Enemy of the State

I saw a picture this week that just won't go away. It was taken to show the "security" measures being used to transport an American citizen, in an American military confinement facility, on American soil.



His vision and hearing were both restricted with darkened googles and earphones. Everytime he left his cell. Every time. It didn't matter whether he was leaving the facility or not. Every time he left his cell, he had these devices placed on him. In essence, his solitary confinement followed him everywhere.

He is of course, Jose Padilla. Arrested in 2002, on charges of attempting to enter the U.S. in order to detonate a 'dirty bomb'. He was held in solitary confinement and was subject to psycological torture, until earlier this year, when he was finally charged and moved to Florida. He was cleared of any conspiracy or involvement in the 'dirty bomb' conspiracy, and charged with different terror related conspiracy charges. With the new charges, I've read that the total time he could spend in prison wouldn't be more than 15 years.

Which, if you're Jose Padilla, wouldn't sound too bad. Considering. The only problem now is his lawyers are claiming the years in solitary and the mental abuse he endured have greatly affected his ability to tell who is on his side, much less help in his own defense.

I would just like you to remember, he is an American citizen, arrested on American soil, held in solitary for almost 4 years on a complaint that was proven false.

The New American Justice.

Pictures by a friend

I was recently in contact with an old friend, on YahooIM, who had joined the military and ended up in San Jose,CA. Tonight I asked if he had any photos, meaning of him, but he sent me a link of some pictures he had taken around the San Francisco area awhile back. After clearing it up and getting a couple of recent pics of him, I spent some time looking at his other pictures.

Here is a picture taken at the Japanese Tea Garden in the Golden Gate Park:














The angle of the Sun (midmorning/late afternoon?) really makes this a nice study in contrasts.

My other favorite from his picture page is one of the Golden Gate Bridge, taken from the Southwest.















There is so much in this photo. The clouds, the wide expanse of beach, the surf, the bridge itself. These pictures are really best seen in a larger format.

Please feel free to visit HERE to see these and more of Jasons pictures.

Little girls rant

Found this over at Freethought Weekly, and it reminded of something I have been kicking around in my head.


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Of course it's obvious this isn't ad-lib, but still...

A break from the madness

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The Inland North
The South
The West
The Northeast
Philadelphia
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

After all the crap that has been going on, I took a break from blogging till after the mid-term elections. I'm back now, and thought I'd restart with a fun little quiz. As suspected, I really don't have an accent. I attribute this to the fact I'm an Army brat, never really living in one area too long to acquire the local twang.

I saw this on The Uncredible Hallq, and had to share it.

"We've never been 'stay the course'"

George Stephanopoulos was talking about James Bakers strategy for Iraq, and whether or not it would be something in between 'cut and run' and 'stay the course'. Here is our Residents response...and the proof that he just lied to America.

Why do atheists care about religion?

Interview