habeas corpus 2

As has been pointed out in the comments, America is not the only country without habeas corpus. My current country of residence, Japan, is a fine example of this, as written in this NYTimes article (free registration required) about how it's common practice for the police to imprison suspects for weeks on end and torture them until they give confessions, even when they are innocent.
However, I resubmit my point: it is not the current lack of habeas corpus in the US that I bemoan. It is the fact that habeas corpus has been effectively repealed through a combination of a deceitful, power-hungry government, a failure of the inherent checks and balances, and a sheep-like populace too busy reading bibles and watching American Idol to care.
Japan, on the other hand, never had a history of habeas corpus, so it was not taken away in a tragic bait-and-switch of political fear mongering and power grabbing.
I came to Japan 14 years ago knowing full well that I could be put in jail indefinitely for no reason. Hell, I was finger-printed like a criminal that day I arrived, and I am required by law to carry my Alien Resident Registration Card at all times. Failure to do so and produce such ID to the relevant authorities is cause enough for imprisonment and deportation. But I knew this coming here. I had no expectations of anything better.
Yet compare the current state of citizens' rights in the US now to 1994. You can be arrested for recording your precious American Idol so that you can watch it later at your convenience. You are breaking the law if you critique a news story in the context of journalism. You can be deemed an "enemy combatant" and held in a secret prison indefinitely, with no rights.
The consistent erosion of US citizens' rights through the Patriot Act, the DMCA, a co-opted Supreme Court, the "War on Terror" (whatever the hell that means) and an impotent Congress is a said situation indeed. And I have little hope that the next generation of politicians can or will do anything about it.