Bush's Self-Serving Interpretation of the Law

Bush's many 'creative' interpretations of the laws are consistent with being a radical right winger but they are not consistent with our nation's democracy. John Dean of FindLaw gives us a history lesson on the abuse of power in our nation:

Lately, the Bush Administration has been talking of using the Espionage Act of 1917 to prosecute the New York Times and the Washington Post. Yet these veteran newspapers' "crimes" consist merely of publishing Pulitzer-Prize-winning articles on the CIA's secret prisons, and the NSA's secret surveillance programs.

Not even Nixon sank so low. He might have initiated criminal prosecutions against the Times for printing the Pentagon Papers, yet did not.

And in other respects, the Bush Administration makes Nixon look like a piker when it comes to free speech, as well as other civil liberties issues: Its electronic surveillance of American citizens has been done in utter defiance of the law.

Does the "war on terror" justify the Administration's incursions on civil liberties? Putting this Administration's actions in historical perspective suggests the answer is a resounding no.

(snip)

More generally, Bush and Cheney have surely topped all their predecessors in their unbridled support for and use of torture. They have outdone all their predecessors, too, in their high-tech, relentless fear-mongering. In their claim of strengthening the presidency, they have shown they are cowards hiding behind the great power of the offices they hold, the prerogatives of which they are determined to abuse.

Using the work of Professor Geoffrey Stone, Dean reviews five previous episodes when our rights were threatened, and shows that the Bush Administration has been violating our rights and abusing the law far more than previous administrations.

I should add that it appears to me that sometimes when the Bush Administration violates the law it's for no other purpose than to hide its own blunders, lies and wrongdoing. Those who still support Bush are supporting a disgraceful record at odds with the best that America has been.