This Morning

I have not yet posted anything since the election because I have been busy. I am still busy, but there is a lot I would like to talk about regarding the election results last week. Right now, I have to get ready for work, but I wanted to do this post about the following articles before I forget about them.

For the past few days, I have been reading about a lot of deaths in Iraq, and then, on top of all that, I see this article this morning:

Up to 150 people kidnapped in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen wearing Iraqi police commando uniforms kidnapped up to 150 staff and visitors in a lightning raid on a government research institute in downtown Baghdad on Tuesday, the largest mass abduction since the start of the U.S. occupation.

Then I read this one:

US: Immigrants may be held indefinitely

WASHINGTON - Immigrants arrested in the United States may be held indefinitely on suspicion of terrorism and may not challenge their imprisonment in civilian courts, the Bush administration said Monday, opening a new legal front in the fight over the rights of detainees.

In court documents filed with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., the Justice Department said a new anti-terrorism law being used to hold detainees in Guantanamo Bay also applies to foreigners captured and held in the United States.

Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri, a citizen of Qatar, was arrested in 2001 while studying in the United States. He has been labeled an "enemy combatant," a designation that, under a law signed last month, strips foreigners of the right to challenge their detention in federal courts.

Basically, Iraq is a mess on such a huge scale, and our own country needs a lot of cleaning up itself. Simply putting the Democrats into power in Congress is a good first step, but the road ahead will be long and difficult. Our work is far from over. Once the Democrats control Congress, we have to ensure that they do what we voted them into power to do. Now is not the time to be complacent.

"We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing; but let us not forget for a moment the toil and efforts that lie ahead." -Winston Churchill

Update:Reports on the mass kidnapping in Iraq have been coming in with different numbers. I have seen the number of kidnapped victims range from anywhere between 50 to 150. I saw another report that said 20 people have been released. I have yet to see a conclusive number.