The hoodlums are back and asking to stay

The constitutionally heretical monster of presidential absolutism that underlay the vast crimes of Watergate is alive, well, and more robust than ever. The new, new, new Nixons are among us, excusing and even flaunting criminal abuses of power as merely the sad exigencies of national security.

The public has forgotten how critical the exalted claim of "national security" was to the banal perpetrators of Watergate. As Nixon and cohorts so fervently believed, the president could not secure the orderly world he envisioned if political opposition was allowed to flourish and somehow menace that vision. Hence the genesis of bugging and wiretapping and breaking and entering and burglarizing any who might possibly stand in the way. It was for their own good, for the country's own good -- it was for the good of "national security."

Once these self-justified criminal acts came to light, then further crimes, from perjury to obstruction of justice, were once again justified on the grounds of national security. All that magnetic evidence on those revealing tapes contained complicated excuses of national security that the public might not understand, might not appreciate, and at any rate should not be privy to.

There was more to Nixon's cover-up of having ordered the CIA's obstruction of the FBI's investigation into Watergate crimes than self-preservation, or so the president and his aides convinced themselves. One revelation might lead to another, and before long the public might know of dark but necessary national security secrets behind historical shenanigans like the Bay of Pigs. The linkage was obscure, ludicrous, even laughable, but "national security" was the president's understanding friend. Better to keep a lid on the whole thing. It was for everyone's own good.

But not everyone understood the president's absolute need for absolute authority on essential matters of national security -- matters that would eventually entail, for example, the unquestioned need to rifle an American citizen's private psychiatric files. Such understanding was, rather, largely limited to commonplace hoodlums without any grasp of their nation's history and the whys and wherefores of its embrace of constitutional guarantees -- hoodlums now elevated to inner circles of power. They knew better.

As the slime of Watergate spilled into public ken at Senate hearings, the hoodlums were by then openly justifying criminal act after criminal act on the elusive grounds of national security and the president's monarchical need to direct it. Yet those grounds were eerily difficult to comprehend precisely because of their elusiveness. As one senator (Herman Talmadge) struggled to ascertain, given the arguments presented, just where any line of presidential power could be drawn, he asked one of the hoodlums {John Ehrlichman):

"Now if the President could authorize a covert break-in, and you do not know exactly what that power would be limited [to], you do not think it could include murder or other crimes beyond covert break-ins, do you?"

To which the lawyerly hoodlum responded just as uncomprehendingly: "I do not know where the line is, Senator."

So the senator tried the enlightenment angle: "Do you remember when we were in law school, we studied a famous principle of law that came from England and also is well known in this country, that no matter how humble a man's cottage is, that even the King of England cannot enter without his consent?"

Hoodlum, defiant and self-justifying: "I am afraid that has been considerably eroded over the years, has it not?"

Apparently so.

Perhaps it is excusable that a public burdened by daily worries of wage stagnation, spiraling healthcare costs or no healthcare at all, real retirement doubts and the like would have fallen asleep over the last 30 years. Perhaps it is excusable that, given these preoccupying worries, the public was slow in recognizing and storming the castle of the constitutionally heretical monster of Mr. Bush.

But it remains Congress' constitutionally imperative job to do so, whatever inattention may outward lie. And if the present Congress continues its abdication of responsibility, its incoming members should raise holy hell, for as the New York Times editorialized this morning with devastating historical accuracy ...

"Mr. Bush [has] made it clear that, for now, his idea of how to 'put the elections behind us' is to use the Republicans’ last two months in control of Congress to try to push through one of the worst ideas his administration and its Republican allies on Capitol Hill have come up with: a bill that would legalize his illegal wiretapping program and gut the law that limits a president’s ability to abuse his power in this way.... Mr. Cheney and a few other hard-liners have been trying to turn back the clock and have succeeded in some truly scary ways, including the military commissions act they pushed through Congress before the elections."

We've seen this executive team before, and we recognized then its implications for our "security." The new Congressional team should tell the new, new, new Nixons and their legislative enablers in no unclear terms where to get off -- that enough is enough -- or "putting the elections behind us" will put behind us a lot more than that.

Comments

[clarence swinney]

Liberal=Negative
Conservative=Postive

confusing

Liberals are the ones who created progress for America thru history.

Details-

google search-

clarence swinney + democrats create wealth

clarence swinney + 84 greats

clarence swinney + praise clinton

clarence swinney + tax & spend is pay your way

clarence swinney + reagan firsts

clarence siwnney + how to identify a republican

[matt]

National Security means different things to different people. To those of us who go to work everyday and depend on the government to protect us from "evildoers," national security means securing the borders, keeping out terrorists, and investing in infrastructure to keep everything up to date and working properly.

To the vast numbers of little Hitlers in both parties, national security means keeping secret from the American people all the funds they collect from lobbyists, the deals they do to scratch each others backs, the offshore accounts that they swell with our money. National security=don't let them know.

It's like Poppy Bush once said, "If the people knew what we did, they'd lynch us."

Security as in status quo, as in let me loot the treasury just a little longer without anyone finding out just how thoroughly I am screwing over the constitution and the American people, even at the expense of the men and women in uniform dying in faraway places.

National security is perpetuating the American myth while perpetrating treasonous acts under color of official office and members of both parties are quite well adept at it.

[Vic Anderson]

Congress must return US our Constitutional rights and read Bush and Cheney theirs under Miranda. Impeachment NOW!

