Hiding the Dirty Bomber From the U.S. Constitution - The Bush administration establishes a Department of Precrime. By Dahlia Lithwick: Most of us can agree that releasing people with knowledge of, or connections to, acts of terror against the United States is a national security disaster. But can we also agree that holding them in military prisons, without any means of testing the evidence against them, based on the bare assertion that they are or know terrorists is equally troubling?

Well ... the problem is, I don't think we can. I mean, yes, I think it's troubling, to put it mildly. Shrubya's administration seems entirely prepared to evicerate the Constitution to save it; I don't think they realize that it just doesn't work that way ... and don't really care if they do.

The American people, to use Our Shrub's favorite phrase, are for the most part entirely sanguine about doing things this way. After all, it gives the impression of keeping the People safe and sound. The problem is, reclaiming rights once the government has decided that you really don't need pesky things like the right of habeas corpus any more ... well, that's rather more difficult than it looks.