Chad "PowderFreeper" Castagana, domestic terrorist: should he be held indefinitely?

[johnfunk]

For those of you catching up on the delicious story of FReeper Chad's adventures in mailing powder-laced envelopes to elected Democrats and celebs, read this, then this, then http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2006/11/the-castagana-correspondence-right-what-you-know.php">this.

Should Castagana be held indefinitely, without legal representation?

Should he be shipped to Guantànamo?

... face a military tribunal?

... and the death sentence?

... would he get a firing squad, or would he be a "hanging Chad"?

(rim shot) Sorry, couldn't resist that last one.

Seriously... With the major case of mass cognitive dissonance that Chaddie's arrest is causing over at Free Republic, exploding Freepheads and all,

it begs the question: "Should Castagana be held indefinitely?"

[Coventina]

1. No, he deserves his human rights just like everyone else.

He deserves a fair and speedy trial, with defense provided by the people, if he can't afford it himself.

He deserves humane conditions during his incarceration both before and after conviction (should he be found guilty).

Giving "the bad guys" fair and humane treatment is not a statement about their crimes, but a statement about who we are, and what sort of society we choose to be.

Maybe the FReepers will learn something from this.

Not likely, but hope springs eternal......

[johnfunk]

4. My point exactly!

Look at how anti-rights and pro-authoritarian Free Republic is. That has been their tone and position for years. And now one of their own is exposed as a terrorist. not a mock-terrorist or a fake terrorist, but a terrorist. period. End of sentence.

He does deserve his rights.

(But I guarantee I'll give major props to the FIRST person to post a "hanging Chad" comment at Free Republic.)

[TheSubliminableKid]

2. Here's another question:

Most of the freeper tribe are trying to downplay Chad's longtime participation in the forum, not to mention his posts gloating over his achievements. Some of them, however, are coming to realize that one of their own has made a major, freepin' stupid blunder.

Will any Freepers suddenly have a habeas corpus epiphany, or will their overheated heads, unable to contain the clashing concepts, simply...

[NoSheep]

8. omg....who's that losing his head there in your sigline?

[TheSubliminableKid]

9. It's actually not in my sig line

I've seen the graphic used to depict your average Freeper head exploding after a preponderance of facts causes said head to reach critical mass.

I believe it's a looped set of frame grabs from David Cronenberg's mid-70s sci-fi horror flick "Scanners." Talk about your Excedrin headche...

[johnfunk]

10. The exploding FReepi also bears more than a passing resemblance...

... to Free Republic cult leader Jim Robinson.

[TheSubliminableKid]

11. Photoshop fun with JimRob -- another evergreen

In honor of their quarterly Scamathon:



A thing of beauty, a joy forever, and enough to trigger "Freeper Cranial Detonation Syndrome."

[MidwestTransplant]

13. He wants to do away with SS for others but I'll bet he collects it.

BTW its Rim Job not Jim Rob!

[sniffa]

3. it depends.... is he white?

[bugbones]

5. Definitely hold this guy indefinitely

And throw in all the "right-to-life" extremists who commit acts of domestic terrorism several hundred times a year...like that freak who drove his car into the the women's clinic and tried to blow it up only to find out the clinic didn't offer abortion services. It happened in October, I think.

[newyawker99]

16. Hi bugbones!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[bugbones]

21. Thanks

Long-time lurker and just plain infrequent poster because I'm more active on some other message boards (and I'm at work most of the time).

[Texasgal]

6. No, Of course not.

Just because he is a freeper and did something incredibly stupid doesn't mean he doesn't have any rights.

[treestar]

12. I agree, though the point needs to be loudly and well made

That the freepers believed he had NO rights and they weren't worried about that for themselves, since they have "nothing to hide."

[bowens43]

7. Absolutely not.

Everyone should be able to challenge their detention in court.

[gratuitous]

14. Well gee, let's analyze this

{Turns on the Gonzaleztron 3000 with Yooperdrive attachment. Gizmo whirs to life, with an impressive array of flashing lights, boops and beeps.}

Now, in the "24" style scenario so favored by the likes of our Attorney General and his ideological fellow traveler John Yoo, we would be betraying the safety and security of every American citizen if we didn't use every means at our disposal in combating terrorism.

That said, Mr. Castagana hasn't actually committed an overt act of terrorism, just an irresponsibly stupid act. However, applying the Rumsfeld unknown unknowns postulate, there's no way to know for sure whether Mr. Castagana is truly a terrorist or not. Hmmmm. It's a tough nut to crack.