[James P. Robinson]

Impeach! Impeach!

[clarence swinney]

Smear Kings
SMEAR CAMPAIGNS –history

The Conservatives wandered in the wilderness from Coolidge until Reagan.

When Nixon resigned they went crazy with Hatred.

Reagan gave then a Soap Box to spread hatred.

When my Lord Clinton stomped Bush I they exploded with fury of Madness and Hatred.

They had a Congress whose leading spokesperson said in 1994 “If we get Congress we will investigate every decision made by this administration”.

True to his word Congress spent, according to GAO ($110,000,000), on Hearings and Investigations of the Clinton administration.

Their hatred became very abusive through right wing radio talk shows like Mush Dimbaugh who was recorded as spreading over 10,000 LIES(intent to deceive) in 4,000 hours of his transcripts. Edit by FAIR. Author’s extrapolation.

Their smearing of Clinton was local.

Now, the self-admitted Recovering Alcoholic Bush has made us a Worldwide Laughing Stock.

South America is electing leaders who exhibit true Christian virtues like “Care for the Least Amongst thee”.

Some are yelling—“WHO IS AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD BUSH”

World leaders who have met him laugh at his ignorance.

Oh! How I long for another Clinton Type leader.

One who is exceptionally intelligent

One who knows Governance.

One who truly cares about America.

One who cares for the less fortunate.

One who knows democracies thrive under a hugh middle class.

One who when he gets wealth uses it to do good for the least amongst us.

One who knows that when a small percent own the majority of the nation’s wealth
A Christian God will not allow them to survive for centuries.

The lower 80% will Revolt.

Had Clinton kept his zipper zapped I would put him on the Empire State Building in lights 100 feet high.

I love Bill Clinton. Very much.

Clarence Swinney
Political Historian since 1991 of Reagan-Clinton-Bush II administrations.
President-Retired-Lifeaholics of America
WORK FOR A LIFE NOT JUST A LIVING (like Bill Clinton)

[clarence swinney]

Is he sane?
Bush said: “we liberated that country-

The above subject heading is a typical Mush Dimbaugh technique to deceive. It is called "sin of omission"-or Half-truth.

Mush is universal King of it.

The full statement gives a different meaning.

"We liberated that country--from a tyrant".

But-Bush went way out into space with the next statement--

"I think the Iraqi people owe the American people a huge debt of gratitude. We've endured great sacrifice to help them"

--------Iraqi response(would be)--------

Mr. Bush, we are grateful for--

Losing 550,000 of our citizens.

Your Tyrant executed less than 100 from the gulf War until you invaded our soverign land.

Sir, that is less than you executed as Governor.
They were given a Trial under our legal system.

Those you executed did not get full execution of your law.

Your law says you must personally review each request for Stay Of Execution. You aides in Texas say you did not. You asked your staffers "is he/she guilty? You did not obey your law.
Sir,you are a criminal.

More than 40,000 wounded. Many are helpless for life. No legs-No arms-No face-No brain.

Recent study shows you killed 26,000 kids. Kids.
sir. For each child killed there are 20 mourners.

20 X 26,000=520,000 peope with broken hearts and pain for the rest of their lives.

How much pain have you had, sir?

Watching your girls roam the land and, allegedly, run naked through a hotel. Suffer sir.

You destroyed our cities. You made over 2,000,000 homeless. Fallujah and Basra to you, sir.

You made hundred of thousands flee to nearby countries and leave their loved ones behind. God bless you.

You have over worked our health care facilites. You are so kind.
Those not destroyed by your happy, video trained,brave, young, misguided pilots.

You have ruined our heat-air condition-- electrical infrastructure. Bless you.

You have ruined our water supply systems with your hi tech missiles. Thanks.

You have turned loose your young Thugs to rape and kill our women and their families.Haitha to you, sir. Nice going, sir. Were your youg people trained watching on your TV "Girls Gone Wild"?

Sir, I could go on and on with additional things you have done for no logical reason or explanation.

We do appreciate all you have done for us.

Your neo-con superiors who pull your puppet strings have long wanted our OIL .
Have you never noted the names of your neo-con PNAC pals. I have. They are overwhelmingly of the Jewish Faith. Israel first nd foremost.
Praise Allah.

You have opened severe religious differences and created enemies among neighbors who once were friends.

You attacked, invaded and killed our nation of 25 million people(you have 300 million)
with your mighty armada backed by a 11,000 GDP
against our 30 GDP.

We had-- no planes--no ships-no anti-aircraft missiles-no tanks--just a few rifles and bazookas.

Since the gulf War we have minded our own business.

We have been striving to stay alive from your sanctions which deprived us of many necessities for life.

We wanted freedom as much as any person on the globe.

Sir, why are you such a bully?

Why do not you attack Communist China with it's nuclear armada and one billion people?

You could elininate all that Debt you owe them.

Why do you not attack Russia with it's one Silo loaded with 200 ICBM that can put 2000 Hi Tech Nuclear Bombs on your land and make it vanish from the earth in 90 minutes.

Show some Guts. Go for broke. Attack muscle.
Pick on someone your own size. Or, are you the true 100 lb weakling with hi tech guns?

You sir are one SORRY SON OF A B---H.
May Allah take care of your sorry ---.

My psychological interpretation of an Iraqi mind.

My personal interpretation is far more severe.

What we have done sir is:

ANTI-AMERICAN--ANTI-CHRIST-ANTI-WORLD.