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A few months back, when the Washington Post exposed the existence of the CIA's secret prisons, we were told by members of this administration - including the president himself - that the mere discussion of such facilities damaged national security. But today, the president not only admitted they exist, he bragged about it. And then he bragged about the fact that they employed torture. And then he promised they no longer existed.

Color me confused... I thought talking about all this emboldened our enemies and hurt our cause? After all, Bush said so himself. So now that he's trumpeting them, well....

But sarcasm aside....

It profoundly saddens me that we've arrived at a point in our history when the President of the United States can brag about the existence of secret detention facilities operated by the US government in nations that once were part of the Soviet Bloc. These are former Soviet gulags we're talking about here, facilities that once did and still do use techniques pioneered by Stalin's KGB. And the President of the United States is proud of this fact?

Less than two decades ago Reagan stood on the Berlin Wall and demanded it be torn down. Virtually everyone thought he was crazy. But it worked. The wall fell. Entire nations were freed. But now, just 2 Republican administrations later, we have crossed through the Brandenburg Gate and picked up where we once forced our former adversaries to leave off. It is both a national disgrace and a tragedy, something the long lens of history is likely to either forget nor forgive. Nor should it.

This is not who we are. And this is not the best we can do. Some things are beyond politics. This is beyond politics. Andrew Sullivan gets it just right:

This is the Rove gambit: make this election a choice between legalizing torture or enabling the murderers of 9/11 to escape justice. The timing is deliberate; the exploitation of 9/11 gob-smacking; the cynicism fathomless. There is only one response: call them on it and vote for their opponents in November. And pray that in the meantime, John McCain won't lose his nerve or his integrity.

Please do not sit silently and let this one pass. Some moments are too important to let go unwitnessed. Get out. Get involved. Our world is what we do, what we create, nothing more. Every action - and every inaction - has consequences. Democracy does not happen on its own. It is a choice, one each of us must make every day. Get up. Get out. And go do your part.

It's just a fact: Democracy doesn't work without citizen activism and participation, starting at the community. Trickle down politics doesn't work much better than trickle down economics. It's also a fact that civilization happens because we don't leave things to other people. What's right and good doesn't come naturally. You have to stand up and fight for it – as if the cause depends on you, because it does. Allow yourself that conceit - to believe that the flame of democracy will never go out as long as there's one candle in your hand. --Bill Moyers