Why Don't We Just Give Him a Crown and Be Done with It?

"Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales left open the possibility yesterday that President Bush could order warrantless wiretaps on telephone calls occurring solely within the United States…"

Comments

[JAT]

Ahem, I called this waaay back when this thing started. Big surprise.

Remember being surprised by the stuff your government does? I kinda do.

[biologist]

don't you understand? we're at war! 9/11 changed everything! why do you hate America?

...just using GW's preemption doctrine to predict the arguments we'll see justifying this

[gdubs]

Hey baby, I check, I balance, I do it all!

A crown? You shouldn't have..! Oooh, that fits niiiice.

[Karen]

Maybe this isn't such a bad idea. There's no reason we have to make him our King; we could find some forgotten European principality and make him the monarch there. I suggest the Grand Duchy of Hesse and By Rhine, known familiarly but incorrectly as Hesse-Darmstadt. (Bless you, Jesses, I've been waiting YEARS to spout that piece of utterly useless trivia. Now I can die in peace.) The last Hereditary Grand Duke died in the 1980's, so the position is open. He can wear lots of theatrical military uniforms and give parties, just like being in the frat at Yale. Cheney can go too, and lead hunting expeditions to the Black Forest. Maybe he can even marry the twins off to some guy with a title. This could be fun . . .

[Dave W.]

Could? Or has?

[SR]

"Could? Or has?"

A DOJ spokesperson in the article is quoted as saying, "The Attorney General's comments today should not be interpreted to suggest the existence or non-existence of a domestic program or whether any such program would be lawful under the existing legal analysis,"

[Jeff in Texas]

I wonder when news like this stops being reported as some kind of surprise. There are, literally, no meaningful limits on this administration's theory of executive power, and anyone who has been paying attention should have known that for quite some time. Based upon the various arguments and memoranda that we have been made aware of, there is no logical reason why the President, acting in his capacity as Commander in Chief, cannot, for example, suspend future federal elections until such time as the current state of "war" has ended. There is no reason, to pick another example, that he could not initiate a program of official hostage-taking, by which American citizens of questionable loyalties are required to send a child or loved-one to a detention center, where the designated hostage would be kept (in comfort, of course) to assure the cooperation of the suspect Americans. There is certainly no reason in the world, given the justifications presented to date, that the President cannot order warrantless tapping of domestic communications between US citizens. And OF COURSE, exactly that is happening already. Who is moronic enough to think that it isn't? He is a goddam monarch, and we have let it happen.

[Brian]

Don't worry, he'll only spy on terrorists. This would never be used against domestic political enemies.

[KipEsquire]

It was less than three months ago that Scott McClellan and James Hayden insisted that critics of the program were practically illiterate and needed a refresher course on the difference between "domestic" and "international."

They can't even keep their stories straight amongst themselves.

[F the man]

My friends and I speak in code while using almost all traceable information transfer devices if we end up communicating about whatever subject matter we feel could reduce our freedom via coercive control. I don't see power centers, as in the government and large multi nationals, reducing their need for control. What good is a class of consumers if they can't be forced to consume?

I don't know about the rest of you, but interpersonal communication is a lost art form in the USA. If you don?t like the idea of government or big companies recording your every move don?t give them the opportunity.

[Jon H]

I kinda wish Saddam Hussein would start using Bush and Gonzales arguments as a defense in his own trial.

His outbursts get some coverage over here, so it'd be fun hearing him defending his gassing of Halbja as being within the unitary powers of the executive and part of his duty to respond to a threat to national security. Then in the next news segment, we'd hear Gonzales using the same argument to justify Bush's latest overreach.

If you believe Bush's argument, then you can't very well try Saddam Hussein for anything he did when in power, because it was all within his authority.

[Isaac Bartram]

This would never be used against domestic political enemies.

Well, maybe the ones that really, really deserve it.

[georgemussmann]

"Late at night, I'm all alone, fooling with my baby on the telephone. Out of nowhere, somebody cuts in, and says 'you in some trouble boy, we know where you've been' "
The Eagles-On the border

[Cathy Young]

Sure, Bush will misuse classified information to attempt to smear his political opponents. And sure, he asserts (and acts upon) the right to spy on anyone, anywhere, anytime.

But Gore would have taxed carbon. So he's just as bad. And don't get me started on Kerry.

[Warren]

Why Don't We Just Give Him a Crown and Be Done with It?

Good idea. Then we can deal with him in the traditional manner.
Sic Semper Tyrannis!

[JAT]

Here's something that would surprise me: Canceled elections.

But I guess now that I've said it, I can only give a resigned sigh when it happens.

[moonbiter]

make him the monarch ... [of] Grand Duchy of Hesse and By Rhine, known familiarly but incorrectly as Hesse-Darmstadt

Hey now, as one who lives right on the border from this area (in Koblenz), I can say with some confidence that the natives would not appreciate this. Why punish the Germans with him? Send him someplace where he will be appreciated -- like Texas.

[Bobster]

Keep your gun clean and your powder dry. That's my answer to almost all this "The government is coming stuff."

[Jeff in Texas]

moonbiter--

Do not overestimate the welcome he would receive here in Texas. His approval ratings are less than 50% even here-- the state that for years had a collective boner for the idiot manchild.

[martin]

Karen,

Thanks, but no thanks, I'm positive they don't want him either in my old home state.
And BTW, the country was indeed called Hessen-Darmstadt (as opposed to Hessen-Nassau), but the official title of the Grand-Duke was "von Hessen und bei Rhein".
My grandmother and her sister told stories of meeting the last Duke, Ernst-Ludwig. Their father was in charge of the archives in Darmstadt.
Just some familial trivia.

[thoreau]

Here's something that would surprise me: Canceled elections.

Rest assured, JAT, that if such a thing happens under a Republican President, John will be here to explain that it's really no big deal.