Bush/Cheney - DESPOTIC!

Bush challenges hundreds of laws
President cites powers of his office

By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff | April 30, 2006

WASHINGTON -- President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.

Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ''whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research...

Cheney won't tell how much he keeps secret

By Mark Silva - Chicago Tribune

WASHINGTON — As the Bush administration has dramatically accelerated the classification of information as "top secret" or "confidential," one office is refusing to report on its annual activity in classifying documents: the office of Vice President Dick Cheney.

A standing executive order, strengthened by President Bush in 2003, requires all agencies and "any other entity within the executive branch" to provide an annual accounting of their classification of documents. More than 80 agencies have collectively reported to the National Archives that they made 15.6 million decisions in 2004 to classify information, nearly double the number in 2001, but Cheney insists he is exempt...

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

Main Entry: usurp
Pronunciation: yu-'s&rp also -'z&rp
Function: verb
1 a : to seize and hold (as office, place, or powers) in possession by force or without right <usurp a throne>

Main Entry: des·pot
Pronunciation: 'des-p&t, -"pät
Function: noun
1 a : a Byzantine emperor or prince b : a bishop or patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church c : an Italian hereditary prince or military leader during the Renaissance
2 a : a ruler with absolute power and authority b : a person exercising power tyrannically