The arrogance, the unbridled, true imperious nature of this President grows more swollen by the day

Two stories show that for President Bush Jr, there are NO laws or Constitutional requirements he feels bound by

BUT

The President is so overcome with his own myth & his own selfishness, that he fails to see a BIG problem coming his way

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DOJ: NSA Could've Monitored Doctor's Calls

And

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Bush shuns Patriot Act requirement
In addendum to law, he says oversight rules are not binding

Let's look at the warrantless wiretapping & eavesdropping on purely domestic communications the President claims he can order anytime he likes

The National Security Agency could have legally monitored ordinarily confidential communications between doctors and patients or attorneys and their clients, the Justice Department said Friday of its controversial warrantless surveillance program.

Responding to questions from Congress, the department also said that it sees no prohibition to using information collected under the NSA's program in court.

''Because collecting foreign intelligence information without a warrant does not violate the Fourth Amendment and because the Terrorist Surveillance Program is lawful, there appears to be no legal barrier against introducing this evidence in a criminal prosecution,'' the department said in responses to questions from lawmakers released Friday evening.

The department said that considerations, including whether classified information could be disclosed, must be weighed.(NYT)

Let's think about that

This President is actually claiming he can violate the privilege between Dr & Patient, Lawyer & Client, and further, that any information received is legally allowable in a trial/legal proceeding with NO search warrant needed in the least

If that's the case, then what's the point of any confidentiality for anyone at anytime?

Even better, since there's no way in hell I'd ever trust ANY faith-based intelligence/information disseminated by this Administration, I'm wondering just where is the Constitutional Authority for the President to violate the same Constitution he's sworn to uphold?

And I want specifics, lines, articles, clauses, etc, as this Administration's justification of "because we say so" is NOT any kind of factual basis for any Constitutional violations it commits on an active & ongoing basis

At this point, the President is making a grab for as much power as possible, and foolishly spoiling for a fight with the Dems, although the issues that worked for the President in the past, National/Homeland Security, no longer holds true for him

More on that in a bit, but back to the legal, ethical & moral outrage that deigns to call itself the President of The United States

The bill contained several oversight provisions intended to make sure the FBI did not abuse the special terrorism-related powers to search homes and secretly seize papers. The provisions require Justice Department officials to keep closer track of how often the FBI uses the new powers and in what type of situations. Under the law, the administration would have to provide the information to Congress by certain dates.

Bush signed the bill with fanfare at a White House ceremony March 9, calling it ''a piece of legislation that's vital to win the war on terror and to protect the American people." But after the reporters and guests had left, the White House quietly issued a ''signing statement," an official document in which a president lays out his interpretation of a new law.

In the statement, Bush said that he did not consider himself bound to tell Congress how the Patriot Act powers were being used and that, despite the law's requirements, he could withhold the information if he decided that disclosure would ''impair foreign relations, national security, the deliberative process of the executive, or the performance of the executive's constitutional duties."

Bush wrote: ''The executive branch shall construe the provisions . . . that call for furnishing information to entities outside the executive branch . . . in a manner consistent with the president's constitutional authority to supervise the unitary executive branch and to withhold information . . . "

The statement represented the latest in a string of high-profile instances in which Bush has cited his constitutional authority to bypass a law.(BG)

This President is a miserable scumbag and a lying jackoff, and I'll repeat again, where EXACTLY does the Constitution give the President the right to violate the same Constitution he's required & sworn to uphold?

And if he's so confident he's right, then why doesn't this coward & cravenly imbecilic, blue-blooded Connecticut Cowboy make these signing statements for the whole world to see?

Of, that's right, because as shown by his willingness to let others be sent to Vietnam in his place, President Bush Jr doesn't have a brave bone in his body, nor does he have a clue what it's like to be under the helmet & behind the trigger, and deliberately sent into battle without enough effective body & vehicle armor by a complete venal moron

That's why this lying, thieving bastard deserves all the problems he's going through right now, because once again, for President Bush Jr, society must placate his every childish whim, his every self-centered desire

For this President, every citizen's life must be as open a book as the Administration demands at the most minute level, while of course, the Administration has an obsession with keeping all Administrative manners, policies & implementations as quiet & shrouded in secrecy as possible, and all in the absurd claim that cutting back on our Constitutional Protections & Freedoms is necessary to keep us safe from "Freedom Hating Terrorists"

How is this President's attempts to override both the Legislative & Judicial branches with just his say-so alone keeping ANY terrorist at bay, how does the President claiming Imperial Powers serve our Constitutional Democracy in the least?

How is spreading "Democracy" & "Freedom" overseas easier accomplished by cutting back on those same qualities here at home?

