Resolved

I am, I hope, going to have more to say about public "intellectuals" saying profoundly stupid things tomorrow; however for today, Matthew Yglesias some time ago argued:

Somewhat punitive post-arrest pre-trial measures are kind of a necessary evil, but the prolonged confinement of Manning under cruel conditions go well beyond the necessary into the straightforward evil.

Matthew Yglesias recently:

Bradley Manning, of course, hasn’t had a trial. But it’s obvious that many of the people who think they favor what’s being done to him don’t actually realize this. They take it for granted that in the United States of America punishment is for people who’ve been put on trial and convicted of crimes.

You may want to argue that the positions aren't contradictory but you'd be wrong. He thought that punishment prior to conviction was okay until he thought that punishment prior to conviction wasn't. It's like he's incapable of thinking through the implications of his asininity.