Boots on the door

Does this scare you as much as it does me?

Government lawyers told federal judges that the president can send the military into any U.S. neighborhood, capture a citizen and hold him in prison without charge, indefinitely.

Context? Well, we have to catch terrorists, don’t we? And they need to go to jail right away. And we don’t have time for trial, or evidence that we can show you without shooting you. This is just business as usual. The frog is still comfortable, the water is not too warm, is it.

“The president is not a king and cannot lock people up forever in the United States based on his say-so,” said Jonathan Hafetz, a lawyer who represents al-Marri and other detainees. “Today it’s Mr. al-Marri. Tomorrow it could be you, a member of your family, someone you know. Once you allow the president to lock people up for years or even life without trial, there’s no going back.”

Familiar words, no?