The SOTU Came With A Signing Statement
By Nicole Belle Tuesday Jan 29, 2008 4:18pmI've been receiving statements and videos from all sorts of progressive groups and individuals responding to Bush's 2008 State of the Union speech. Here are two reactions that I thought were particularly good:
DMI's Andrea Batista Schlesinger analyzes the SOTU and finds that once again, Bush fails the middle class:
And David Swanson caught something that no one else appears to have:
On the day of the State of the Union, apparently hoping nobody would notice, President George W. Bush posted a statement on the White House website announcing his intention to violate major sections of the Defense Authorization bill that he just signed into law.[..]
He's decided to close the office that handles Freedom of Information requests from Congress. He's left Blackwater free but jailed citizens who reenact its crimes. He's rewritten government reports on global warming. He's blocked his Justice Departments investigation of political hirings and firings, while the former governor of Alabama begins his eighth month as a political prisoner. He's delivered a State of the Union address packed with the same contemptuous lies as last year's, and announced the seizure of new powers (which Congress greeted with applause). And then there's the latest signing statement.
This statement announces in the by now familiar coded language of the "unitary executive" Bush's intention to violate four key sections of a bill he is simultaneously making "law."
CQ Today sums up these sections as follows:
"One such provision sets up a commission to probe contracting fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another expands protections for whistleblowers who work for government contractors. A third requires that U.S. intelligence agencies promptly respond to congressional requests for documents. And a fourth bars funding for permanent bases in Iraq and for any action that exercises U.S. control over Iraq’s oil money."
See, Andrea, I don't think you carried it far enough. Bush didn't just fail the middle class. Bush has failed all of us.
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THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!!!
"Will no one rid us of this meddlesome.........?"
How's about it, world?
Special thanks goes to Nancy Pelosi for making all of this possible.
"He’s blocked his Justice Departments investigation of political hirings and firings, while the former governor of Alabama begins his eighth month as a political prisoner."
A case that absolutely stinks to high heaven.
When asked to comment Harry Reid said, "zzzzzzzzzzzz".
busch has not failed. he has been a catastrophic success!
Andrea Batista Schlesinger. Someone give that woman a cigar. If we heard responses like that to the dangerous bunk spewed by all politicians more often our problems might actually begin to abate.
This is becoming more and more and more sickening and disgusting. Is Congress
EVER going to grow some balls and challenge this asshole Prez. as to his claims
of "Executive power" over Bills/Laws enacted by "them"? To think that those
persons we elected to represent us in the Congress will continue to allow that
prick sitting in the W/H to us his interpretation as to the intent of laws passed by them is beyond absurd. Just look at the four provisons of the Act he signed that
"he" has attached signing statement to...and Congress is going to permit "him"
to tell "them" what the intent of the Act was? Come on guys and gals..you
are just once again proving to us all that you are in cohoots with this admin.
Shame on each and every one of you and each of you need to be tossed out
on your asses and replaced.
Too bad Pelosi took impeachment "off the table."
(My friends in the City (S.F.) say she's toast come re-election...We'll see.)
Maybe someone should tell congress.
#10: Tell them what? That they are continuing to relinquish all of their
authority to bush-lite? I think they already know it, and don't give a shit.
What would happen if Congress defunded the Secret Service? I don't know, but I'd sure like to see Bush and Cheney with out its protection.
Oh man, can we just leave Siegelman out of this? I'm from Alabama, and while he may not be quite guilty of what he's being sent to jail for, he's guilty of probably 1000 other things. He's a total crook, like a lot of big South, good-old-boy Democrats. Let's just be done with him, shall we?
Seriously. We can find someone better. Check the nearest heroin rehab clinic.
He does so much shit this is considered normal and there is no scandal in it. You are right #6, I would qualify that as a catastrophic success.
Saint Augustine @ 12:
So... they'd just hire Blackwater to protect them.
That's one of my dystopian fantasies, Blackwater & the Secret Service having a gun battle in the halls of the white house...
Bush is such a worthless piece of shit.... but as noted in some of the other comments, he has plenty of democrat enablers.
bush, by having signing statements pertaining to "allowing a investigation into
fraud in gov. contracts in Iraq and Afghan" and by a signing statement wherein
protection is provided to whistleblowers who have the goods on fraudlent gov.
contracts in Iraq and Afghan. has just closed/bared the door and NOTHING
can/will or shall be done by Congress as to such fraud...that's right, "rip the
American taxpayers off" but don't bother me Congress with trying to punish
the guilty because they(Haliburton, et.al.) are my buddies/cronies."
