Battleangel

What else is there left to break after overcoming the taboos of phone tapping, “knock and announce”, posse comitatus, torture, the right to a proper legal defense and a great number of other “obstacles.” Opening mail just doesn’t seem like that big of a deal anymore, in the grand scheme of things. Oh well, at least US citizens get an all too brief taste of the brutal and invasive regime they ostensibly support abroad. Lets see how they like it in the long run (and so the chickens came home to roost once more).

President Bush has quietly claimed sweeping new powers to open Americans’ mail without a judge’s warrant, the New York Daily News has learned.

The president asserted his new authority when he signed a postal reform bill into law on Dec. 20. Bush then issued a “signing statement” that declared his right to open people’s mail under emergency conditions.

That claim is contrary to existing law and contradicted the bill he had just signed, say experts who have reviewed it.

Boing Boing