Legal Experts to Senate Committee: Bush "Signing Statements" Unconstitutio

[Demeter]

http://www.buzzflash.com/alerts/06/06/ale06076.html


Legal Experts to Senate Committee: Bush "Signing Statements" Unconstitutional, Impeachable

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
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Because of the extralegal nature of the signing statements, there is nothing for Congress or the Supreme Court to actually overrule. Nevertheless, the statements are binding for policy implementation.

Bruce Fein, attorney and renowned legal scholar, told the committee that Bush has essentially given himself a line item veto power by declaring portions of new laws unconstitutional and offering his own revisions.

"These statements, which have multiplied logarithmically (SIC) under President George W. Bush, flout the Constitution's checks and balances and separation of powers. They usurp legislative prerogatives and evade accountability," Fein said. "The President does not enjoy a constitutional option of unilaterally pronouncing a provision he has signed into law as unconstitutional and refuse to enforce it on that count."

Citing Bush's behavior as "alarming," Fein suggested that the President could be impeached for "political crime(s) against the Constitution."

In a statement, Sen. Russ Feingold said that the Administration "has taken upon itself the powers of all three branches of government" by not only executing but also interpreting and creating laws as it sees fit.

ASIDE FROM THE FACT THAT THE INCREASE IS EXPONENTIAL, NOT LOGARITHMIC, AN EXCELLENT SUMMARY!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. One of our most important issues this year.

it is conceivable, ignoring the theft of Fla votes in 2000 and the Ohio robbery in 2004, that every single action taken by this president is illegal. Clearly they are immoral, wrong-headed and dangerous.

[aquart]

2. Yeah, but it's not sexy.

If we could get the constitution to wear a blue dress.......

[rogerashton]

3. Do the math.

If a curve that increases exponentially is graphed on semilogarithmic paper, then it makes a straight line, and logarithmic graphs are often used to represent exponential increase as a result. This is no worse than most metaphorical use of mathematical terms and probably no worse than calling the increase in this practice "exponential," since it is almost certainly FASTER than exponential, at least the first time Bush did it -- since exponential curves can never be zero.

If you are going to be a math NAZI, do yer homework -- otherwise, very good post.