Chelsea Manning Punished For Outdated Toothpaste

Chelsea Manning, who, as Bradley Manning shared to the world the video taken by an American helicopter as its gunners casually shot reporters and who exposed a lot more of the illegal shenanigans that had been going on, and who is now in jail, is being punished for having outdated toothpaste.

It's a medical misuse of toothpaste, they say.  Because it's a pain-control toothpaste, therefore medical. It all makes sense.

This writer has not just one, but two of these toothpaste tubes in his medicine cabinet, gifts from the dentist. Both are several years old. The risk of interdiction by the forces of law and order for the crime of allowing these tubes to become outdated seems slim.

Disuse is not misuse. An easy mistake, though, for simple minds to make. 


Manning did also bump some dishes onto the floor. That was perhaps an error of judgement. But the toothpaste, the toothpaste! 

She was not allowed to have her lawyer present. The prosecutors were trying for long-term solitary for her, but she was given several weeks suspension of recreational and library privileges.

Long-term solitary for outdated toothpaste. What if they had succeeded?