Reaction to the blogs: Habeus corpus, Virginia, and a plan for Iraq

By Michael J.W. Stickings

It's been awhile since I last did a "Reaction to the blogs" post, but let's get right back into it. Here are some good posts for your reading pleasure:

Echidne has written a letter to no less a worthy recipient than habeus corpus itself. "Things have changed," she writes. Since 9/11, that is. Now we have "tribality and violence," and habeus just isn't enough of a "barbarian". "So farewell, my love. I am sure that one day you will find another lover who will truly value you." I'm with you all the way, Echidne. Perhaps post-Bush America will welcome habeus back with open arms. Perhaps.

Our sometime guest blogger Edward Copeland, whose daily news round-ups are invaluable, looks at Iraq, Afghanistan, the detainee/torture legislation, Rudy Giuliani on Bill Clinton, John Danforth, the Governator's greenhouse gas legislation, and Darfur.

The Blue State's Todd Haskins reports on "a major polling shift taking place right now in the Virginia Senate race". Things are looking up for Democrat James Webb. Indeed, Todd says the race is now "a dead heat". With Democrats facing an uphill battle to take back the Senate, this is one of the most important races this year, and it would be wonderful if Webb could pull off a win over George "Buffoon-Jackass" Allen.

Lance Mannion wrote a passionate post yesterday on torture: "Torturers are cowards and sadists." "Americans are not cowards and sadists." "Torture is against all our principles." "We are not sheep. We are not cowards. We are not a nation of unprincipled thugs and sadists." But I wonder about this: "Torture, rendition, secret military tribunals, great big holes poked in the Constitution, whimsical suspensions of haebeus corpus -- these are not things Americans do." Unfortunately, some of you do. I love America and I love Americans, but until you vote out the assholes who are destroying your country's credibility and sense of moral purpose, much of the rest of the world, and many of you yourselves, will not be able to divorce America from her leaders.

Earlier today, Heraclitus reported on the police academy disaster in Baghdad. At Thought Theater, Daniel DiRito, one of our frequent commenters, puts it in the larger context of "the failure to restore services to the Iraqi people".

The Armchair Generalist presents some very sensible "strategies" for dealing with Iraq. They constitute "an ideal outline" that isn't really "practical," but "this plan could work if Congress would place the military's immediate needs over its reelection plans and partisan bickering".

At Simply Left Behind, Carl examines the demise of New York Republican Jeanine Pirro. Her latest problem? An allegation she plotted to bug her husband (and by bug I mean spy on). She seems to have revealed her plan to her friend Bernard Kerik, the scandal-ridden former New York City police commissioner.

At Kiko's House, Shaun Mullen tackles "Crime & Punishment" in "A Tale of Two Cities" -- that is, the differences between New York and Philadelphia with respect to violent crime. While New York is now one of America's safer cities, according to the FBI, with a murder rate well below what it once was, Philadelphia remains a city in which "citizens continue to kill each other at an appalling rate".

Jeff Alworth, proprietor of Low on the Hog, picks apart "King George's Writ of Torture": "King George lives in a future of his own making, where laws can be subverted by executive might and legislative collusion, obviating legal debates." It is indeed "a dark day in America today".

A dark, dark day.

These are just a few of the great posts you can find at the blogs included in our blogroll. Stay tuned for more reactions to the blogs.