Time to dust off the old GPG key…

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003508676_mail04.html

Bush says feds can open mail without warrant

By James Gordon Meek

New York Daily News

WASHINGTON — President Bush quietly has claimed sweeping new powers to open Americans’ mail without a judge’s warrant.

Bush asserted the new authority Dec. 20 after signing legislation that overhauls some postal regulations. He then issued a “signing statement” that declared his right to open mail under emergency conditions, contrary to existing law and contradicting the bill he had just signed, according to experts who have reviewed it.

The concept of a “signing statement” is the biggest tool, IMO, for a president to circumvent the will of the people and the checks and balances built into this government. Doing a search for the words “signing statement” and Bush will pull up pages documenting the current administration’s use of the statements to pass bills into law while circumventing the intent of the bill, or in this case, apparently asserting rights where none existed.