Amazon.com Widgets

As featured on p. 218 of "Bloggers on the Bus," under the name "a MyDD blogger."

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Eh, it's not like people get a lot of mail anymore, right?

George W. Bush is apparently the new Postmaster General:

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.


Of course, the whole Bush Presidency did hinge on that postal reform bill, so I guess it's justified.

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


Oh, never mind.

This happened during the winter recess, which to me shows that they knew how damaging to civil liberties this was. The difference, of course, is that the oversight committee chairs have a D next to their name.

"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.


I mean, is this the Soviet Union? Going through people's mail, now?

And if I hear "ticking time bomb" one more time, I'm-a gonna puke.

"In certain circumstances - such as with the proverbial 'ticking bomb' - the Constitution does not require warrants for reasonable searches," she said.

Bush, however, cited "exigent circumstances" which could refer to an imminent danger or a longstanding state of emergency.


In perpetual war, every piece of mail is an imminent threat. As is every phone conversation. And every Muslim.

|