Dictatorial powers have now been signed into law. Let’s project this, oh say, 3 - 6 months, or sometime between now and January 2009. Or more likely, before November 2008 (just to be sure who’s going to get to be the new dictator). What can we expect?

Since such legislation was never needed in the first place, it’s not hard to project why Bush wants this.

It’s that “goddamned piece of paper” that Bush hates so much, because it actually places him under the law. But now he’s found a way to totally suspend the supreme law of the land.

I suspect he’s done this for several reasons. He’s facing trial for war crimes, abandonment by Cabinet members, a growing resistance in Congress, an increasingly angry population, the desire to enact and fulfill his “end time” plan, and a real need to be able to pardon his crony’s and henchmen, maybe even himself.
What “national catastrophe” awaits us? Is it bird flu? According to this report, the US military is being prepped to “put down riots, guard pharmaceutical plants and shipments, and help restrict the movement of people inside the country and across its borders.”

But this excuse does not make any sense. Think about it. Rioting during a pandemic? Guarding pharmaceutical plants? They don’t even have a vaccine that works!

There is plenty more news of this sort, here is only a small sample:

• Election staff convicted in recount rig in Ohio 2004 presidential election that gave President Bush the electoral votes he needed to defeat Democratic Sen. John Kerry
• Bush signs landmark executive order increasing White House power over federal agencies
• Bush’s Signing Statement Dictatorship
• Senator asks Bush to explain signing statement that gives President authority to open mail without warrant
• Bush Wants Phone Firms Immune to Privacy Suits, encouraging them to continue to engage in illegal collaborations with the government
• Blueprint for Dictatorship: Recent legislation sets us up for tyranny
• Bush Moves Toward Martial Law
• US Attorney General Questions the Right to a Fair Trial
• The White House is replacing U.S. Attorneys throughout the country
• US Attorney General In The Plot Against the First Amendment
• Attorneys for the District of Columbia argue that the Second Amendment right to bear arms applies only to militias, not individuals
• An Army of Christian Right Lawyers Is Waging War on the Constitution
• U.S. citizens to be required “clearance” to leave the United States
• An Iron Curtain is Descending on US
• Cheney: Water torture is OK
• US administration says detainee shouldn’t be able to tell attorney how he was tortured in secret CIA prison
• The United States is now prosecuting suspected terrorists on the basis of their intentions, not just their actions
• Man arrested for saying “I think your policies in Iraq are reprehensible”
• Letter to the editor prompts visit from Secret Service
• Civil Liberties Advocates’ Worst Fears Realized with Patriot Act Scandal
• Police Fire Rubber Bullets, Tear Gas Into Peaceful LA Immigration March
• Lawyer Who Questioned Bush on Treason “Falls to His Death”
• Woman Who Filed a Rape Lawsuit Against Bush “Commits Suicide”
• 9,000 Iraqis “disappear” in US custody
• Abuse and torture by U.S. troops

Then there is those pesky “Fifth Columnists” who allegedly pose such a dire threat. Strangely, nobody is even asking who is being threatened. Americans, or just certain public officials? They’re definitely not the same thing.

With the suspension of habeas corpus, the real threat is to Americans. Anybody who is paying attention already knows this, but it is still surprising how many people simply don’t care. Many people believe that a coup d’etat has already happened. Fabricated “terror alerts” have been used incessantly to terrorize Americans. These techniques have served to desensitize and distract attention to what has really been going on.

I think we can expect a lot more to be unveiled with this new legislation then just ‘pandemic preparation’ or whatever the hell they’re trying to call it. Giving the President, especially this president such powers is a sure fire recipe for disaster.