Habeas Corpus has been in the news lately now that Congress and the White House have passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006. One of the first questions that pops to mind is “What is habeas corpus? Why should I care that I don’t have it anymore?”

The Wikipedia defines it as “…a legal instrument or writ by means of which detainees can seek release from unlawful imprisonment. A writ of habeas corpus is a court order addressed to a prison official (or other custodian) ordering that a detainee be brought to the court so it can be determined whether or not that person is imprisoned lawfully and whether or not he or she should be released from custody. The writ of habeas corpus in common law countries is an important instrument for the safeguarding of individual freedom against arbitrary state action.”

A vast simplification is that habeas corpus ensures you or I can’t be imprisoned indefinitely without a trial to determine our innocence or guilt. It was a pretty cool right that as Americans we used to have. George W. Bush and the idiots in Congress have conspired to wipe away one of our most crucial civil liberties.

This is a bad thing. This is an act in blatant defiance of the Constitution this country was founded on. In a country with a sane government or populace that cared, Bush would already have been impeached and our congressional scuzz-buckets carted off to Guantanamo.

It’s time for a revolution. This revolution starts with electing men and women to congress that will stand up for liberty. This is not a partisan issue. Both Democrats and Republicans sold out their country and voted for this vile piece of legislation. Check each candidate’s stand on these issues. This may mean stepping out of your comfort zone and picking a third-party candidate instead of the lesser-of-two-evils.

For the love of everything, vote for liberty on November 7!

For those who stopped reading a few paragraphs ago, click the thingy to see an eloquent man use better words than I.

(If the embedded player doesn’t work for you just visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXre7MDT0bA and see for yourself.)

Thanks to Lyle