It's a democracy, stupid.

I occasionally wonder exactly how much of a masochist I truly am, usually around the same time I find myself reading “newspapers” like the New York Post. After reading today’s editorial, the cleverly titled "It’s War, Stupid,” I’ve decided I must be a glutton for punishment. The article, which centered on the ruling of a South Carolina judge last week that alleged terrorist Joseph Padilla’s imprisonment was illegal, featured arguments like:

“Furthermore, giving individuals who seek to kill Americans access to smooth-talking lawyers is a prescription for suicide.”

And:

“If the War on Terror requires a suspension of habeas corpus in certain circumstances, then Congress must give the president that power.”

Um, no. How about we don’t give him that power. The fact is we give citizens who kill or attempt to kill other Americans access to “smooth-talking lawyers” all the time in murder and attempted murder cases, which are not strictly confined to terrorism. It’s called the American legal process. Far more dangerous than the editorial’s assertion that, “cases like Padilla's will pose unnecessary — and dangerous — obstacles to the successful prosecution of the war against terror,” is the precedent the suspension of habeas corpus would set. But most of us already knew that, you know, on account of not being stupid.