Art Therapy

OldSouth loves art. No doubt about it.

But our dear Federal Government, whilst spending kajillions of dollars on the War on Terror, decided that they could release hardened murderers from Gitmo, turn them over to the Saudis, and the Saudis could rehabilitate them by enrolling them in art classes.  This would allow them to 'express themselves' with crayons, exorcise their inner demons, and return to a normal civilian life.  Maybe they could even become florists or interior designers.  The possibilities are endless!

Or...

Maybe, just maybe, this was a bad idea?

In November of 2007, one of four al-Qaeda leaders associated with the Northwest Airlines Flight 253 terrorist plot, Guantánamo prisoner #372 Said Ali al-Shihri was released from prison into the custody of Saudi government officials. In an endearing effort to reform militant jihadis, the Saudis enrolled the convicted terrorist in a psychological and religious program emphasizing art therapy. 


Now, if you travel here, you have to take off your shoes, be searched head to toe,  have a body scan. If you're an eight-year-old whose name mistakenly appears on a watch list, you get frisked everytime you travel. If you're a murdering terrorist, you get released, and go to art therapy class. Then you head back to Yemen to work on murdering more civilians.

If you live outside the US, OldSouth suggests you consider carefully your plans for travel here. Is it worth the risk, knowing these facts?

Much finger-pointing has taken place since December 25, but nothing of substance has changed.

If you live outside the US, and wonder why the voters of Massachusetts voted overwhelmingly for the Republican candidate, consider this:  The same morons who set up our airport security system demand the right to take over the entire health care system of this nation. They encourage Wall Street to crush Main Street, and have overseen the creation of near 20% unemployement and the ballooning of a welfare state that cannot be afforded.

Multiply the Art Therapy idiocy by several hundred similar events, and you get an idea of the frustration that has built here.  Flight 253 was saved by the passengers acting heroically, and officials of the Federal Government turned the terrorist over to local Detroit authorities, who promptly informed him of his rights, obtained him an attorney, and forever foreclosed the possibility of obtaining needed intelligence that might save lives later on.

Oh, well.  Maybe he'll mend his ways in Art Therapy, when he is released back to Yemen after acquittal.