Military Commissions Act of 2006 Signed Into Law Today

President Bush today signed into law the Military Commissions Act of 2006, effectively doing away with habeas corpus. Most Americans probably have no idea what habeas corpus is, but it one of our most fundamental rights -- the right to challenge in court our unlawful detention. Indeed all of our other rights -- the right to a jury trial, the right to free speech, the right to religious freedom, the right to be presented with our accusers, the right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure -- all of them disappear when habeas corpus goes, all of them disappear when we can be detained indefinitely with no access to courts to challenge that detention.

Access to the third branch of government, the courts, is essentially cut off. If our rights rest on a table with three legs -- our three branches of government -- one of those legs can now be removed anytime the President labels you an "enemy combatant," and you cannot even challenge that label

I think Keith Olbermann expresses my sentiments best. Watch the video.