This is very serious

Rep. Dennis Hastert has introduced legislation in the House to legalize torture.

It is hidden in the bill that supposedly implements the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, although the Commission suggested no such thing, instead calling on the United States to "offer an example of moral leadership in the world, committed to treat people humanely, abide by the rule of law, and be generous and caring to our neighbors." More details are available at the Obsidian Wings blog:

The provision would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue new regulations to exclude from the protection of the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, any suspected terrorist - thereby allowing them to be deported or transferred to a country that may engage in torture. The provision would put the burden of proof on the person being deported or rendered to establish "by clear and convincing evidence that he or she would be tortured," would bar the courts from having jurisdiction to review the Secretary's regulations, and would free the Secretary to deport or remove terrorist suspects to any country in the world at will - even countries other than the person's home country or the country in which they were born. The provision would also apply retroactively.

One hopes that this language will be amended out during consideration of this bill, and Rep. Markey of Massachusetts is working on such an amendment. In view of the treatment of the recently-released Yaser Hamdi, and also of Maher Arar, a Canadian seized at JFK and deported to Syria where he was repeatedly beaten, this is really a scary bit of legislation, especially given that it comes from the Speaker of the House.

Contact your Representative and express your opinions. The sections in question are Section 3032 and 3033 of H.R. 10, the "9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act of 2004.