Guntersville, Alabama
July, 2008

Lure_1.jpg

I live near Lake Guntersville and I spend a fair amount of time around it and I've always gotten a kick out of these huge lure representations around this park. There are several in the park, but this is the only one I've stopped to photograph. I guess I'll have to spend some more time there and amass a collection of photographs of all of the lures!

September 1, 2010

Success In Iraq? ::

It would seem that the majority opinion is no:

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Now let's see how what a fine mess we can make of Afghanistan!

Posted by fdeaton at 5:19 AM | TrackBack (0)

August 16, 2010

"The Curious Case Of Alex Latifi" ::

The above is the title of an article that is posted online at the web site of The ABA Journal.

Two days after Big Bob Chick­­en Day and three days before Christmas 2003, the U.S. Department of Defense sent Axion Corp. owner Alex Latifi a frantic request. U.S. troops in Iraq were rolling into battle in underequipped Humvees. Huntsville, Ala.-based Axion had a contract to build Hum­vee ma­chine-gun mounts. The deadline was weeks away, but Defense needed them now.

Axion’s 61 workers met some grueling deadlines that December. Latifi treated them to juicy chicken and fluffy lemon pie from Big Bob Gibson’s joint. He offered overtime, a $100 bonus and a turkey to anyone willing to work Christmas.

“Our fighting men and women are in danger,” Latifi, a naturalized American citizen born in Iran, told workers. “Do it for your country.”

Everyone volunteered.

“He’s the best boss any of us ever had,” former Axion employee Connie Kidd says. “We’d work on Christmas, even without poultry.”

Just five months later, federal investigators raided Axion and Latifi was caught in a four-year investigation involving the Army Criminal Investigation Command, FBI, Im­migration and Customs Enforce­ment, NASA, a hazmat team, IRS, Ala­bama Bureau of Investigation and U.S. postal inspectors. The U.S. Department of Justice sent lawyers from its National Security Division to help U.S. Attorney Alice Martin prosecute Latifi on charges that a report he filed was falsified and a drawing of a Black Hawk helicopter part he sent to China was classified.

I don't remember just how I came across this article, but Alex Latifi has been in the news lately because the US government, without admitting any wrong doing, has agreed to pay Latifi $290K for his legal expenses in what, without a doubt, was a political prosecution.

Preparing for trial, Latifi’s lawyers were stunned by the first entry in the lead investigator’s official notebook. “It said Latifi was a Democrat and gave $30,000 to a Demo­cratic politician’s charity for abused children,” says Jim Barger, an associate at Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz.

The trial was potholed with crazy. The government’s key informant was a fired company secretary convicted of stealing from Axion and forging Latifi’s signature. She said on the witness stand she sabotaged Axion records. The judge excluded a top government fraud attorney from court for bizarre conduct. The drawing at issue was marked both “unclassified” and “uncontrolled.” China owns Black Hawk helicopters and can examine the part anytime it wants.

After a seven-day October 2007 trial, Latifi was acquitted of all charges. But his business is gone.

I was at a talk given by writer and lawyer Scott Horton about 3 years ago on the topic of corruption in the Bush justice department and Alex Latifi happened to be there and spoke passionately about the wrongful prosecution of himself and the subsequent loss of his company. Thankfully he has restarted the company and is slowly rebuilding it.

Go read the entire article--I found it to be fascinating in its unfolding of the corrupt prosecution, and persecution, of an innocent man who was engaged in building crucial military hardware while significantly lowering the cost of these parts.

Posted by fdeaton at 4:43 AM | TrackBack (0)

August 12, 2010

A CNN Poll ::

The Crazies are trying to take over:

CNN_08_11_10.jpg

They're showing their real love for the U.S. Constitution!

Posted by fdeaton at 5:03 AM | TrackBack (0)

August 7, 2010

Lewis Black On Glen Beck ::

Posted by fdeaton at 10:40 PM | TrackBack (0)

July 30, 2010

A New CNN Poll ::

I think that this will be the actual result of the upcoming elections:

CNN_07_29.jpg

In fact, I'm hoping that the repubs will see a loss of seats!

