If perpetual war grants the President permanent extraordinary power, what's his incentive for peace?
If the president benefits from being "a war time president" in a never-ending "War on Terror" in that he can suspend the Constitution at will, use "national security" to conduct normally illegal operations, investigate anyone and everyone in blanket searches without a warrant, grant people and corporations immunity to investigation, torture as he sees fit, etc. then why would he ever seek a peaceful resolution for anything?
Any kind of "peace" with anyone would be immediate grounds for him to lose these extra-ordinary powers. So what would his motivation be?
Are we now doomed to be in a perpetual state of war with newer and better fascist laws for eternity, all for the sake of security against our perpetual enemies?
Notice how I never said "Bush", we can continually elect a new president, but what incentive would that man or woman have to just say "Ok, the war is over, I'm relinquishing my power now." This dictatorial authority will not end when Bush leaves office. It may even end up in the hands of Hillary Clinton. Ouch.
If you think that at least half of our amendments in the Bill of Rights have not been suspended, completely twisted, limited, or completely gutted, I suggest you re-read your PATRIOTS acts 1 and 2. Oh, you didn't get a copy mailed to you for review? Neither did most of Congress before they voted on it.
Thank you Staple King for the absolutely most un-American comment I've ever seen posted with total honesty. This really shows that the true totalitarian fascists are out of the closet now. So tell me...do you have trouble keeping the lint off your black shirts?
Searching someone with absolutely NO REASON to suspect them is patently against our inalienable rights. It is implying that everyone is a suspect and criminal until proven innocent, which is the opposite of our traditional rule of law. Call me a conservative, but I like the rule of law, a lot. Suspension of the rule of law in pursuit of a political agenda based on keeping citizens fearful is tyrrany and extra-ordinary abuse of power. I don't care which person or party commits this.