We need a better government. Now.

Today the United States Senate voted to give a level of power to the Executive that exceeds the normative ideas of republican government. (They also retroactively immunized the President from conviction for war crimes--war crimes.) The President of the United States now has unreviewable power to secretly detain even US citizens indefinitely without recourse. It effectively overturns the Writ of Habeas Corpus--which is unconstitutional, "unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it." And if you think that those conditions are being met by terrorism then you are a coward who overestimates our enemies. I mean it. A coward. I will fucking fight you about this. This is literally one of the reasons we rebelled against King George III. The Declaration of Independence enumerates among the grievances against the British Crown: "For depriving us [that is, insurrection prone foreigners], in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury." This is a dark day. This is our generation's Korematsu, our Alien and Sedition Acts. I don't want to talk about it anymore. So just read this for background and watch this for the proper reaction a real American should have. "What are we becoming?" indeed.

UPDATE: The suspension clause in Article I of the Constituion that I reference above is probably enough that the courts won't overturn it. That is to say that they'll defer to Congress on what is and is not rebellion or invasion. My point is that Congress is wrong to say that in this case, and that while the passage of the law is practically within its power, it is morally wrong and unAmerican.