Bush Shuns Patriot Act Requirement

I don't know if I should bother saying, "Bush must be impeached for the Repubic to survive," because I think it's already dead. But his track record of disregarding federal law when it deems it convenient is absolute proof. The latest atrcoity is reported by the Boston Globe (login now required):

When President Bush signed the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act this month, he included an addendum saying that he did not feel obliged to obey requirements that he inform Congress about how the FBI was using the act's expanded police powers.

We should remember that this is not new:

After The New York Times disclosed in December that Bush had authorized the military to conduct electronic surveillance of Americans' international phone calls and e-mails without obtaining warrants, as required by law, Bush said his wartime powers gave him the right to ignore the warrant law.

And when Congress passed a law forbidding the torture of any detainee in US custody, Bush signed the bill but issued a signing statement declaring that he could bypass the law if he believed using harsh interrogation techniques was necessary to protect national security.

According to Bush, the War on Terror makes the President a dictator, who can ignore any law passed by Congress just by saying "national security."

It's only a matter of time before this or a future President postpones indefinetely a federal election and justify it by saying "national security!" I wonder how many Americans will be sufficiently softened and tolerate the measure, and how many will take their guns to Washington to teach the President what a real "national security crisis" looks like.