The House & Senate actually did something

A little bit of sanity has been returned to the country as the Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill this morning that will restore habeas corpus, the sacrosanct Constitutional right to challenge government detention in court.

There was no debate… there were no amendments attached… it was a straight vote of eleven to eight, with Arlen Specter (R-PA) the ONLY republican to support the bill.

Scary isn’t it that 88.9% of republicans on the committee believe that following the Constitution is optional

The bill should reach the full Senate later this month where a major challenge still exists in getting the bill passed there… and another challenge by the House… and by “President” Bush.

And while the Senate Judiciary was passing this bill, the House, ignoring Bush’s constant threats of a veto, voted to expand stem cell research… thus defying “President” Bush’s wishes, which is always good to see. The unfortunate part of that is that the House and Senate do not have the two-thirds majority needed to override Bush’s crayon veto.

But for now, revel in the fact that a little bit of common sense has returned to this country… albeit for a short time.