But, since the safety and security of every American citizen is indisputably at stake, and because there is a 1% chance that Mr. Castagana is not just some deluded underachiever bitter at his own failures in life, but may in fact be a major terrorist, can we really, truly take the chance? I mean, if we simply point and laugh at Mr. Castagana as he deserves and later he actually makes good on a real terrorist act, would we have failed to protect the American people, which is our first and highest priority, according to numerous pronouncements by Mr. Bush, which raises it to the level of indisputable fact?

There is no way to be really, truly sure without holding him indefinitely, without charge or access to counsel, and unless we torture him, no way we can really, truly sure whether he's a harmless nut or the worst person since Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein put together. Sorry Mr. Castagana, but you will have to submit to the very policies you and your ideological soulmates so enthusiastically endorsed. See you on the other side. If you survive, that is. The immutable law of the Goose and Gander Principle must be upheld.

[johnfunk]

15. And if you don't agree...

... you have a Pre-Goose and Pre-Gander Mindset, dammit!!

[pitohui]

28. sorry he committed an overt act of terrorism

i don't get that argument, the man committed a crime in order to achieve political ends, that is the very definition of terrorism

sending letters to people, claiming they are anthrax, is an act of terror and it is deliberately meant to terrify, there is no other purpose to such letters

he picked political and media targets, he didn't send fake anthrax to britney spears because she married kfed, he is not an erotomaniac or suffering from some other mental illness that compelled him to stalk keith o.

he is, in fact, a terrorist who picked his targets very deliberately to shut them up because otherwise they would have to concerned about putting their staff at risk, even if they were willing to risk themselves -- decent people (remember tom daschle?) are very susceptible to such ploys, it's hard to be courageous with somebody else's life

no, the good ole hanging chad isn't atta or mcveigh but most terrorists are chickenshit, that's why they attack innocent civilians by cover of darkness, they are by definition cowards throwing temper tantrums because they can't get their way legally

you said: Mr. Castagana hasn't actually committed an overt act of terrorism, just an irresponsibly stupid act.

[Zhade]

17. Nope - unlike him, we believe in the rule of law and justice.

NT!

[AlCzervik]

18. he should be a fair trial if he has one and how many more threats from freepers

until the government labels them as a "Terrorists organization"?

[johnfunk]

24. It may take a while...

... but with Dems in charge, that'll close the spigot on judicial extremists likely to overturn terrorist convictions of Freepers.

[flying_monkeys]

19. I read they didn't give him bail.....

He's definitely a bit *off* but heck, even murderers with ties to their community are offered bail.... Maybe very high bail, but they get the chance to post bail....


That said, I hope he gets a fair trial. And a full psych work up....

[johnfunk]

22. OTOH, that's what he gets for messing with America's Newsman...

I would've used a different finger...

[Squeech]

20. Yup

But give him a complete collection of Star Trek on DVD and all the Cheetos he can eat, and he'll never even notice.

[johnfunk]

23. Star Trek? Heck, no!

Give him the complete collection of...

... after all, it WAS the finest news program FOX ever broadcast!

[nadinbrzezinski]

25. Day in court

he is innocent until proven guilty.

Mind you freepards would not and will not ever understand that

[BrotherBuzz]

26. Back in my days, the court gave a choice of jail or the Army to punks

This ass is under 41 years of age - SEND his ass to IRAQ and assign him to an IED disposal unit, PRONTO!

[pitohui]

27. he deserves a full public trial like anybody else

all the better to laugh our asses off at him, from what i heard, they caught him red-handed dropping a powdered letter in the usa mails

and i would love to hear him explain himself to the other men at the prison, many of whom have actually used real weapons in face to face combat, yeah, i'm a wussy who anonymously mailed powder to people i didn't like, fake powder

i am no friend to the anthrax mailers and anthrax hoaxes, they cost me a fortune in shipping costs and killed a part-time retail business i had

a death sentence is over the top for this fake, but certainly a custodial sentence is required, considering the economic effects -- millions of dollars just for chad's acts alone and billions total in costs dealing w. anthrax mailers and hoaxers

[leeroysphitz]

29. Of course not. This is America.

[hsher]

30. Yes: indefinitely

He's caused pain for a lot of people. I only wish the FBI and the online community had been as quick to dig up the background of, and stop, the person who stalked me.

Guess we can't all be important celebrities. :grr:

[madrchsod]

31. no

we will see if the feds have the guts to use the laws against an american racist republican....