What the hell, it’s only a goddamned piece of paper

[babylonsister]

What the hell, it’s only a goddamned piece of paper
by Mark Drolette | Nov 6 2007 - 3:26pm |

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It’s not often, in these dire times, I laugh out loud when the Bush administration, or one of its lackeys, makes yet another insane assertion. (Ed.: Mark, “insane” is superfluous here, given the source.) But I couldn’t help it recently after perusing this lead by Laurie Kellman of the Associated Press:

“President Bush's choice for attorney general {Michael Mukasey} told senators…the Constitution does not prevent the president from wiretapping suspected terrorists without a court order.”

Wow. That’s quite the claim, dontcha think, considering the Fourth Amendment kind of implies -- you know, in an unequivocal, iron-clad, irrefutable implying sort of way -- that wiretapping without a search warrant is, well, gosh, just so darn unconstitutional. (If confirmation’s needed, I suggest consulting any fifth grade American history class.)

Then again, maybe Mukasey’s never read that far. Maybe he lost interest in the Constitution and put it aside after getting bored by the Third Amendment: “No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.”

Admittedly, the Third is rather musty, especially since perpetual war has rendered moot that bothersome “time of peace” clause. Plus, there’s no mention in it whatsoever of Blackwater or private security contractors. Or “mercenaries” (which is just as well since that term is just so, you know, accurate).

Hmph. Maybe the Founding Fathers weren’t so bright, after all.

As long as we’re discussing things constitutional, I’m reminded of what George W. Bush averred when both Republicans and Democrats, in an inexplicable fit of crafting legislation that would actually benefit Americans, proposed to expand the federally-funded S-CHIP health insurance program that covers poor kids. The price tag, roughly equivalent to what Dubya’s weapons industry pals skim from the cauldron of death known as Iraq every four months, was simply too much for the original compassionate conservative to bear as he grimly warned the bill (which he vetoed) could lead to “government-run health care for every American.”

Yeah? And?

The Constitution actually weighs in on this. Right at its beginning, too, where it says it was “ordain{ed} and establish{ed}” to, among other things, “promote the general welfare.”

Seems to me it’s kinda hard to beat guaranteed health care for promoting the populace’s general welfare.

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http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/10855

[Demeter]

1. Don't Confuse Them With the Facts--Their Minds Are Already Made Up

and changing is such a bother--wouldn't be prudent!