Amazing

I’d chalk it up to satanic ecumenism but it’s not really about the Church (yet). Though, of course, it will be one day.

What I mean is the mixture of silence and enthusiasm we are seeing from the Left and Right for Obama’s self-granted power to declare anybody he likes an enemy combatant (without having to provide proof) and then, on the basis of that declaration, sentence that person to death. This includes American citizens.

Even the Bush Administration with its lawless program of torture and detainment-without-trial would not go there. But Obama has just arrogated to himself the absolute despotic power over the life and death of every citizen of the United States–and guess who his big defenders are?

No. Not the nutty Obamamessiah guys on the Left. They’re mostly silent, not know what to do as their delusional faith in him is betrayed. Nor is it the press (their job is to supinely report that whoever Obama wishes to murder in cold blood without arrest, trial or evidence is an enemy combatant because the Dear Leader said so).

No, it’s the police state enthusiasts of the Rubber Hose Right. I’ll give them this: they are consistent. No matter what party the President belongs to, they have orgasmic levels of excitement when that President sweeps aside a thousand years of English legal tradition so that they can fantasize about fighting Real War with as much mindless brutality as possible. They saw Saving Private Ryan and read a lot of Victor Davis Hansen columns, so they know what war is and are ready to bravely send others to commit crimess to fight it. Sublimely sure that Raw Power to Kill, invested in the hands of the Super-President, will always and only be used against Bad Guys, they know that due process is for sissies. They know, because they are way smarter than you are, that in desperate moments (such as, say, an infinitely long war against a tactic and not a definable enemy with no clear definition of victory beyond “When Evil has been ended”) we need to grant the President absolute despotic and unquestioned power over the life and death of every American citizen–to keep them safe. As soon as that threat ends, we can return to normality and all that slow, stupid crap about “deliberation” and “due process” the liberals get so excited about. Meanwhile, however, while we are in a state of unending hostilities with anybody who thinks wrongly about America, and we have to Think Realistically and support our Socialist America-hating President who wants to destroy our country with Health Care and leave us prostrate before our enemies, at least when he does that cool fascist move of granting himself a 007. Sure, he’s a godless Commie bent on class warfare and the destruction of all that is good and true. But, mmmmmboy! When he starts with the police state stuff in the War on Terror, the paladins of the Thing that Used to be Conservatism forget all their sickle and swastika signs and placards, just go all melty inside and fire up the defenses–for actual totalitarian behavior. So what if Obama is arrogating to himself the power of a tyrant? He’s doing it to Keep Us Safe! So it naturally follows that anybody he orders killed–and any citizen any future President orders killed–is obviously guilty and deserves to die. How could *that* possibly endanger our freedom? It’s the enemy that hates our freedom, not us. We’re good Americans!

I think we are ruled by madmen. And I think they were elected by madmen. How good and pleasant it is to see brothers dwelling in unity!