Bush says feds can open mail without warrants!!!!!!

President Bush has "quietly claimed sweeping new powers to open Americans' mail without a judge's warrant," the New York Daily News writes this morning.
When he put his signature on a postal reform bill on Dec. 20, the newspaper notes, the president added a "signing statement" that "declared his right to open people's mail under emergency conditions."
The key phrase in that statement:
"The executive branch shall construe subsection 404(c) of title 39, as enacted by subsection 1010(e) of the Act, which provides for opening of an item of a class of mail otherwise sealed against inspection, in a manner consistent, to the maximum extent permissible, with the need to conduct searches in exigent circumstances, such as to protect human life and safety against hazardous materials, and the need for physical searches specifically authorized by law for foreign intelligence collection."
According to the Daily News, legal experts say the president's claim is "contrary to existing law and contradicted the bill he had just signed."
White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore, though, told the Daily News that "in certain circumstances -- such as with the proverbial 'ticking bomb' -- the Constitution does not require warrants for reasonable searches."
Word of Bush's action follows revelations last year about the National Security Agency's so-called warrantless eavesdropping on telephone and Internet communications.
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Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."
-- Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials
It's not rocket science, He's starting a dictatorship! Remember the Nazis, 6 million jews later, It could be us!

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Life is good, the water is sweet. The ground keeps moving beneath my feet.

ah only two more years until my democrates are into office and end this fiasco!

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Spreading Happiness One Bud at a Time

my god,i never imagined having a president that is so content on stomping all over peoples rights and freedoms.what the hell could he be thinking ?

Well that's all well and good, but just because the president says it's OK doesn't make it legal.
If a president makes an executive order, he has just committed an act of treason by virtue of the fact that he has circumvented congress.
Now Just because congress passed the patriot act and even the senate ratified it, does not make the law constitutional.
If this were taken to court, that provision should be thrown out. Due to the fact that it is unconstitutional. And I'm sure before too long someone will challenge this in court, and may have to take it to the Supreme Court.
I'm sure that with the new congress and senate, they will be taking a look at all of this.

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The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. United State Constitution, Art. I Sec. 9 Par. 2

"Dissent is the Highest form of Patriotism" -- Howard Zinn

"And I'm sure before too long someone will challenge this in court, and may have to take it to the Supreme Court."

That's exactly right, Dank. And we can be thankful that Bush has appointed a couple of constitutionalists to the USSC during his time in office. Opening the citizen's mail without a warrant flies right into the face of the Fourth Amendment ... "Secure in their papers and effects."

Vi

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Liberals are people that will believe anything twice.

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Life is good, the water is sweet. The ground keeps moving beneath my feet.

Funny? Wishy-Washy? Neither one, Med. It's obvious that either you don't read my posts, or you have a very hard time comprehending them. So, for the record ... again ... I will restate my case:

There are very FEW points of agreement that I have with president Bush. Among them are: The tax cuts, the Supreme Court assignments and taking the War on Terror to the Middle East. I don't agree with the president on some things too. Among those are: His open border policy and his lack of a veto pen. Get it now, Med?

Vi

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Liberals are people that will believe anything twice.

Scuuuuuuuse me! Just a memo: The "war on terror" is Bullshit, It's a war for profit! Terror is a state of mind fomented upon us by our own government!

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Life is good, the water is sweet. The ground keeps moving beneath my feet.

According to MoveOn.org, you're right. According to those who are leading the Islamic extremists, you're wrong. Listen to what THEY are saying, Med.

Vi

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Liberals are people that will believe anything twice.

Here's a clue, the extremests all hate us because of our foriegn policys. We show our superior attitude all over the world, through our CIA agents to our TV shows. The extremests don't hate individual Americans, they hate our Government, much like we do, only for better reasons. Tell me Iraqis don't have a reason to hate us, first we support Sadam and give him WMDs and then we attack him for having WMDs after he had already got rid of them. They probably think our Government is Nutz, and they are exactly right. This Government is a front for American Corporations world wide. Anyone with at least 20-50 vision can see that, hell Ray Charles could see that!

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Life is good, the water is sweet. The ground keeps moving beneath my feet.