Dammit! Another spineless capitulation to a lame-duck preznit sporting an approval rating below 30%. Another step down the road to fascism. This time they are retroactively legalizing dubya's warrantless (i.e. illegal) wire-tapping program, granting immunity to the telecom companies that participated in it.

Under the surveillance agreement, which is expected to be approved today by the House and next week by the Senate, telecoms could have privacy lawsuits thrown out if they show a federal judge that they received written assurance from the Bush administration that the spying was legal.
[...]
Caroline Frederickson, a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union, said, "The telecom companies simply have to produce a piece of paper we already know exists, resulting in immediate dismissal."

Thirty-some years ago Richard Nixon declared that anything the president orders is, by definition, legal. His abuse of presidential power led that long-ago Congress to draw up articles of impeachment and Nixon was forced to resign in disgrace. But this Congress, this Democrat-controlled Congress, faced with virtually the same egomaniacal and unconstitutional over-reaches, chose to protect their corporate overlords instead of our Constitution. If I could have one wish right now, it would be that I could dig up Nixon's corpse and force every Congressman who voted for this bill to kiss his mummified ass on national television.

I couldn't help but laugh listening to dubya haughtily complain about today's US Supreme Court ruling that the constitution still applies to the preznit. He fell back on one of his old fear-mongering favorites, vaguely implying the decision might adversely affect his ability to protect Amurkins from the evil, brown, Muslim hordes. See, he can't save us if the Supreme Court keeps taking away all the special powers he granted himself as war preznit.

More specifically, the court ruled that prisoners have rights, the president does not have the authority to just lock people up indefinitely without a trial. Sadly, I remember a time when this was not a novel concept in America. In fact, for the America I learned about in my public school social studies classes, the one with three equal branches of government following the rule of law, by the people and for the people and all that, the idea that the president is not above the law would have been common knowledge. I sometimes wonder if that America ever really existed.

Here's the scary part. This was a 5-4 decision. That's right, this man, of whom less than 30% of Americans approve and the rest of the world universally despises is just one Supreme Court Justice appointment removed from assuming essentially dictatorial powers in pursuance of his War on Terra. This absolute shit-stain of a world leader and his neo-con handlers are still this close (holds thumb and forefinger slightly apart) to rendering our democracy as efficacious as that of Pakistan.