...THE HIGHEST DEGREE ODIOUS
I was reading the transcript of an appearance made by Noam Chomsky on a Radio Netherlands call-in show. I don't always care for Chomsky because he's a little too repetetive and strident for me. But he usually makes interesting points if you can fight through the screech. Check out the text of the interview; it's worth a look. Anyway, he cited a comment made by Churchill, which I've verified elsewhere.

"The power of the executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgement of his peers, is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government whether Nazi or Communist."
-Winston Churchill, 1943

I thought this was telling. Sure, it's one thing argue for civil liberties during peace time. But Churchill made this comment in 1943, when his country was under a mortal threat and in the middle of the one of the most destructive wars in the history of mankind. The Conservative Churchill was far from a flaming pinko. And by any sane measure, Britain's national security was in infinitely more danger in 1943 than the United States' is right now. Yet, Churchill was wise that there are certain things so absolutely fundamental to a free society, that they should never be sacrified even in the darkest hours. Otherwise, the fight for freedom ceases to be about freedom. I hope President Bush, Attorney General Ashcroft and their cohorts will take note.