King George

Additional news concerning the issue of domestic spying that's dominating the headlines today: A defiant President Bush said he has no intentions of stopping his personal and secret authorizations of this procedure "as long as I am president of the United States."

Well, that does seem to be the question at hand, doesn't it? Mr. Bush stated,

This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security... This authorization is a vital tool in our war against the terrorists. It is critical to saving American lives.

The sad thing is that, whether the President is actually right or not, his track record of misleading, lying, and flip-flopping makes it impossible to believe anything he says at this point in time. And I have to wonder, if this secretive process really is defensible and vital to our security, then why is it that Mr. Bush has gone to such lengths to keep it hidden from even top members of Congress, and virtually everyone in the judicial system?

I have to second Senator Russ Feingold's reaction, as reported by the AP:

Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., said the president's remarks were "breathtaking in how extreme they were."

Feingold said it was "absurd" that Bush said he relied on his inherent power as president to authorize the wiretaps.

"If that's true, he doesn't need the Patriot Act because he can just make it up as he goes along. I tell you, he's President George Bush, not King George Bush. This is not the system of government we have and that we fought for."

Americans would do well to remember what happened the last time a King tried to impose his will on our citizenry. It's time for this King George to be shown the door as well.