And now, the mail, too

[solarbird]

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.

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Comments

[partywhipple.livejournal.com]

We're still in a state of emergency from World War I...

[partywhipple.livejournal.com]

By the way what he did is something all presidents do and have done. But now we will see whether that power to "interpret the meaning/enforcement of new bills" will be changed/limited. I would hope, in the end, it will lead to bills being about one specific thing with no pork/extra line items.

I like/approve of using / between words.

[solarbird]

I would hope, in the end, [the line-item veto] will lead to bills being about one specific thing with no pork/extra line items.
[Been meaning to post this for a while.]

Don't be silly. It'll be used to excise the other party's pork, but not your own party's, increasing the severity of the problem of the renewed spoils system. It will also be used to punish members of your own party who step out of party line, increasing the dominance of the current party leader/chief executive/President, concentrating power even further than it's concentrated now. And that's all it'll be used for. And yes, I do believe that's a large part of the intent.

[avram]

How do these signing statement things actually work? Is it a separate slip of paper they staple to the bill or something? Because I can't imagine Dubya actually getting a pen out and writing down that stuff about subsections and exigent circumstances.

I think we should pass a law saying that in the case of a ticking bomb or otherwise deadly threat, the president should be able to open the thing up, but only if he does it personally.

[banner.livejournal.com]

Prior to the passage of this law, mail was always available to be open for inspection. This new law took away that power. The signing statement says:

The executive branch shall construe subsection 404(c) of title 39, as enacted by subsection 1010(e) of the Act, which provides for opening of an item of a class of mail otherwise sealed against inspection, in a manner consistent, to the maximum extent permissible, with the need to conduct searches in exigent circumstances, such as to protect human life and safety against hazardous materials, and the need for physical searches specifically authorized by law for foreign intelligence collection.

So lets see, they can open mail to protect against hazardous substances (like anthrax, popular in mail these days, also remember letter bombs?) and as authorized by law for intelligence collection.

What's the big deal? I'm sorry but saying this rises to the level of impeachment is just absurd.

[dpawtows.livejournal.com]

For me, the "big deal" is if mail can be opened without a warrant.

[banner.livejournal.com]

Then why haven't you ever complained before?

I'm not trying to be cute or belabor the point, but there are a number of circumstances where the government/police can legally search you or your property without a warrant. The same rules apply to tapping your phone and opening your mail. Thinking that any of this is unique to this point in time, or this administration is incorrect. There is a lot of case law even backing this behavior going back decades if not further.

Thinking that any of it will change in the current climate of terrorism is being wishful. It wouldn't matter who was in the Whitehouse or what party was running it. No one wants to be holding the ball when the next big one comes down, especially when everyone believes it was a lack of intelligence gathering that led to the last one. And as long as they're only opening those things which they consider to be harazdous (remember the Post Office has a duty to protect the Post Office workers), and things for foreign intelligence gathering (which I believe is still in-admissable as evidence in a court against citizens) I'm not going to be too worried about it.

This whole article is really just flame-baiting by the press (IMHO).

[dpawtows.livejournal.com]

I have complained before. Most of that would have been back before LJ existed. This seems to be a case of somebody finally trying to plug a long-standing hole, and then prompty drilling a hole thru the plug.

And I'd pin "the last one" more on a failure of intellegence analysis rather than intellegence gathering. And so long as they're only opening those things which they consider to be hazardous, they shouldn't have any problems getting the warrants.

[king-chiron.livejournal.com]

Once you've not only claimed the power but actually held US citizens, captured on American soil, indefinitely without trial and tortured them, pretty much everything else is a minor crime. It's amazing how mild the reaction to the whole Padilla case is, there seems to be "Oh well, it's that crazy Bush again" attitude. If that doesnt get people upset enough to impeach, nothing will.