Of Dictators and Ticking Time Bombs

President Bush will open your mail without a warrant:

Bush asserted the new authority Dec. 20 after signing legislation that overhauls some postal regulations. He then issued a "signing statement" that declared his right to open mail under emergency conditions, contrary to existing law and contradicting the bill he had just signed, according to experts who have reviewed it.

What will Congress do?

A top Senate Intelligence Committee aide promised a review of Bush's move.

"It's something we're going to look into," the aide said.

"Look into." Right. The signing statement itself is damning evidence that should impeach and convict President Bush - proof that he will not "faithfully execute" the laws of the land. So why hasn't President Bush hasn't been impeached? Why does Congress occassionally whine but do nothing about Bush's signing statements? Why haven't they countered Bush's claim that his Constitutional office of "commander in chief of the armed forces" entitles him to be military dictator of the United States?

The answer is simple, really: most members of Congress want to be President, and they want the power that Bush asserts for himself. Sure, some will grumble about Bush for party reasons, but secretly they are happy that Bush is setting all these precedents for absolute power. Hilary Clinton, for instance, may not be happy that Bush is reading your mail, but she will let Bush do it because she wants to do it herself when she becomes President.

And when our ruinous economic and foreign policies tear the nation apart, the President at that time, building on the Bush legacy, will really show Americans what a brutal, totalitarian police-state dictatorship is all about.

Before I leave this, however, I should mention the "ticking time bomb" situation. What if its an emergency and there's no time to get a warrant before opening a suspect's mail? In that case, the information you are looking for is more important than the suspect, and the suspect should be immune from detention or arrest because of the matter. But warrantless opening of mail would be a very rare exception, not the rule.