On how Fox opinions get it wrong...again...

Ok let me preface this by saying that I'm glad - like most people in the world - that Osama Bin Laden is no longer with us. I think he was an evil man and this world will not suffer at his parting.

What I am not glad about is the vicious underbelly of our country that his death has revealed. In particular are opinions such as this one and this one. In short, these questionably brilliant Fox News commentators insist that Bin Laden's death is an unquestionable accomplishment and that it justifies the use of torture and extrajudicial killings.

No.

No...nothing in this country is unquestionable.

No...nothing in this country ever justifies torture.

No...there is never a reason to bypass the American judicial system.

It shocks me that the right wing - supposedly so reverent of our country's founders - can so profoundly ignore the core values that form our country.

But in the court of public opinion, this was a no-brainer. Every now and then, law courts and trials are not the only appropriate venues for justice. Bin Laden has gotten what for so long he has so richly deserved. End of discussion.

Yeah, it should be a no-brainer in the court of public opinion: courts and trials are the only appropriate venue of justice in this country. What makes America special is that we refuse to give up this core value even in times of strife. When we do, it is a black mark on our record, and we own up to it with the proper humility. We shine as a nation when we extend this universal right even to our most hated enemies; that's when we show ourselves to be the better country. But when we stoop to the kind of vigilante justice espoused here, all we do is lower ourselves and cripple the very things that make our culture true defenders of freedom.

Then there's the whole argument that this victory justifies torture, despite the fact that there is no evidence "enhanced interrogation" led to Bin Laden's death. I can't believe people are even asking that question, though; if we want to hold the post of defenders of freedom, we can never allow the ends to justify the means. If torture led to Bin Laden's death, then it is a victory marred by this moral failing. So I have to disagree with you here, Michael Goodwin:

The world is a better place for Bin Laden's death and, as the president said, May 1, 2011, was "a great day for America." It's a pity that some Americans won't honestly acknowledge how that greatness was achieved.

Great day or not, better world or not, we as a country have a responsibility to question the methods used to further our goals, and if they are found lacking, to denounce them as un-American. Only then will we truly have a victory worthy of this country.