In the United States we believe in the “Rule of Law”.  A term meaning that everyone must obey the law, and nobody is above the law.  These laws are to be written, public, and challengable in court.

Bush’s nomination for Attorney General thinks one man is above this.

AT his confirmation hearings last week, Michael B. Mukasey, President Bush’s nominee for attorney general, was asked whether the president is required to obey federal statutes. Judge Mukasey replied, “That would have to depend on whether what goes outside the statute nonetheless lies within the authority of the president to defend the country.”

According to Judge Mukasey’s statement, as well as other parts of his testimony, the president’s authority “to defend the nation” trumps his obligation to obey the law. Take the federal statute governing military commissions in Guantánamo Bay. No one, including the president’s lawyers, argues that this statute is unconstitutional. The only question is whether the president is required to obey it even if in his judgment the statute is not the best way “to defend the nation.”

If he is not, we no longer live under the government the founders established.

SOURCE

His arguement basically comes down to the fact that The Constitution is above all laws, and that since the President is required “the defense of the nation” in the Constitution, laws are null and void in pursuit of this goal.

This is NOT a view the nation should embrace.  The defense of the nation can and should be pursued following the Constitution, International Law, and also following our domestic laws.  Violating these ideals has led other nations to dictatorship, corruption, and loss of liberty.  It CAN happen here as well, not just other nations.

The Attorney General is THE law enforcement official in the country.  It’s their job to ENFORCE the laws of the land, not make exceptions to them.  If something is illegal, the Attorney General should be the first one to stop the President and his actions.  That was the main problem with the last one.  Gonzales was seen as just defining things and changing them to fit the current Administration.  Not holding the Administration to the law.

Col. David Hunt (ret.) on FOXNews.com (I’m citing the relevant portion if you don’t want to give them the hits):

Besides, these things are of little consequence when you realize how we missed, squandered, screwed up, made a mess of and were massively risk adverse - again - when we did not kill Usama bin Laden in Afghanistan just two short months ago.

We know, with a 70 percent level of certainty - which is huge in the world of intelligence - that in August of 2007, bin Laden was in a convoy headed south from Tora Bora. We had his butt, on camera, on satellite. We were listening to his conversations. We had the world’s best hunters/killers - Seal Team 6 - nearby. We had the world class Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) coordinating with the CIA and other agencies. We had unmanned drones overhead with missiles on their wings; we had the best Air Force on the planet, begging to drop one on the terrorist. We had him in our sights; we had done it. Nice job again guys - now, pull the damn trigger.

Unbelievably, and in my opinion, criminally, we did not kill Usama bin Laden.

You cannot make this crap up; truth is always stranger and more telling than fiction. Our government, the current administration and yes, our military leaders included, failed to kill bin Laden for no other reason than incompetence.

The current “boneheads” in charge will tell you all day long that we are fighting and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan to stop terrorists there so they do not come here. Nice talk, how about - just for a moment - acting like you mean what you say? You know walk the walk. These incidents, where we displayed a total lack of guts, like the one in August, are just too prevalent. The United States of America’s political and military leadership has, on at least three separate occasions, chosen not capture or kill bin Laden or Ayman al-Zawahri. We have allowed Pakistan to become a safe haven for Al Qaeda. We have allowed Al Qaeda to reconstitute, partially because of money they (Al Qaeda in Iraq) have been sending to Al Qaeda in Pakistan.

The slogan is “Choose the paper mail you want.  Stop the junk mail you don’t.”   It’s pretty simple.  ProQuo is a website that allows you to Opt-Out of many junk mail sending companies and reduce the amount of junk entering your mailbox everyday.  Not the ever so present Spam of the Internet, but real paper physical junk mail.  The Val-Paks and credit card offers everyone needs a shredder for to safely dispose of.

ProQuo makes it easy for you to opt out of all of them with a convenient “stop all” button. When you press this button, some of the nasty offenders do go away, kind of like bugs seeing Raid for the first time. Unfortunately, there’s more work involved for others.

For example, the Consumer Credit Reporting companies (Experian, TransUnion, Innovis and Equifax) require further action. This means you are shunted off to their website where you click yes to opting out and then you get a screen which tells you to print out the confirmation page and mail it in. A hassle but most likely worth the aggravation.

According to the site you can expect a decrease in junk from 50-90%.

ProQuo 

With every new operating system, there is a new tweak guide to get the most speed/reliability/ease/security out of it.  TechSpot has come out with it’s Microsoft Windows Vista Tweak Guide that anyone running Windows Vista should at least read through.  There’s some simple tweaks as well as registry editing tweaks that will help people get the most of the operating system.

TechSpot’s Windows Vista Tweak Guide 

This photo snapped on October 11, 2007 is beautiful!

Splendid NASA Pano-View of North Africa, Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea!

Like fire ants?  Hate fire ants?  Ever set up a tent on top of fire ants?   Here’s a collection of videos pitting fire ants against such things as a wasp, spider, ant lion, and fire crackers.

Fire Ant Fights 

This web site helps you generate the letters you need to send to the FBI to get a copy of your own FBI file. We can help you get your files from other “three-letter agencies” (CIA, NSA, DIA, …) too. It’s quick, it’s easy, and best of all, it’s free!

Get My FBI File 

As if the massacre of Sept 16 wasn’t horrifying enough, more stories of Blackwater have surfaced.

“We would careen around corners, jump road dividers, reach speeds in excess of 100 mph and often cross over to the wrong side of the street, oncoming traffic be damned,” she writes. “I began to wonder whether my meetings, intended to further U.S. policy goals and improve the lives of Iraqis, were doing more harm than good. With our drivers honking at, cutting off, pelting with water bottles (a favorite tactic) and menacing with weapons anyone in their way, how many enemies were we creating?”

Gans describes a particularly “infuriating” incident where the lead Chevy Suburban in her convoy allegedly crashed into a sedan ferrying an older man, a young woman and three children.

“As we approached at typical breakneck speed, the Blackwater driver honked furiously and motioned to the side, as if they should pull over,” she pens. “The kids in the back seat looked back in horror, mouths agape at the sight of the heavily armored Suburbans driven by large, armed men in dark sunglasses. The poor Iraqi driver frantically searched for a means of escape, but there was none. So the lead Blackwater vehicle smashed heedlessly into the car, pushing it into the barrier. We zoomed by too quickly to notice if anyone was hurt.”

“Why does the world hate America?”  is starting to lose its innocence.

Full Story [Raw Story] 

The massive U.S. embassy under construction in Baghdad could cost $144 million more than projected $592 million and will open months behind schedule because of poor planning, shoddy workmanship, internal disputes and last-minute changes sought by State Department officials.  Thats about $2.45 from every man woman and child in the US. thats for ONE project.

Photos of new embassy. 

In a country without reliable water, food, security, etc…   should this REALLY be such a high priority and bill?

Story Here [Washington Post]