Eleven. My point was-suppose you were doing your job, not like you wanted to but was told by someone (not your boss, BTW) that doing it his way was the only way it would be acceptable. You try it a few times your way and it comes flying back into your face so you say okay if this is the only way to finish the project, I'll do it his way. Then afterward the guy takes credit for your work, does not acknowledge you had anything to do with it, changes everything about it to the point it is no longer recognizable all without the authority to do so then takes no blame when it all turns to shit. Wouldn't you be pissed. I know I would.
So WTF is with congress that they don't think enough of their duly authorized obligation to create laws for this country by letting this phucker change everything that they do to fit his agenda they regard himself above the law he just signed? Why aren’t they pissed? When will they say ‘enough of you’?
Can we refer to it as FTU instead of SOTU henceforth?
pinkobait @ 4:
There also the case of the independent political candidate and whistle-blower Charlie Grapski down in Florida,
evicted then arrested before asking questions at a council meeting, arrested multiple times and beaten by police, photographed in a bloody mess in his police cell and imagery used to make a Youtube video with soundtrack 'I fought the law and the law won' by his political opponents.
Cosy local political parties and developers dont like him much.
#17: I hear you loud and clear. There are, at least according to the Constitution,
three branches of government, however, the Legislative Branch(U.S. Congress)
has, as you indicated, totally completely relinquished it's powers to the Executive
Branch(asshole bush-lite), and that is the shame they share and are entitled to.
Just a bunch of whimps who either have not read the Constitution or are ignoring
it; consequently ALL need to be tossed out of office in Nov. 08, or as soon thereafter as is possible.
There is a theory floating around that the reason Congress does not challenge
bush's abuse of power use of "signing statments" is because the Dem's will come into Office and Power in Nov. 08, and they too will want to retain all the extra
legal powers that bush has accrued. You know, "power corrupts"..
Doggiebobo @ 21:
Not a bad theory. As Jerry Seinfeld said in "The Yada Yada"..."Well, I wouldn't put anything past anybody."
Impeach. Indict. Imprison.
...
The boy Bush's signing statements are irrelevant and Congress should ignore them. Only Congress can make laws. The boy Bush is just having another temper tantrum. He is very upset that he is not the center of attention. Damn those presidential candidates and primaries taking up all the media time. And then the boy Bush is even less significant then Britney Spears. The shame of it all.
I wonder how many people these radical right-wing fanatics will kill when they refuse to either: hold elections, count the votes or step down from power. God, i hope I'm wrong, but the witting on the walls just screams that a civil war is in our nations near future.
here's what's really special...
on January 20, 2009 the dictator George W Bush will be replaced...
by another dictator...
you don't really think the Democrats would give up that much power now do you???
Bush has failed us? Sure. But what about Congress who empowered the boy-dictator? Why don't the Senate and the House make a stink about the signing statements? What about the Supreme Court? Aren't those clearly unconstitutional?
Bush is only dangerous because our inept Congress and right-wing Supreme Court let him have his way. As long as they get re-elected and enjoy the perks of power, our representatives and senators don't really care all that much what happens to us. They're doing just fine. No reason to antagonize the president.
Or maybe --since he has his private army (CIA, working entirely in secrecy and entirely at the pleasure of the president)-- maybe the prez has already dished enough dirt on our corrupt few to keep them in line; or who knows? If we want to get real conspiratorial, maybe they just fear him. After all, small planes seem to crash a whole lot; just ask Senator Paul Wellstone, a vocal opponent to the Iraq war who had a lot of clout in the Senate...and the CIA is known to crash small planes abroad to get rid of undesirables; or is that pushing it too far?
Can we impeach this motherfucker already? Damn, we have come a long way from the Truman commission.
Why is the video no longer available?
[It's working for me-Sitemonitor]
Gee, has anyone seen this reported in any of the corporate media ? anywhere ? if not, why not ? wonder why ............... sure
People want Bush out of the White House as fast as possible and as usual wants to muck things up before he leaves. His signing statements don't carry any weight anymore. He should have been impeached along with Cheney and forced to resign. This many signing statements that are more out of vindictiveness than presidential decorum and necessity are definitely an abuse of power and become less and less significant because of the vast amount. But remember, like father, like son, - recall when Bush I shredded all the documents pertaining to the IRAN-CONTRA scandal just before he left office.
Didn't republicans used to say something about "rule of law"?
Signing statements have the force of law only if the flunkies and scaredy-cats believe they do.
What else should we have expected from a man-child who is acting out his superiority complex in the White House. The boy-king is doing everything possible to make the American president a Roman-style dictator that is beholden to no law during times of war.
OBAMA or Clintons nexr signing statement
"JAIL BUSH AND CHENNEY for WAR CRIMES"
fact
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