The Rise
of King George
I hope our next president undoes a lot of the
damage President George W. Bush has done.
Through Executive Acts and Signing Statements he has severely
infringed on the privacy of peaceable citizens. The
PATRIOT Act
grants law enforcement agencies the power to eavesdrop on your phone
calls without just cause. Recently the president enacted the
Postal Reform Act
that allows private mail to be opened merely by stating exigent
circumstances. By definition, "exigent" circumstances exist in 3
cases:
1. when there is imminent physical danger
to a person
2. when evidence may be destroyed
3. when a suspect may escape
I fail to see how an envelope at the post
office could possibly apply to any of these situations.
There has been flagrant usurpation of power. Executive Acts and
Signing Statements (last-minute edits of passed bills) are no
less than new laws. That is clearly defined by the Constitution as
being the role of Congress alone.
The declaration of war is also
clearly given to Congress, yet the president has conducted war for
many years without their consent.
The President is financing select religious
institutions to spread their message through the White House
Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Again, the budget is a
concern of Congress, not the president, but the biggest offense is
the funding of religious ideals. That is clearly in conflict with
the First Amendment. Luckily this argument will be heard by the U.S.
Supreme Court in February.
Hopefully our next president will be wise enough to restore the
separation and balance of powers the Founding Fathers intended.
Supporting Documentation:
Amendment I - Freedom of Religion, Press,
Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791. Note
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom
of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances.
Amendment IV - Search and Seizure. Ratified
12/15/1791
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,
shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon
probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly
describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be
seized.
http://www.harpers.org/TheCaseForImpeachment.html
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/16230
Relevant Quotes:
“The executive has no right, in any case, to
decide the question, whether there is or is not cause for declaring
war.”
-- James Madison, American president
“We must protect our citizens' privacy -- the bulwark of personal
liberty, the safeguard of individual creativity.”
-- Bill Clinton, American president
“Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little
security will deserve neither and lose both.”
--
Benjamin Franklin, patriot
"Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation whenever he
shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion and you allow him to do
so whenever he may choose, to say he deems it necessary for such
purpose, and you allow him to make war at pleasure...
If today he should choose to say he thinks it necessary to invade
Canada to prevent the British from invading us, how could you stop
him? You may say to him, 'I see no probability of the British
invading us,' but he will say to you, 'Be silent; I see it, if you
don't.'"
-- Abraham Lincoln, in an 1848 letter to his law partner, William
Herndon