And This Is Surprising, Why?
You would think that Congress had figured out the modus operandi of the Emperor by now, but, alas, apparently it hasn't. Mr. Bush has made it clear by his actions that he has no intention of being limited or subjected to oversight by anybody: not Congress, not the courts. He is the unitary executive with limitless powers to do as he wishes. Even if he deigns to send his Attorney Generalissimo, Betito Gonzales, to Congress to talk about such things as the illegality of the the administration's behavior, Mr. Gonzales will talk only on subjects he chooses, regardless of the questions. From an editorial in today's NY Times:
This is how President Bush keeps his promise to deal with Congress in good faith on issues of national security and the balance of powers: He sends the attorney general to the Senate Judiciary Committee to stonewall, obfuscate and spin fairy tales.
Testifying on Tuesday after months of refusing to show up, Alberto Gonzales dodged questions about President Bush’s warrantless wiretapping operation. He refused to say whether it was the only time that Mr. Bush had chosen to ignore the 1978 law on electronic eavesdropping. In particular, he would not say whether it was true that the government had accumulated large amounts of data on Americans’ routine telephone calls. “The programs and activities you ask about, to the extent that they exist, would be highly classified,” Mr. Gonzales intoned. [Emphasis added]
Ah, those super-duper double secret programs! If they exist, we can't know about them because they are super-duper double secret. We are not entitled. The Emperor has spoken. All hail the all powerful Emperor. And lest Congress and the American people fail to completely appreciate that, Mr. Gonzales makes it clear:
Mr. Gonzales did answer when he was asked who had derailed a Justice Department investigation, requested by Congress, into Mr. Bush’s decision to authorize the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on phone calls and e-mail without a warrant. Mr. Gonzales said that Mr. Bush himself did it, by refusing to grant the needed security clearances to the lawyers involved.
Now can we impeach the bastard?
This is how President Bush keeps his promise to deal with Congress in good faith on issues of national security and the balance of powers: He sends the attorney general to the Senate Judiciary Committee to stonewall, obfuscate and spin fairy tales.
Testifying on Tuesday after months of refusing to show up, Alberto Gonzales dodged questions about President Bush’s warrantless wiretapping operation. He refused to say whether it was the only time that Mr. Bush had chosen to ignore the 1978 law on electronic eavesdropping. In particular, he would not say whether it was true that the government had accumulated large amounts of data on Americans’ routine telephone calls. “The programs and activities you ask about, to the extent that they exist, would be highly classified,” Mr. Gonzales intoned. [Emphasis added]
Ah, those super-duper double secret programs! If they exist, we can't know about them because they are super-duper double secret. We are not entitled. The Emperor has spoken. All hail the all powerful Emperor. And lest Congress and the American people fail to completely appreciate that, Mr. Gonzales makes it clear:
Mr. Gonzales did answer when he was asked who had derailed a Justice Department investigation, requested by Congress, into Mr. Bush’s decision to authorize the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on phone calls and e-mail without a warrant. Mr. Gonzales said that Mr. Bush himself did it, by refusing to grant the needed security clearances to the lawyers involved.
Now can we impeach the bastard?
posted by Diane at 3:58 AM
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