More on the Military Commissions Act

This time Glenn Greenwald weighs in with more commentary. Sorry if I keep harping on this, but I feel it’s a very important issue.

Eliminating all risk of the Terrorist Threat is what matters, and nothing else can stand in its way. Hence, torture, indefinite detention, warrantless eavesdropping — the whole array of authoritarian powers sought by this administration — are justified because none of the abstract principles and values that are destroyed by vesting such powers matter when placed next to the scary prospect that The Terrorists will kill us. That is the precise opposite of the American ethos, but — as the President’s remarks this week illustrate, appropriately voiced when our country legalized torture and indefinite detention — it is the predominant mindset under which the country is being governed.

God damned motorcycles

On Tuesday I rode the K bike to work. When I got home and opened the garage door I noticed a 6 inch puddle of oil on the floor where the K bike had been parked. (Why didn’t I see it when I left in the morning? Too sleepy I guess.)

Whisky-Tango-Foxtrot?

I looked at the bottom of the bike and sure enough there is oil leaking from somewhere. I haven’t pulled the cowling off yet, so I don’t know where the leak is, but it’s definitely leaking. Bah. I sure hope the rear main seal hasn’t decided to leak again. That’s a surperb pain in the ass to fix.

Yesterday I took a bunch of sheetrock scraps to the dump in the van. This meant that I could then put the seats back into the van. One of the seats had been leaning against the hack.

Now that the hack is unearthed, I can start riding it again. So last night I gave it a pre-flight check. The front tire was low. Really low. Almost flat.

Damn it!

I filled it up, hoping that it was just a slow leak. It had been parked for a couple of weeks after all.

This morning I got all suited up and went out to the garage. I checked the front tire on the hack: 26 PSI! Double-damn! From 38 PSI to 26 PSI overnight is not a slow leak.

I went back into the house and took off the riding gear.

Then I drove the damned van to work.

Olbermann on The Death of Habeus Corpus

Over at Crooks and Liars they have the video of Keith Olbermann’s special commentary on the signing of the Military Commissions Act and the loss of Habeas Corpus.

And if you somehow think Habeas Corpus has not been suspended for American citizens but only for everybody else, ask yourself this: If you are pulled off the street tomorrow, and they call you an alien or an undocumented immigrant or an “unlawful enemy combatant” — exactly how are you going to convince them to give you a court hearing to prove you are not? Do you think this Attorney General is going to help you?

This President now has his blank check.

He lied to get it.

He lied as he received it.

Is there any reason to even hope, he has not lied about how he intends to use it, nor who he intends to use it against?

Watch the video.

Habeus Corpus Died Yesterday

(Updated below)

Yesterday completely changed the Legal and Political landscape in America.

Yesterday President Bush signed a bill into law that effectively killed the writ of Habeus Corpus and turned him into King George.

Sadly Habeus Corpus went out with a whimper, not a bang. No one seems to care that this bill takes away some of Americans essential rights – the right to know what crime you are being accused of and the right to a speedy trial.

With this law King George can now imprison anyone he feels like, American or not, for any reason and any period of time. All King George has to do is declare you an “enemy combatant” and he can toss you into Guantanamo and throw away the key.

This bill also says to the world “America is a country that approves torture.”

I am shamed by my government. And very, very scared.

Keith Olbermann did a piece on his Countdown last night about it. He had Jonathan Turley, a professor of Constitutional Law, on to talk about it.

Turley: “People have no idea how significant this is. Really a time of shame this is for the American system.—The strange thing is that we have become sort of constitutional couch potatoes. The Congress just gave the President despotic powers and you could hear the yawn across the country as people turned to Dancing With the Stars. It’s otherworldly..People clearly don’t realize what a fundamental change it is about who we are as a country. What happened today changed us. And I’m not too sure we’re gonna change back anytime soon.”

You can watch the video over on Crooks and Liars. I suggest you do.

I also suggest you vote Democratic in November to try and slow down this hemorrhaging of our Constitutional rights.

I am currently reading Glenn Greenwald’s book How Would A Patriot Act? Defending American Values from a President Run Amok and am becoming more and more disgusted by the actions of King George and his cabinet.

Between King George grabbing absolute power above the law, Congress letting him – hell, helping him, and the Judicial Branch telling him it is allowed within the Constiution (it’s not) and the Religious Right and their attempts to legislate their version of morality and stuff it down everybody else’s throat, I am becoming very scared for my country.

We are heading down not just one, but many slippery slopes and I fear it’s going to be a very long, slow climb back up, if we even get a chance to start back up at all.

And I feel powerless to affect it in any way. Sure, I can vote Democratic, and I will be doing so, but the Democrats are not that much better, and even if Congress wakes up and starts reigning in King George, it’s going to be very hard to undo the damage that has already been done.

Updated: Glenn Greenwald has a link to the actual bill (pdf) that King George signed yesterday, so you don’t have to take my word for what it says. If you don’t believe that it actually takes away the writ of habeus corpus, go read the bill.

You might also be interested in reading Glenn’s posting about the fact that Fox News is lying to it’s viewers about what this bill contains.

Another reason I would be going to hell

If there was such a place.

According to The Register, the Reformed Church of God has decided that blogging is un-Christian.

The Internet—and more specifically blogs—has enabled everyone to have a voice on any matter. Now everyone’s thoughts are “published” for all to see. Whether or not it is effective, as soon as something is posted the person has a larger voice. It often makes the blogger feel good or makes him feel as if his opinion counts—when it is mostly mindless blather!

Here is the definition of a blog from a highly popular blog provider: “A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world. Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules…blogs have…enabled millions of people to have a voice” (emphasis ours).

Ask yourself, “Do I have a tendency to want to have a voice?”

This has grown so out of control it is routine for a person to start a daily blog entry with a single word that details his or her mood. A blog entry will start: “Current mood: ____” The level of shallowness and emotional immaturity this represents is astonishing! In the grand scheme of things, why would the world at large care?

—-

If you post mundane details of your life, you are in effect saying that your life is important and that people should read about it. Also, whether or not you admit it, having a blog with your name, your picture and your opinions strokes the human ego—it lifts you up. It essentially advertises the self! Many teenagers say, “Listen to me, world, and what I have to say,” when they should be focused on changing and cleaning up their lives.

If you blog, are you sure you do not partially enjoy it because your carnal nature is inclined toward vanity?

Soo… It’s okay for the preachers to talk, but the great un-washed masses should keep their mouths shut?

Mmmmm-kay.