And now, the mail, too

Impeach

Chief Executive

Bush

Now
That's USA Today. The New York Daily News's version - they broke the story - says that Mr. Bush added a signing statement to a bill which reinforced bans against warrantless opening and reading of first-class mail saying that he could open any damn mail he felt like opening.

That claim is contrary to existing law and contradicted the bill he had just signed, say experts who have reviewed it. [...] Most of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act deals with mundane reform measures. But it also explicitly reinforced protections of first-class mail from searches without a court's approval.

Yet in his statement Bush said he will "construe" an exception, "which provides for opening of an item of a class of mail otherwise sealed against inspection in a manner consistent ... with the need to conduct searches in exigent circumstances." [...] which could refer to an imminent danger or a long-standing state of emergency.

Long-time Federal Government watchers will, of course, be aware that we've been in one or another "state of emergency" (via executive orders) for some time now, and that isn't going to stop being true any time soon. And he knows that.

What else do you need, folks? Warrentless wiretapping, warrentless searches of mail, extraordinary rendition, ability to arrest citizens off the street without charge and hold them indefinitely, ability to torture... all these powers have been claimed by this administration. What's it going to take to get this guy impeached?

Of course, the USA Today comments section has the usual Greek Sheep Chorus of Authoritarian Fuckheads - who are very close to, but are not quite yet, fascists - saying that all this just proves that the Chief Executive also needs the line-item veto, so he wouldn't have to rewrite bills in signing statements. He could just edit the actual text. That'd make everything much easier. That silly Congress could go bugger off, if he just had that.

Tuesday's miles: 3.5
Wednesday's token: 0.1
Miles out of Hobbiton: 1464.5
Miles out of Rivendell: 1007.5
Miles out of Lothlórien: 552.5
Miles past Rauros Falls: 134.6
Miles to Isengard: 332.1

( Memes and stuff, already queued up )