Okay, lets shoot this next one down

The department said the same general criteria for the surveillance program would also apply to doctors' and lawyers' calls: one party must be outside the United States and there must be reason to believe one party is linked to al-Qaida. The department's written response also said that these communications aren't specifically targeted and safeguards are in place to protect privacy rights.(NYT)

There's only one obvious reason why the Administration ignored the very easy guidelines of the FISA law regarding warrantless wiretaps

Because this Administration is monitoring communications completely based in the US

The department also avoided questions on whether the administration believes it is legal to wiretap purely domestic calls without a warrant, when al-Qaida activity is suspected. The department wouldn't say specifically that it hasn't been done.(NYT)

There's no other logical reason for this Administration to ignore clear & bright guidelines when it comes to getting search warrants from the FISA judges

It's obvious the President considers the US public as his sworn enemies, that's the only reason he rapes the Constitution on an hourly basis, because everyone who doesn't flatter & praise him immensely, anyone not showing President Bush Jr complete & unflinching loyalty-even though that loyalty is NEVER returned-is out to sabotage his glorious reign, himself, and his loyal retinue/lackeys

President Bush's lifelong sense of unearned entitlement is on full display here with his claims of imperial power & unchecked authority

After The New York Times disclosed in December that Bush had authorized the military to conduct electronic surveillance of Americans' international phone calls and e-mails without obtaining warrants, as required by law, Bush said his wartime powers gave him the right to ignore the warrant law.

And when Congress passed a law forbidding the torture of any detainee in US custody, Bush signed the bill but issued a signing statement declaring that he could bypass the law if he believed using harsh interrogation techniques was necessary to protect national security.

Past presidents occasionally used such signing statements to describe their interpretations of laws, but Bush has expanded the practice. He has also been more assertive in claiming the authority to override provisions he thinks intrude on his power, legal scholars said.(BG)

Time to look at this from a different perspective, that of the November elections

And it's amazing that as much of a political-campaign genius Karl Rove is, governing is completely beyond him, as it appears his formerly Golden touch turned to lead immediately following the very zenith of Rove's power & crowning glory, the 2005 State Of The Union Address

President Bush Jr had won a 2nd term, the GOP increased it's turnout in both the House and Senate, and with the Dems marginalized even further, there was absolutely nothing standing in the way of Karl Rove's wet-dream-a permanent one-party state, rewarding his political operatives & cronies and dismantling as much of the social safety net as possible at the same time

Ironically enough, all that "Political Capital" President Bush Jr bragged about
earning on Election Night 2004 ended up giving him delusions of grandeur

The war in Iraq kept grinding forward

The campaign to kill off Social Security never got anywhere, with the end result being that the President blew a large amount of that "Political Capital" on an issue-Social Security Reform/Privatization-that became increasingly unpopular the more the public learned about it

And then Katrina hit the Gulf Coast & New Orleans, and while a strong leader could have helped lead the charge on a federal rescue & relief operation, this President instead squandered another 3 days on vacation while New Orleans drowned & people died

The image of this President as capable & competent in a crisis was completely shattered for all the world to see

The Iraq War grinds on still, and the President claims increasing powers for himself, and we're just supposed to take his word that he has our best interests at heart

As I said earlier, if the President feels so strongly that he's not bound by any law he doesn't feel like obeying, then let him make his signing statements in front of cameras & microphones instead of this spineless, cowardly "quiet" bs

And here's the big problem for the President in playing these imperial claims now

Your political capital is all gone President Bush Jr, you spent it quicker than a horny sailor with a fistful of cash on shore leave who blows it on the first skanky, gap-toothed whore he sees on the dock

And lets not forget how the rabid right US Taliban retards/retreads got smacked down hard by the overwhelming majority of the US Public regarding keeping Terri Schiavo alive against the wishes of her & her husband

Put all that together with a suddenly scared GOP, and the picture that emerges is not reassuring

For the President

And the GOP

With the President's plummeting approval ratings, it's becoming easier for various GOP Reps & Senators to publicly repudiate this most arrogant of Presidents'

With the party looking to distance itself from an unpopular President at every opportunity, it becomes less likely that his claims of untrammelled power as Commander In Chief will stay unchallenged by both parties

This President is asserting unchecked Executive Power at precisely the time he's least likely to get it or remain unchallenged on his imperious claims

And the more the GOP tries to distance itself from the President, the more it cuts its own political throat, the more the GOP undercuts the President's Authority, the more likely it is the GOP will damage itself as badly as the President is damaged now

The President and the arrogant style of his staff when it comes to working with, and listening to, members of both the House & the Senate, has rankled those outside the White House since W's crew came to town

It seems an obvious lesson

If you wish to assert claims of Executive Privilege, you don't do it when the public is abandoning you and your own party can't flee from your presence quick enough

You don't claim unfettered authority when your allies are shrinking in numbers

This election is going to be one of the ugliest in memory for both the GOP and President Bush Jr, and the damage done to both by each other is going to be at least as severe as Watergate was politically for the GOP & Nixon

Think of what happened the last time an unpopular GOP President had to deal with an extremely unpopular war that drained the US of both blood, life, limb & treasure

President Bush wants to follow Nixon's example regarding claims of "Executive Privilege"

If he's not careful, President Bush Jr will follow Nixon's example of impeachment as well