Charles Savage of the Boston Globe first wrote about Bush and his signing statements (which essentially say that he'll follow the law he's signing only when he feels like it and only when it doesn't contradict something he wants to do) on April 30 of this year; now he's got a second article about them. He writes that they all come from Cheney's view of expanded presidential authority in the area of national security, which might make a little sense if you believed that Congress couldn't tie a President's hands (I don't believe that), but it wouldn't explain this:
In addition to the torture ban and oversight provisions of the Patriot Act, the laws Bush has claimed the authority to disobey include restrictions against US troops engaging in combat in Colombia, whistle-blower protections for government employees, and safeguards against political interference in taxpayer-funded research.
Scientific research? Whistle-blower protection? What's that got to do with national security?
Welcome to East Germany, with the NSA taking the role of the Stazi.
Posted by Linkmeister at May 30, 2006 10:58 AM | TrackBack