Just incredible

Many saw the election as a referendum on continued U.S. presence in Iraq, However:

Bush is expected to recommend an increase in U.S. troop levels. The number and duration of any new deployment have not been disclosed and Army and Marine Corps generals have said any increase should come with a well-defined mission and tied to a broader strategy.

Many saw the election as a referendum on wanting more transparency in government, However, President Bush responded by closing ranks and pulling his number one spy, who was instrumental in the secret prisons, closer into the White House circles as an adviser.

John D. Negroponte, whom President Bush installed less than two years ago as the first director of national intelligence, will soon leave his post to become the State Department’s second-ranking official, administration officials said Wednesday.

Many saw the election as a referendum for ethical reform in government. However President Bush responds by giving himself permission to open your mail in addition to listening to your phone conversations.

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID WASHINGTON (AP) -
A signing statement attached to postal legislation by President Bush last month may have opened the way for the government to open mail without a warrant.

The White House denies any change in policy.

The law requires government agents to get warrants to open first-class letters. But when he signed the postal reform act, Bush added a statement saying that his administration would construe that provision "in a manner consistent, to the maximum extent permissible, with the need to conduct searches in exigent circumstances."

"The signing statement raises serious questions whether he is authorizing opening of mail contrary to the Constitution and to laws enacted by Congress," said Ann Beeson, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. "What is the purpose of the signing statement if it isn't that?"

Beeson said the group is planning to file a request for information on how this exception will be used and to ask whether it has already been used to open mail.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said there was nothing new in the signing statement.