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Judge Orders Release of Ex-Marine Detained Over Facebook Posts
Penurious Penguin writes "A few days ago, news of an ex-marine detained for his Facebook posts reached far and wide throughout the interweb. It was a hotly debated affair and considered from many perspectives. Today, a judge has ordered the release of Brandon Raub, citing a lack of facts regarding the detention. It's a strange case, undoubtedly, but perhaps even stranger when taking into account a few things. For example, Raub reportedly made claims that one of the psychiatrists involved in the case threatened him with forced medication. For history polymaths, government proposals of forced medication may not be a surprise; you may remember the case of Susan Lindauer. The situation may also remind of 2009, when Fusion Centers targeted Ron Paul supporters, certain universities, and conspiracy theorists as threats to national security, even logging anti death-penalty and anti-war activists into federal terrorism databases. Personally, I find myself wondering what sorts of epic dangers someone like Noam Chomsky might seem to pose after a stressful day and a few beers, if overheard by certain departments."
I don't know if this guy was ever a real threat to anyone or not, but he certainly isn't some super-patriot or free speech hero. He's mentally ill, and really does need help (even if you can't force it). The guy seriously believes that George W. Bush is living in a secret castle in Colorado where he rapes and sacrifices children. He also believes that Bush not only planned 9-11, but serves a world shadow government who also seem to spend most of their time raping and sacrificing children (when they're not planning world domination, I guess).
Whatever you think of the free speech issues involved, please don't celebrate this dude. He's very sick and needs help.
What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
A polymath in a specific subject?
More troops are coming home. A lot of them spent a lot of time overseas, and despite the intense media spin that says otherwise, we did some really messed up shit over there.
We took bright-eyed young people raised in an age of hope and peace and dropped them in to the middle of a secratarian human rights mess and forced them to watch the destruction of countless families and lives first hand.. And often by actions of their own hands.
Now that they're home we don't need them anymore, and we'll tell them to suck it up and deal with it. We're sorry you had to watch your buddies get blown up by a roadside bomb. We're sorry you had to watch some child bleed out and die in your arms. We just don't want to pay for the costs of treating your trauma.
He should have an offer of the very best help possible, paid for by the same people who paid for him being a marine.
I'm not so sure that he should be forced into treatment until and unless he causes harm, not just talk. That opens up for Kafkanesque abuse.
When I worked at Disney, a fellow I worked with was a retired police officer. He referred to himself as an "ex-cop". A musician I met once named Dwayne Mahoney also referred to himself as an "ex-cop", he had resigned his police job in New York to seek fame in California (he did later).
"Ex" simply refers to "used to be". As in "I used to be married to my ex-wife".
A little checking finds no dictionary definition (except the urban dictionary, which isn't a real dictionar in my eyes), ask.com says "No such thing. Once a Marine, always a Marine."
The US marine birthplace memorial web site says
So one doesn't have to be fired from the police force to be an ex-cop, you can split peacefully from your ex-wife (it happens sometimes), but you can't be an ex-marine.
Did the X-Men all get sex change operations?
Free Martian Whores!
I present to you, a person who goes by the nickname "lexsird", who thinks that the solution to these kinds of problems is to compell members of the military, eligible to muster out honorably, to participate in forced manual labor for the "greater good", because "lexsird" wants a North/South American highway system, wants to rebuild the infrastructure in the US, and thinks that forced labor is the way to go.
Sure, sure, we'll pay 'em well, and it's for their own good, after all - Hell, ain't no kinda mental problem can't be fixed by some good, old-fashioned manual labor! And, if'n they get outta line? Well, we gots lotsa ways to deal with that, too!
You ARE correct in stating that the highway infrastructure in the US needs rebuilding, and since you seem so concerned about it? Rather than volunteer others for it, why not volunteer yourself? Oh, yeah, that's right - manual labor isn't for the likes of you, right?
Goddamn right! Fuck the veterans!
That's the only thing in your post with which I agree. However, that something isn't roads, it's their lives. THEIR lives, on THEIR terms. Your complete lack of empathy, your cookie-cutter approach to what is an enormously complex and difficult issue, one which you've proven by your words that you've never experienced, tells me that you're clueless, at best.
Yes, that's exactly what advanced civilizations do: Public works using forced labor comprised of miltary veterans returned from the battlefield after serving their country honorably. Yup, that's exactly correct.
So, what do you do for an encore? Forced sterilization of people with physical or mental defects?
Sorry, but I am not interested in your ideas, nor do I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
Regards,
dj