A topic of greater significance than anonymous jerks

is this one, the story of the release of the last "9-11 detainee." Benemar Benatta, a former Lieutenant in the Algerian Air Force, spent nearly five years of his life imprisoned by our government when the most they could charge him with was carrying false identification--a charge that was later dropped. Last week, the U.S. government finally released this man from custody, despite knowing since November 2001 that he lacked any link to terrorism. Here is a short version of this man's story:

The last detainee's odyssey began Sept. 5, 2001, when, after overstaying a six-month visa, he crossed the border near Buffalo to seek asylum in Canada. After the Sept. 11 attacks, his background as a Muslim man with flight experience prompted Canadian officials to turn him over to U.S. authorities.

He spent the next six months in solitary confinement in a federal jail in Brooklyn.

Though the FBI concluded he had no links to terrorism, he was eventually charged with carrying false identification — a case that was dropped after a federal magistrate found his right to due process had been violated.

The magistrate wrote in a 2003 decision that Benatta had been "undeniably deprived of his liberty," and "held in custody under harsh conditions which can be said to be oppressive."

Despite the ruling, immigration officials kept him in custody in Buffalo while he appealed a deportation order and renewed his quest for asylum based on a claim that, as a military deserter, he would tortured or killed if he returned to Algeria.

This inexcusable atrocity seems contrary to Our Esteemed President's commentary on the value of human life:

I also believe human life is a sacred gift from our Creator. I worry about a culture that devalues life, and believe as your President I have an important obligation to foster and encourage respect for life in America and throughout the world.

Apparently, President Bush's Creator doesn't place as high a value of the lives of adults who are not born in the United States.