January 04, 2007


IMPEACH BUSH


IMPEACH CHENEY

BUSH THE PEEPER

George W. "The Peeper" Bush has struck again. Bush has used so-called "signing statements" to make end runs around parts of laws he doesn't like. The latest signing statement deals with a postal reform act. Bush claims that he has authority to open mail without a warrant. This goes with previous claims that the government could listen in on our phone calls or read our email. I wonder if Bush will claim he has the right to stand outside our bedroom windows and peep in. This article by James Gordon Meek is at www.nydailynews.com:

President Bush has quietly claimed sweeping new powers to open Americans' mail without a judge's warrant, the Daily News has learned.

The President asserted his new authority when he signed a postal reform bill into law on Dec. 20. Bush then issued a "signing statement" that declared his right to open people's mail under emergency conditions.

That claim is contrary to existing law and contradicted the bill he had just signed, say experts who have reviewed it.

Bush's move came during the winter congressional recess and a year after his secret domestic electronic eavesdropping program was first revealed. It caught Capitol Hill by surprise.

"Despite the President's statement that he may be able to circumvent a basic privacy protection, the new postal law continues to prohibit the government from snooping into people's mail without a warrant," said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the incoming House Government Reform Committee chairman, who co-sponsored the bill.