Breaking news: Daily News editorial board reports that "Osama not dead"
By that measure, bin Laden's spirit is alive and well. The erosion of American values continues, even worsens.
Consider: As we hail the killing of this reprehensible enemy of freedom, a former CIA official, Jose Rodriguez, is promoting a book in which he flat-out admits, even brags, that in 2005, he destroyed 92 videotapes of the waterboarding — that is, torture — of terrorism suspects in direct defiance of several court orders to preserve that very evidence. Rodriguez apparently has no reason to fear that admitting to several felonies, not to mention war crimes, will garner him anything but increased royalties. Cry "terrorism" and all is forgiven.
But that's just the most recent evidence that the death of Osama not only did not produce a civil-liberties "dividend" but, if anything, Americans have become even more desensitized to the systematic reduction of liberty in the name of national security.
Bravo -- I could not have said this any better myself. Which is good, because I'm trying to report a couple of stories for the dead tree newspaper and this blog thing is holding me back!