Posted by fdeaton at 5:06 AM | TrackBack (0)

July 18, 2010

The Republican Plan ::

For cutting the deficit:

They have no plan! Neither do they have any constructive ideas! They're more than content to be the party of no!

Time to put the repubs in the unemployment line.

Posted by fdeaton at 1:23 PM | TrackBack (0)

July 10, 2010

Sarah Palin With Bill O'Reilly ::

So sadly bereft of intelligence!

Posted by fdeaton at 9:36 PM | TrackBack (0)

July 9, 2010

Two Dudes And A WebCam--The WaPo Edition ::

Too funny:

But it does highlight just how low The Washington Post has sunk!

Posted by fdeaton at 9:01 PM | TrackBack (0)

A Videographer's Experience On The Gulf Coast ::

Not terribly surprising given some of the other experiences we've heard of:

Posted by fdeaton at 8:40 PM | TrackBack (0)

June 28, 2010

McChrystal To Retire ::

McChrystal today announced his intention to retire. The manly thing to have done would have been to take off his uniform within a hour of meeting with his commander-in-chief! Not only that, but he should have lost at least one star due to his rank insubordination!

Posted by fdeaton at 8:19 PM | TrackBack (0)
Search


Investigate the crimes of the Bush administration
Thankfully The Shrub has slithered off to Texas to see what he can screw up there! Now is the time for investigations even if no charges are brought in the United States. Investigations of the crimes committed by this administration can realistically provide a basis for war crimes charges by foreign governments. Let's do it now!
HOW MANY HAVE DIED IN IRAQ?
Icasualties has the answer for the American deaths, but there is no mention of the American wounded. And what of the Iraqi deaths since the beginning of this war? Compassionate conservatism my ass!
Viewing The International Space Station Flying Over
The Human SpaceFlight web site from the Johnson Space Center has the fly-by information for your area. I check it often and regularly watch the ISS fly by. I have seen the Space Station go by followed by Space Shuttle Atlantis. It's actually pretty cool although all you are seeing is a bright light flying at 17,500 mph across the night sky. When the Station is fully completed it should be visible during the day.
Currently Reading
"In old days books were written
by men of letters and read by the
public. Nowadays books are written
by the public and read by nobody."
Oscar Wilde


"Oblivion" by David Foster Wallace
"Sanctuary" by William Faulkner
"No Country For Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy
"Go Down, Moses" by William Faulkner
"The Plague" by Albert Camus (a reread)
"Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" by James Agee and Walker Evans
"Armed Madhouse" by Greg Palast
"The Fall" by Albert Camus
"The Last Gentleman" by Dr. Walker Percy
"Resistance, Rebellion, and Death" by Albert Camus
"Being And Nothingness" by Jean-Paul Sartre
Photographs
So, let's add some stuff here:
The Grandchildren
January 27, 2007 antiwar protest
Roadside Monuments
Odds and ends
flags
cemeteries
This is my link to all of the Flickr photographs!
My Flikr account should be expiring in the next few days and I don't think that I am going to renew it, but I will be adding photographs primarily grouped by subject matter.
Recent Entries
Alabama Political News
The elections of 2008 are over in Alabama and some small strides were taken. Now is the time to hold our local politician's feet to the fire!
Alabama Democratic Party
Doc's Political Parlor
Greg Warren For Congress
Highway 431
Left In Alabama
Michael Dockery
Peace Takes Courage
The Locust Fork Journal
web sites I follow!
about (if anyone cares)

fred_sampson.jpg


Samson and me
(that's me on the right!)
Gastonia, N.C.
September 8, 2008

Age :: older than dirt :: 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 (sigh)!
Employed :: gainfully :: space industry
Pets :: One Chow/Australian Shepard mix
You can e-mail me at:: taggedimage (at) yahoo (dot) com (I have other e-mail addresses which would be easier, but I get several hundred thousands of spams/day on them and could possibly would probably miss your message)
FASCISM!
"a philosophy of government that stresses the primacy and glory of the state ... obedience to its leader, subordination of the individual will to the state's authority ... suppression of dissent. martial virtues are celebrated, while liberal democratic values are denigrated ... led by charismatic leaders who represented to their publics the strength that could rescue their nation from political and economic conditions." - merriam-webster's collegiate encyclopedia. Sounds familiar doesn't it?
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