Bush quietly gives himself power to open our regular mail !!!

[Peter Langston]

From: David Michael <harp at olympus.net>

[You know those "signing statements" that Bush always signs following his
signing of new legislation? (the ones that give him the right to break the
law he just signed) Well on Christmas day he just gave himself the right to
open our mail (regular snail mail now!) with no warrant from a judge! The
following paragraph is the text of the specific offensive paragraph...(I
know, it helps if you're a lawyer). Below that is the entire text....dm]

[Admittedly it's alarming, but the thing that stands out to me is that we
know GWB can barely string a subject and verb together on his own, so who's
actually writing these things?  And I doubt it's just a language problem, so
who's actually coming up with the concepts?  -psl]

****************************************************


"The executive branch shall construe subsection 404(c) of title 39, as
enacted by subsection 1010(e) of the Act, which provides for opening of an
item of a class of mail otherwise sealed against inspection, in a manner
consistent, to the maximum extent permissible, with the need to conduct
searches in exigent circumstances, such as to protect human life and safety
against hazardous materials, and the need for physical searches specifically
authorized by law for foreign intelligence collection."
*****************************************

President's Statement on H.R. 6407, the "Postal Accountability and
Enhancement Act"
[2006-20] -- 42 WCPD, p. 2196 (December 25, 2006)


Today I have signed into law H.R. 6407, the "Postal Accountability and
Enhancement Act." The Act is designed to improve the quality of postal
service for Americans and to strengthen the free market for delivery
services.

The executive branch shall construe sections 3662 and 3663 of title 39,
United States Code, as enacted by section 205 of the Act, not to authorize
an officer or agency within the executive branch to institute proceedings in
Federal court against the Postal Regulatory Commission, which is another
part of the executive branch, as is consistent with the constitutional
authority of the President to supervise the unitary executive branch and the
constitutional limitation of Federal courts to deciding cases or
controversies.

The executive branch shall construe subsection 409(h) of title 39, as
enacted by section 404 of the Act, which relates to legal representation for
an element of the executive branch, in a manner consistent with the
constitutional authority of the President to supervise the unitary executive
branch and to take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

The executive branch shall construe section 407 of title 39, as enacted by
section 405 of the Act, in a manner consistent with the President's
constitutional authority to conduct the Nation's foreign affairs, including
the authority to determine which officers shall negotiate for the United
States and toward what objectives, to make treaties by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate, and to supervise the unitary executive branch.

The executive branch shall construe subsections 202(a) and 502(a) of title
39, as enacted by subsections 501(a) and 601(a) of the Act, which purport to
limit the qualifications of the pool of persons from whom the President may
select appointees in a manner that rules out a large portion of those
persons best qualified by experience and knowledge to fill the positions, in
a manner consistent with the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. The
executive branch shall also construe as advisory the purported deadline in
subsection 605(c) for the making of an appointment, as is consistent with
the Appointments Clause.

The executive branch shall construe subsection 404(c) of title 39, as
enacted by subsection 1010(e) of the Act, which provides for opening of an
item of a class of mail otherwise sealed against inspection, in a manner
consistent, to the maximum extent permissible, with the need to conduct
searches in exigent circumstances, such as to protect human life and safety
against hazardous materials, and the need for physical searches specifically
authorized by law for foreign intelligence collection.

The executive branch shall construe provisions of the Act that call for
executive branch officials to submit legislative recommendations to the
Congress in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the
President to supervise the unitary executive branch and to recommend for
congressional consideration such measures as the President shall judge
necessary and expedient. Such provisions include subsection 504(d) and
section 2009 of title 39, as amended by section 603 of the Act, and sections
701(a)(2), 702(b), 703(b), 708(b), and 709(b)(2) of the Act.

GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
December 20, 2006.

----- End forwarded message -----
--
Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org
______________________________________________________________
ICBM: 48.07100, 11.36820            http://www.ativel.com
8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A  7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE

[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type application/pgp-signature which had a name of signature.asc]