John Dean: Bush's Gambling With Presidential Powers/Election 2006 Is Key

[kpete]

An Update on President Bush's NSA Program:
The Historical Context,
Specter's Recent Bill,
and Feingold's Censure Motion

By JOHN W. DEAN
----
Friday, Mar. 24, 2006

President George Bush continues to openly and defiantly ignore the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) -- the 1978 statute prohibiting electronic inspection of Americans' telephone and email communications with people outside the United States without a court-authorized warrant. (According to U.S. News & World Report, the President may also have authorized warrantless break-ins and other physical surveillance, such as opening regular mail, in violation of the Fourth Amendment.)

Bush's position is that he does not need Congressional approval for his measures. Even he does not claim that Congress gave him express power to undertake them, but he does claim that Congress indirectly approved such measures when it authorized the use of force to go after those involved in the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States. He also argues that, in any event, approval was not necessary - for he argues that he has such authority under Article II of the Constitution, as the chief executive, and Commander in Chief, charged with faithfully executing the laws of the land and protecting the Constitution.

These arguments are hauntingly familiar to this observer.

...............................

Bush's Gambling With Presidential Powers

Like Nixon, Bush has wrapped himself in the American flag, national security, his high office, and a claim to be the defender of America -- the man who can show terrorists not to mess with the U.S.A. His critics are attacked as being soft on fighting terrorism, or being knee-jerk partisans, when all they want is for their president to stay within the law.

........... if this issue goes to court, Bush should worry. Even Republican-appointed judges would have to comprise their judicial integrity to rule in his favor.

........................

Election 2006 Is The Key


http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20060324.html

[Blue Shark]

1. You write...

"Election 2006 Is The Key"...

...It is the key to Jack if the theft of votes through electronic tabulation of votes cast is not addressed and soon.

[lyonn]

2. Dean has my total respect, just wish electronic voting

was more of an issue with him. When we talk e-voting it is like we are at the mercy of those that work the machines. No voting machine should be controlled by those that mfg. them and have all the means to "fix" them. I'm computer Ignorant (among other things, ha) but this is a no brainer.

[ladjf]

5. It doesn't seem like enough is being done about the rigged

election process. We can only hope that the Democratic majority is large enough to compensate for a certain number of rigged situations. The "fixes" might not be in all over the Country. We can pretty much write off Florida and Ohio.

[madrchsod]

3. i`m not holding my breath

on the fact the election this year will decide anything at all. there`s to many democrats that are scared shit-less of bush and his thugs. worse there is no way the next election will not be challenged from either side because of the immense problems of electric machines and transmission of data.
worse than these two examples is the complete lack of care that the american people have for their rights. it doesn`t matter if there is a constitution that guarantees their rights as long as someone tells them they have to give up "just a little" of their rights as long as the big bad wolf won`t blow their house down...

[dennis4868]

4. I disagree with this from the article:

"No one can question President Bush's goal: Protecting Americans from further terror attacks."

Why can't we question Bush's goal? Maybe his goal is to listen in on Dems phone calls. How else can you explain that Bush does not even go to the FISA court after he wiretaps phone call as the law allows. You have to assume he is hiding something, right? So why does Dean, who is a pretty with it person, assume that Bush has good goals?