Finally

[blacknblue]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jQWb ... gD91KITN00

...The Justice Department concedes that Parhat never fought against the U.S. and says it has no evidence he was planning to do so. The case hinges on Parhat's connection to the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a militant group that demands separation from China. Parhat says he considers China, not the United States, the enemy.

The U.S. says it has classified intelligence that ETIM is affiliated with al-Qaida, though officials have not identified the source of that intelligence. The judges said there's credible evidence that the source is the Chinese government, "which may be less than objective with respect to the Uighurs."...

The guy sat there for six years, without trial and without a lawyer. His crime? He fled to Afghamistan out of western China in order to escape communism. And he is Muslim. And the communist Chinese government classifies his ethnic group as a bunch of terrorists because they want freedom, and George Bush wanted to kiss China's ass at that time so he could invade people and not have China breathing down his neck.

"Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just..."

Thomas Jefferson (he has been on my mind a lot lately)

[enterprikayak]

scary

[Elessar]

Thomas Jefferson is my idol. He understood the American democracy better than anyone, particularly better than the Americans since he designed it. He understood its history, its self-deception, its truth.

[justTripn]

Thomas Jefferson was a big hypocrite (that quote is about slavery), but he had a way with words--probably much enhanced by his guilty conscience. Yes, I love Thomas Jefferson too, and HE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN HAPPY ABOUT THIS ONE.

BTW, Thomas Jefferson may have done the most to secure our RELIGIOUS freedom, including the freedom not to have any religion at all. He was the author of a Virginia statue of religious freedom that became a model for the U.S.

He was both President and Vice President but this is what he had them put on his tombstone:

Author of the Declaration of American Independence and of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom and Father of the University of Virginia

He was VERY concerned about individual freedoms, at least in theory

[Linda]

Yeah, in theory...because he never did acknowledge his African American mistress or even consider marrying her, as far as I have heard.

[Distracted]

Didn't he even have kids by her?

[Elessar]

Didn't he even have kids by her?

That's the question. Pretty big one. I think there are some African Americans in the present claiming to be his descendent that say 'yes', but I've never heard there be a definitive answer on the subject.

[justTripn]

It's definitive! DNA proves it.

[blacknblue]

DNA proves that it was either Thomas Jefferson of one of his close relatives. Circumstantial evidence indicates that it was him.

He could not have married her, it was illegal in those days I believe. nor could he have freed her, since VA law at that time required a freed slave to immediately leave the state. She was freed at his death by his white daughter, the only child he had by his (dead) wife, who was the half sister of his mulatto mistress.

The children of his mistress were permitted to escape without hindrance, reportedly a unique privilege reserved for them alone.

Thomas Jefferson wrote a lot about his quandary regarding slavery. He hated it, but many of hsi slaves were inherited. What was he going to do with them? Most of them were neither trained nor, in his opinion, tough enough to make their own way in the world. If he turned them loose odss were that they would either be killed, or robbed, or kidnapped and sold back into slavery to a master that would abuse them. He felt responsible for them and did not believe that they were capable of taking care fo themselves.

Remember that Jefferson was a man of his time and just as much of prisoner of his childhood conditioning as any of us. He hated slavery, but he was at a loss on how to get rid of it without leaving the helpless, illiterate, untrained slaves twisting in the wind.

[Linda]

Thanks for the info, Bnb. Sounds like you did a bit of research on Jefferson and the world he lived in! Guess we can't judge people by the ethics of today. But I saw a small part of a documentary on his descendants and they didn't seem too forthcoming about admitting their heritage. Is it considered a shameful thing to them? Anyone see that documentary in full? Why aren't they getting more recognition for their high profile ancestor?