the exercise of the will of the people, may face consequence.

The current shutdown of the federal government by a minority faction in one house of Congress would, we have repeatedly been assured, end, today, were the matter of financing the federal budget brought to a vote. The speaker of the house, Rep. John Boehner, (r) Ohio, has refused. From Bloomberg to CBS the reports are the same. Congress has the votes to pass the budget but the matter will not be brought to a vote.

The Speaker's abdication of responsibility is not without consequence. Adverse impacts on public health in the matter of disease tracking by the CDC; troop morale, U.S. intelligence, are just three of the consequences that may be shown. It is clear that no credible argument may be put forth positing these effects as beneficial. And yet, in this current climate, it would not be surprising to find just such an argument put forth.

In the forum post This Is What Class Warfare Looks Like it is shown that this present government shutdown is the result of long term planning, and that it has been inspired by wealthy interests who have employed think tanks and other means to engage in debate that is not transparent, to lie with conviction and so persuade the public on the basis of fabrication and deceit.

This current shutdown is but the last in a series of incidents, any one of which can be said to meet the definition of Sedition, and they include:

• Personal attacks on the President
• Inciting violence against duly elected representatives to Congress

SEDITION

to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States,

With the force of LIES and the threat of violence from the hands of madmen, the authority of the United States Government has been opposed, the execution of our laws has been hindered and delayed, the consequences have been grave and stand as a threat to our pubic health and national security.

And this does not take into account the threat, which has been uttered, of default on the national debt - which itself, as remarkable as it must seem, may even be shown to be profitable, while further and significantly degrading our national security.

Clearly the sum of such facts does stand as comfort in the eyes of our enemies, and provides material aid in the form of degraded troop moral, degraded intelligence gathering capability, shuttered defense contractors, and so on.

The current government shutdown is no more than a manufactured crisis designed to benefit a select few at the expense of the entire nation, and as such meets the criteria of both Sedition and Treason -

under the latter it stands as an offense punishable by hanging.

If the federal government is so consumed by paralysis as a result of this long term conspiracy that it cannot respond to crime of this nature that does stand as a clear and present danger to the nation, then the public has little choice but to take matters into their own hands. The Public must seek extreme notoriety, in the hunt for those responsible.