UnCommonwealth

Easier and cheaper than a crappy meal at the Olive Garden

I'm thirty-eight years old and until a few minutes ago I'd never donated money to a politician's election campaign. I've donated to causes, sure, but never to a politician.

Look, I've figured out that I kind of suck at leadership type stuff, convincing others to go my way on an issue, what have you. But the people who read this journal are pretty much people who know me and like or love me for one reason or another, so listen just a sec.

I think things have gotten dangerously screwy in this country, and of the three choices still standing, I think Barack Obama is the citizenry's best hope of getting us back on the right path. So I gave some money through his campaign site, and I really, really think you should too.

What's a little Constitutional crisis between you and me?

By and large, our gutless Fourth Estate pals are playing monkey-no-see monkey-no-hear regarding this article by Charlie Savage in the Sunday Boston Globe.  (That might be behind an e-mail harvesting free registration wall--sign up or try me@privacy.net for the e-mail and "boston" for the password, courtesy of our friends at bugmenot).

You'll remember when Senator John  McCain (the occasionally sane--but remember, occasionally ain't enough--Republican war hero and torture victim from Arizona) managed to pass legislation last fall forbidding the use of torture by the American military and intelligence services. You'll remember it because it after he signed the bill, Bush took the trouble to draft a "signing statement" in which, in effect, he said "No torture, sure, 'ceptin them times me and Dick sez we get to torture."

Well, as it turn out, Bush issues "signing statements" on about ten percent of the bills that cross his desk.

Which means that he's asserting his "right" to ignore--so far--ten percent of the laws he signs.

Want more examples? Here are ten from a Globe sidebar:

March 9: Justice Department officials must give reports to Congress by certain dates on how the FBI is using the USA Patriot Act to search homes and secretly seize papers.

Bush's signing statement: The president can order Justice Department officials to withhold any information from Congress if he decides it could impair national security or executive branch operations.

Dec. 30, 2005: US interrogators cannot torture prisoners or otherwise subject them to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.

Bush's signing statement: The president, as commander in chief, can waive the torture ban if he decides that harsh interrogation techniques will assist in preventing terrorist attacks.

Dec. 30: When requested, scientific information ''prepared by government researchers and scientists shall be transmitted [to Congress] uncensored and without delay."

Bush's signing statement: The president can tell researchers to withhold any information from Congress if he decides its disclosure could impair foreign relations, national security, or the workings of the executive branch.

Aug. 8: The Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and its contractors may not fire or otherwise punish an employee whistle-blower who tells Congress about possible wrongdoing.

Bush's signing statement: The president or his appointees will determine whether employees of the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission can give information to Congress.

Dec. 23, 2004: Forbids US troops in Colombia from participating in any combat against rebels, except in cases of self-defense. Caps the number of US troops allowed in Colombia at 800.

Bush's signing statement: Only the president, as commander in chief, can place restrictions on the use of US armed forces, so the executive branch will construe the law ''as advisory in nature."

Dec. 17: The new national intelligence director shall recruit and train women and minorities to be spies, analysts, and translators in order to ensure diversity in the intelligence community.

Bush's signing statement: The executive branch shall construe the law in a manner consistent with a constitutional clause guaranteeing ''equal protection" for all. (In 2003, the Bush administration argued against race-conscious affirmative-action programs in a Supreme Court case. The court rejected Bush's view.)

Oct. 29: Defense Department personnel are prohibited from interfering with the ability of military lawyers to give independent legal advice to their commanders.

Bush's signing statement: All military attorneys are bound to follow legal conclusions reached by the administration's lawyers in the Justice Department and the Pentagon when giving advice to their commanders.

Aug. 5: The military cannot add to its files any illegally gathered intelligence, including information obtained about Americans in violation of the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches.

Bush's signing statement: Only the president, as commander in chief, can tell the military whether or not it can use any specific piece of intelligence.

Nov. 6, 2003: US officials in Iraq cannot prevent an inspector general for the Coalition Provisional Authority from carrying out any investigation. The inspector general must tell Congress if officials refuse to cooperate with his inquiries.

Bush's signing statement: The inspector general ''shall refrain" from investigating anything involving sensitive plans, intelligence, national security, or anything already being investigated by the Pentagon. The inspector cannot tell Congress anything if the president decides that disclosing the information would impair foreign relations, national security, or executive branch operations.

Nov. 5, 2002: Creates an Institute of Education Sciences whose director may conduct and publish research ''without the approval of the secretary [of education] or any other office of the department."

Bush's signing statement: The president has the power to control the actions of all executive branch officials, so ''the director of the Institute of Education Sciences shall [be] subject to the supervision and direction of the secretary of education."