concerning indefinite military detention

Few things in domestic U.S. politics lately have bothered me more than the measure about to pass that will allow indefinite military detention of suspects.

One of the reasons it bothers me so much is because I already live in a country where this law exists, and I can tell you that it absolutely sucks. Without an independent judiciary watching over each step of the process, detention is one of the foremost powers of tyranny.

It may just be terrorist suspects at first, and maybe you don’t see a problem in that case. All right. But next it will be drug dealers. And then maybe just Muslims who say a few harsh things about Israel in public. And then maybe members of fringe political parties. And then maybe bloggers who swear at at the Army and the President. And then maybe the U.S. reaches the stage of Egypt, where it’s just whoever the hell the government feels like throwing in prison.

It is a genuine step towards fascism. Maybe not in year 1 or year 10, but it sets the table for some extremely alarming developments.

Here in Egypt, it looks like we may already have a foretaste of fascism. I’m not sure what else you can call it when the army uses electrical prods on peaceful protestors (last night and today) and throws filing cabinets and glass bottles on them from rooftops. At least 6 are dead as a result, with hundreds injured.