Restoring American civilization: 12 steps

The NYT provides a work list congress can follow to attempt to rebuild American civilization:

The Must-Do List - New York Times

1. Restore Habeas Corpus
2. Stop Illegal Spying
3. Ban Torture, Really
4. Close the C.I.A. Prisons
5. Account for ‘Ghost Prisoners'
6. Ban Extraordinary Rendition
7. Tighten the Definition of Combatant
8. Screen Prisoners Fairly and Effectively
9. Ban Tainted Evidence
10. Ban Secret Evidence
11. Better Define ‘Classified’ Evidence
12. Respect the Right to Counsel
    

...Beyond all these huge tasks, Congress should halt the federal government’s race to classify documents to avoid public scrutiny — 15.6 million in 2005, nearly double the 2001 number. It should also reverse the grievous harm this administration has done to the Freedom of Information Act by encouraging agencies to reject requests for documents whenever possible. Congress should curtail F.B.I. spying on nonviolent antiwar groups and revisit parts of the Patriot Act that allow this practice.

The United States should apologize to a Canadian citizen and a German citizen, both innocent, who were kidnapped and tortured by American agents.

Oh yes, and it is time to close the Guantánamo camp. It is a despicable symbol of the abuses committed by this administration (with Congress’s complicity) in the name of fighting terrorism.

I agree with everything on this list. That said, nothing on the list helps elect a sane president or helps keep the GOP out of power.

It's the old, cursed, choice. Do we choose immoral actions (the status quo) that may avert a greater evil, or do we choose moral actions that might return an unreformed GOP to power? The choice would be easier if I held a higher opinion of the American voter, but the reelection of George Bush Jr cured me of those illusions.