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December 18, 2005
Intolerable Executive Action
Imagine the founding father of your choice was having dinner with you one fine evening. First you’d be like "whoa Ben Franklin! What are you doing in my living room? Do you prefer your hamburgers medium or well done?" Then you’d have to explain what a "living room" is, and what a "hamburger" is...
Finally, however, you’d get around to asking him what he thinking about a president granting himself the authority to issue warrants for wiretaps without judicial oversight. And what, exactly, he thinks about a president doing such a thing in secret. There might be a few things in there you’d have to explain (like modern telecommunications), but ultimately he’d start darkly muttering about having a revolution. And, just so we are clear, so would Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, or just about anyone else who put their life on the line against English Tyranny...
See, our constitutional system is based—as anyone with a passing familiarity with Schoolhouse Rock can testify—on a system of checks and balances. What this means at a more technical level (I’ve got to school to study this!) is that each branch of government has a different set of incentives so that the odds of all of them wanting to do badly at the same time are low. Moreover, each person in each branch of government will jealously guard their interests, so that if one branch tries to reach too far, to take too much, the other branches will swoop down and scream bloody murder...
Which is why what Bush has done goes against the very fabric of the American Constitution. He has usurped for himself the power to act as judge—in addition to his ability to execute laws. Moreover, he has created laws ("executive orders") in secret—laws which negatively effect American liberties. This act is as intolerably as it is illegal. President Bush ought to face the full wrath of an outraged citizenry over this issue. Contact your Representative or Senator and express your outrage. If they seem unconvinced, remind them their own powers have been diminished—that’ll get their attention...
UPDATE:
This Link Has always been here. I've certainly not added it since the comment went up...
Update update:
The link above has not always been there. Saying so was my way of implying that I am an idiot for not having included it in the original post.
Posted by Andrew at December 18, 2005 10:22 AM
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Comments
Could you add a link to where you heard/read about this? I'd hate to write my Congressperson or Senator without reading the source. Not that I don't believe you, I just like to read for myself. :)
Posted by: StarFiend at December 18, 2005 01:57 PM