Getting scarier every day

Using another one of his infamous "signing statements", President Bush last month gave authority to the government to open US citizens private mail. Supposedly, it's for foreign intelligence collection. I think it's just putting us yet one step closer to a fascist political system.

Before any of you start jumping up and down and saying to me, "I have no problem with it. I have nothing to hide", I want you to stop and think for a bit. First off, do you think it is just fine for your neighbor to take a letter from your mailbox and open it? No, you would think that is NOT a good idea. And you might even think it was illegal to tamper with someone else's mail, right? And you'd probably never open your neighbor's mail because you would think it's wrong. What makes our government any different than that? Oh yeah. I forgot. They're "protecting" us from the boogeyman.

What would stop the government from opening your mail, then taking something you wrote out of context? (The fancy word for this is "contextomy".) Think of it like this - You write a letter to your mom. In the letter you state, "The dogs are driving me nuts. Spot is always eating my shoes and Fido is always climbing on the furniture. Sometimes I want to strangle them. Of course, I'd never do that. Maybe tomorrow will be better."

Now, take some of the phrases out of context, and you could get this: "Driving me nuts... strangle them... maybe tomorrow..." Out of context, it could sound like you are going to strangle someone tomorrow. I know, that's a bit of a lame example, but I'm still waiting for the caffeine to kick in this morning. But you get my point.

So for me, it's not that I have something to hide, except for I'd prefer most people not find the *special box* in the bedroom. I just prefer our government go the route currently established by law and get the warrant before opening my mail. Checks and balances. The basis of constitutional system. It's there for a reason. And it's a good thing to have.