The Weekend Break

If President Bush is going on vacation we are too! Not really, but we are starting a new tradition at Molten Carbon. Every weekend we are going to post something NOT related to politics in an effort to reduce 'activist fatique'. Feel free to comment or add your own material, but remember, come Monday, we are all about politics. Have a great weekend!

The Constitution in Crisis - Rep. John Conyers

Rep. John Conyers has released a 'must read' 350 page report 'The Constitution in Crisis'. His report is a compilation and examination of the Bush administration's willful disregard for the rule of law and our Constitution. Here is an excerpt of Representative Conyers blog-release from The Huffington Post:

Today, I am releasing the final version of my report, the "Constitution in Crisis." The report, which is some 350 pages in length and is supported by more than 1,400 footnotes, compiles the accumulated evidence that the Bush Administration has thumbed its nose at our nation's laws, and the Constitution itself. Approximately 26 laws and regulations may have been violated by this Administration's misconduct.

Please Do Not Disturb

The Middle East is coming closer every day to an all out regional catastrophe with Iraq on the brink of civil war, the Israeli-Hezbollah and Israel-Palestine wars threaten to draw in Syria and further involve Iran while a humanitarian crisis is reaching critical mass.

General John Abizaid had this to say to the Senate Armed Services Committee on August 3, 2006:

"The sectarian violence is probably as bad as I've seen it...If not stopped, it is possible that Iraq could move toward civil war."(The Seattle Times)

Tony Blair, just about to go on vacation, decided that things were too grave to take time off:

"British Prime Minister Tony Blair will delay the start of his holiday to work on a U.N. deal for a cease-fire in Lebanon, his office says...Basically he's delayed to try and do further work to try and get this U.N. deal together. And he thinks the next few days will be critical, a spokesman said, adding he expected Blair to delay his departure by several days".(CNN)

While we know President Bush is deeply concerned with the situation, he still decided to go on vacation and even stopped by a Texas Border Patrol station before heading off to his ranch for a week and a half:

"He got an up close look at several tools the Border Patrol uses to catch people sneaking across — helicopters, a boat and a small plane — and he stopped to pet some horses that are used on old-fashioned patrols." (MSNBC)

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Straight Talk from the Troops

We wanted to share a link to a story from the Washington Post that knocked us out of our seats.

Here's a sample:

"But some soldiers in the 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division -- interviewed over four days on base and on patrols -- say they have grown increasingly disillusioned about their ability to quell the violence and their reason for fighting."

"It sucks. Honestly, it just feels like we're driving around waiting to get blown up, that's the most honest answer I could give you," said Spec. Tim Ivey, 28, of San Antonio, a muscular former backup fullback for Baylor University. "You lose a couple friends and it gets hard".

...he wished "somebody would explain to us, 'Hey, this is what we're working for.' " With a stream of expletives, he said he could not care less "if Iraq's free" or "if they're a democracy."

"The first time somebody you know dies, the first thing you ask yourself is, 'Well, what did he die for?'"

"They say we're here and we've given them freedom, but really what is that? You know, what is freedom? You've got kids here who can't go to school. You've got people here who don't have jobs anymore. You've got people here who don't have power," he said. "You know, so yeah, they've got freedom now, but when they didn't have freedom, everybody had a job."

Full article: Frustration Grows in Iraq

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New Plan for Baghdad = Same Old Rhetoric

On 7/26/06, President Bush laid out a brand new plan for stabilizing the deteriorating situation in Baghdad:
“

"Under the prime minister's leadership, coalition and Iraqi leaders are modifying their operational concept to bring greater security to the Iraqi capital. Coalition and Iraqi forces will secure individual neighborhoods, will ensure the existence of an Iraqi security presence in the neighborhoods, and gradually expand the security presence as Iraqi citizens help them root out those who instigate violence. This plan will involve embedding more U.S. military police with Iraqi police units to make them more effective."

Wait, wasn't this the old plan? Here's an excerpt from the 2005 'National Strategy for Victory in Iraq':

"Efforts on the security track include offensive operations against the enemy, protection of key communication and infrastructure nodes, post-conflict stabilization operations, and the training, equipping, and mentoring of Iraqi Security Forces. Coalition transition teams are embedded in all Iraqi Army battalions to provide assistance and guidance when needed."

The definition of insanity: Repeatedly performing the same action while continuing to expect different results.

Domestic Espionage: Check Please

The NSA program violates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and more importantly the 4th Amendment to the Constitution. The FISA Act is a law that requires any wiretapping of American citizens to be authorized by the FISA Court. The President claims however that he has inherent and Congressionally mandated authority to bypass the FISA court as a result of the theory of the 'Unitary Executive', a divergent view of the Executive Branch which vests all powers not delegated by Congress or the Constitution to the President, in direct violation of the 'All Powers' clause of the Constitution, which delegates these powers to the people, NOT the President. Not only is President Bush breaking established law by wiretapping American citizens, he is doing so under a flawed and unconstitutional premise of power.

The only Congressional bill addressing this issue to receive much traction is one proposed by Senator Specter (R) which gives the President the option of having the program reviewed by the FISA court for its constitutionality. Senator Specter believes his bill will balance the need for judicial review of the program while honoring the Bush administration's need for secrecy. This reasoning is flawed for two reason:

It's wishful and contrived thinking that the Bush administration will agree to submit this program for review; they barely follow established law as is, let alone laws that don't actually require them to do anything.

The FISA court has no precedent to form an arguable case for or against the legality of this program; They approve or deny wiretapping requests, they don't argue constitutional law. By allowing the President to maintain a shroud of secrecy over this program, Senator Specter is giving in to the President's claim that the constitutional authority inherent in the Office of the President is enough to ignore, circumvent and deride Congressionally enacted law and our system of checks and balances.

(updated 8/4/06)

Sen. Specter preparing bill to sue Bush

**Please call Senator Specter's office and let him know that you support this legislation:
(202-224-4254)
online: Senator Specter

Please read my review of President Bush's use of signing statements to bypass congressionally enacted laws, 'Over, Above & Beyond: Bush Disregards Law'. My argument was that President Bush was ignoring Article 1, sect; 7 of the Constitution which requires the President to either accept or veto a congressional bill.

The American Bar Association released a bipartisan report on July 24, 2006 finding that President Bush's use of signing statements "undermine the rule of law and our constitutional system of separation of powers". Read the full ABA report(PDF)

Today, Senator Arlen Specter (R) announced that he is seeking legislation to allow Congress to sue President Bush over the signing statements:

"We will submit legislation to the United States Senate which will...authorize the Congress to undertake judicial review of those signing statements with the view to having the president's acts declared unconstitutional".

Go here for the full article:Sen. Specter preparing bill to sue Bush

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