You are not going to believe it. Go to the White House website at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070717-3.html# and read the July 17, 2007 Executive Order in which Bush announces that he plans to give the Secretary of the Treasury power to, among other things, seize all assets of anyone in this country even suspected of posing a "significant risk" that they might disagree with any Iraq goals or policies of Bush. It supposedly will be confined to those suspected of undefined "acts of violence," but considering it extends to future suspected acts as well and considering Bush already has the Secret Service arrest even spectators at campaign event for merely wearing a contradictory t-shirt, not to mention he often conflates all dissenters and opposition as traitors, there is good reason to fear how he will interpret the possibility those he does not happen to like or trust might commit supposedly violent acts.
Executive Orders have the force of law and this one is scary as hell in its implications. Remember, it is mere suspicion by an Executive branch official, not a judge or jury, that triggers this really drastic result. Combine that with destruction of habeus corpus and searches without warrant already in practice by this Administration and together they effectively nullify most of the Bill of Rights not to mention the powers granted to the two other formerly equal branchs of government. Unfortunately, except through the Ron Paul website, no one in Congress or running for office seems to have even mentioned it.
Frankly, I would not want any President to hold such power, no matter how much I might agree with him or her on other things. And, my by now well justified lack of trust in the Bush Administration is infinite. I cannot immagine they would not immediately and capriciously exercise such total power to silence opponents.
If this particular Executive Order is not a "High Crime or Misdemeanor" against the Constitution as well as a violation of the President's Oath of Office, what the hell is? This is exactly what the impeachment remedy was designed by the Founding Fathers to protect against. What does it take to get our elected representatives and senators off their rear ends and convene for the process? If they won't impeach Bush, then we need to start recall campaigns to remove our present representatives and senators and replace them with others who will do what is increasingly necessary.
The only saving grace in this whole frightening effort by Bush and Cheney to apparently grant themselves essentially unrestricted control is that they have so broken our military, our domestic law enforcement agencies and our obviously ironically named "justice" department, they might not be able to accomplish their hoped for effective abolishment of the Constitution's ideals.
