So, what does "habeas" mean anyway

As you may have heard, dubya declared that the writ of habeas corpus is no longer applicable to him, and following the orders of the political party in charge, the majority in Congress once again rolled over, followed orders, and rubber-stamped this latest edict from the political arm.

But what does it mean, in practicality? Is it necessary to fight terrorism? Hardly. If somebody is conspiring to do harm to America, our laws enable us to go after that person - so stopping people who are actually a threat is not a motivation for this action.

Well, what it really means is that the Executive Branch now has "legal" authority to arrest and detain ANYBODY they wish and

• imprison them indefinitely


• not admit that the person has been arrested


• deny them access to any outside contact, including family or a lawyer


• the person does not need to be told why they are being imprisoned


• the person does not need to be charged with a crime, or even suspicion of a crime


• the person does not ever need to go to trial

Plus, they have already declared that any torture techniques can be used, just so long as the word torture is not used (unless the President OKs it). Suspending the writ of habeas corpus and giving such absolute power to a political party is perhaps the most unAmerican thing ever done by any member of the American government.

Once again, if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.