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He said it, writersjourney; he is correct; and so are you. The idea of the
unitary executive has been much at play in the Bush administration, especially with his constant use of executive privilege.
posted by
saul_relative
on February 4, 2006 at 11:41 PM
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I Think That it's Rummy Who is Over the Top
Saul, I do detect in this administration a whiff of fascism. The "conservatives" and neo-conservatives become appoplectic when people point out the similarities between the 9/11 effect on America and the Reichstag fire effect on Germany in the 1930s; but then shouldn't the Donald Rumsfeld watch his words about Osama Bin Laden?
Just the other day he compared Bin Laden to Hitler, Stalin and a few other people (I don't have the newspaper in front of me at the moment) and said that Bin Laden wants to take over the world. There is much more evidence to support the notion that Rumsfeld, Cheney and their financial backers want to take over the world -- and their notion of the "unitary executive" is the precise wording and judicial reasoning used by Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt to consolidate power around the person of Adolf Hitler.
I haven't heard Bellefonte's comments because I don't watch television, but if he said what you quoted him as saying I really can't fault the man.
posted by
writersjourney
on February 4, 2006 at 11:07 PM
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Unfortunately, Blanche, I do not believe that the government has ever
stopped spying and eavesdropping and keeping files on anyone deemed personna non grata. But you are absolutely correct about there being no sound reason for the Bush administration not to seek warrants otherwise. Add this to the fact that Bush invokes executive privilege every time he smirks and you have a president with unlimited power, wielding it like a blind man with a sledgehammer in a Hummel showroom. The administration's not-so-subtle shift of the burden of proof on "probable cause" to "unreasonable" is just another example of the spinning and doublespeaking that clouds every major controversial issue Bush and Company have been involved in since he took office.
posted by
saul_relative
on January 29, 2006 at 9:23 PM
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Saul Relative,
Well said. I heard a portion of Mr. Bellafonte's comments while in South America, and I don't agree with him completely. But, then, he's an actor/entertainer, still a private citizen, but doesn't necessarily represent anyone but himself.
In any case, my point about warrantless wire taps, is that it's unnecessary. The NSA court has turned down only 5 out of 1738 requests since it's inception. It's entirely secret and extrajudicial, not subject to pesky congressional oversight, it's a slam dunk for the Administration. Why not bother get a warrant? I think it's because the Admin doesn't want even the courts to know who they're eavesdropping on, provision are in place to keep the executive branch from using its considerable powers against private citizens who happen to disagree with them. Do we want a repeat of J. Edgar Hoover or the FBI's files on dissidents and activists of the 60s?
posted by
Blanche.
on January 28, 2006 at 3:49 PM
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