It became official today; President Bush named himself King of the United States. Granted those of us who follow this administration have seen Bush act as if he was a king and not an elected representative for the past five years but finally today Bush all but came out and said it.
The issue at hand is the wiretapping of US citizens without judicial oversight. In this country that is a felony and an impeachable offense. Essentially, the president does not have absolute power in this country. He is but one part of the government and is supposed to be "checked" and "balanced" by the other branches of government. In the Bush administration however, the other two branches are merely subservient to the omnipotent King George.
In order for the president to wiretap an American citizen he must obtain permission from the courts. In order to gain that permission he must prove to the courts that there is probable cause for such activities. There needs to be a justifiable reason for invading the privacy of the citizen. If the courts agree, then they grant the wiretap. In these instances, Bush bypassed the courts, never established probable cause, and "authorized" the wiretaps himself, making them illegal.
One telling quote from Bush today was:
"We don't talk about sources and methods. Don't talk about ongoing intelligence operations. I know there's speculation. But it's important for the American people to understand that we will do - or I will use my powers to protect us, and I will do so under the law, and that's important for our citizens to understand."
Essentially Bush is saying trust me. Sorry George we don't. It is quite obvious that he is reluctant to discuss "sources and methods" because that would reveal the scope of the federal violations he has sponsored. While it is noble for the president to want to "use his powers" to protect us, it is ILLEGAL for him to determine what those powers are. It is ILLEGAL to rewrite the constitution and assume broader powers circumventing the checks and balances system set up by our founding fathers. What is important for American citizens to understand is that our president does not operate "under the law" but rather seems to believe he is above the law.
The catch phrases you will hear over the ensuing days is that Bush operated within the law, but the part they omit is that Bush decides what the law is, which ones he will follow and which ones he thinks fall under his "powers" to override. If you want to go to war, simply lie to Congress about the intel you have collected. If someone challenges your lies, attack him personally and out his secret agent wife. If you want to hold someone indefinitely, call him an enemy combatant. For whatever annoying law there is, simply create a fake "power" that you can then grant yourself and blame it all on living in a terrorist-post-911 world. If you want to violate the civil rights of citizens, simply don't inform the courts that you authorized illegal wiretaps. This is all standard in the arrogant Bush administration that treats its citizens as children, who are guilty until the illegal wiretap proves them innocent.
The truly shocking thing today was the brazen admittance by King George. A few years ago he would have denied the story or sent out his emissaries to attack the credibility of any of the sources. Instead today he went on the air and told America that he no longer is bound by the Constitution and that the system of checks and balances which has served our country well for over 200 years has been rendered quaint. He took up the crown he has hid for the past five years, crafted with lies, corruption and war and placed it firmly upon his head. He declared himself to no longer be president but King of the United States, no longer answerable to law, courts, or any of the other branches of government. People within his own party were aghast at these revelations and have promised to investigate but they sound like court jesters before the mighty, omnipotent, King George.
Wake up America; it is time to throw the tea in the harbor again.
