I know I'm late to the party, but I figure it's important that I too link to the Keith Olbermann piece on "Habeas Corpus". As he highlights in his piece, without the ability of someone to show up in court and demand to know why they're being held, most other rights fly straight out the window.
Why is this important? Because the Military Commission Act of 2006 that was recently sent to the president removes the right of habeas corpus from detainees. So what does that mean for you? Well it grants the president uncheckable power to throw whomever in jail for whatever reasons he sees fit. All he has to do is declare someone an enemy combatant.
And what does Bush need to do to declare someone an enemy combatant? There is no legal standard for that declaration. It's entirely up to the president's will at this point.
For more in depth analysis of the Military Commission Act of 2006, read Amnesty International's brief here.
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