Bush's latest executive order (15 Nov 2001)
----Warren D. Smith------------------------

It appears G.W.Bush's latest executive order arrogates to himself 
absolute power. In short, Bush can have you kidnapped secretly and 
tried secretly and executed secretly (the trial being without
possibility of appeal, allowing hearsay evidence, and
with judgement being made not by a jury, but instead by judges
appointed by Bush and reporting to Bush - ditto for the prosecutors - and
requiring not unanimity but only a 2/3 majority to order your death; also
your conversations with your lawyer can be wiretapped).

Constitution? What is that?

Could Bush be attempting to make himself the Fuhrer of
the 4th Reich? (Hitler of course, was elected and then
took over a democratic govt of one of the most powerful countries
in the World, by similar methods. Hitler always had some
superficial announced "rationale" for his moves, e.g. there was
a patriotic reason for Germany invading Poland, etc.)
I see no reason why not.
  
Bush is already holding 100s of prisoners, whose identities
are secret, for 1 month so far, on charges which are secret -
if indeed those charges even exist. (I saw the figure 800
estimated.) What is the reason for that secrecy? 
That too is secret. A NY Times magazine story
described what happened to one of those prisoners (whom they
tracked down after he was released). He was arrested,
flown across the country, and jailed for 12 days
with no charges ever being made. The basis for this was
that he had an Arab name, was Saudi, and had ordered plane tickets
on travelocity for several other people with Arab names 
(i.e., his family). 
   
This is one of the most massive power grabs and violations of
the constitution by a sitting president in the last 100
years.  Bush already as governor of Texas had approved more 
total executions than anyone else in the USA over the last 50 years -
but those executions were at least carried out as the result
of non-secret trials, with non-secret charges, and with a jury.

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Later note: compare with the following notorious presidential abuses of
power and/or the constitution.  R.M.Nixon wiretapped his political
opponents and threatened influential donors with IRS tax investigations.  
(He was eventually forced to resign.) But - he did not try to kidnap and/or kill anybody.
Roosevelt interred thousands of people in camps, whose only crime was having
Japanese ancestry, for years. But - he did not kill them, it was not 
done in secret, they could still be visited and could still talk to their
lawyers without being wiretapped.  And... Roosevelt's move was supported
by a (bullshit) Supreme Court decision.  (Eventually the US govt paid reparations.)
So... in comparison, Bush's move seems more serious.  The putative excuse for
Bush's tribunals is supposedly that the regular US court system somehow could 
not handle terrorist trials.  In fact, it has already done so. Plus, the total number
of these terrorists on US soil is maybe 100. This does not seem
a huge problem for the regular US court system to handle considering 
there are over 20000 murders in the US every year without any assistance from 
terrorists.  So, the only possible reason for these tribunals (which
entirely violate the constitution in numerous ways - guaranteed right of a Jury
trial - violated - separation of executive and judicial branches - violated...)
is a power grab by Bush in a cynical attmept to use terrorist-panic for his own ends.

Bush in an earlier executive order had ordered that presidential records
could be kept secret for long after an act of congress had said they must be 
made public.  Its immediate application was: keeping the Reagan records secret.
Again this order violates the constitution - the president is supposed to enforce
laws duly passed by Congress (and signed by an earlier president)
and cannot unilaterally overrule them.  Both these executive orders are
blatantly unconstitutional and both are consistent with the hypothesis that Bush
plans an eventual Hitler-style dictatorial takeover of the country.