Gonzo just testified that Shrub DIDN'T do 700+ signing stmts!

[napi21]

He said that number is WRONG! Even the Boston Globe retrated that statement!!!!

When Lehey asked him how many there were, he said somewhere in the 125 area, and that Prez Clinton had done 335 or so. Good for Lehey that he said Clinton's signing statements were reaffirmations, and Shrub's were disregarding the law! He also said At some point in time you are going to have to stop blaming the Clinton administration for all your failures!

The Judiciary Committee hearing on spying has ben rerun on cspan for the last few hours. It's quite interesting!

[MissWaverly]

1. it cannot be 125

I have browsed through many of them; there's at least 80 on homeland security alone, maybe
he means that there are only 125 actual written statements and these are cut and pasted into
other bills. The W8lifting lady has read through many of them as well. She probably can give
a fairer count that I can, but there are a least 3 or 4 per week, so 150 would be a fair number
for 1 year's time. My other thought is that maybe Gonzo is right in legalese, maybe Bush
didn't do 750 maybe he only signed 750. There's been a lot of discussion that the signing
statements came out of Cheney's Office with David Addington as the author, then Bush just
signed them.

[EFerrari]

2. Did they put Torquemada under oath this time?

I can't look at him.

[napi21]

5. Yes they did! Saw the beginning and Spector made him raise that

hand and swear!!!!

[TripeOmatic]

8. There must be an evil-grin pill designed to make republicans

grow beady eyes and 'We're-stickin-it-to-ya-and-you-can't-stop-us-and-we-don't-care' grins and that they take these pills religiously. They're likely also working on an anti-nausea powder for the nation's drinking water. I mean, who can watch these guys behave as if they're preaching under some tent in the backwoods of any impoverished wasteland and not puke? Let us prey!


Ladies of Landover

[EFerrari]

10. Welcome to DU. You're seeing the same thing I'm seeing.

:hi:

:)

[TripeOmatic]

11. It's beyond me how that kind of 'look' doesn't strike fear

into the heart of anyone who sees it. It's the essence of the 'Stepford Wives' look. I mean, would you hire, or even let into your house, anyone who was sporting that sort of look during your first encounter? Wouldn't you call for help? Would you let Gonzales or Ann Coulter cook for you without having them eat the food first?

[Zan_of_Texas]

3. two different numbers, both right. 750. 100+

Bush signing statements

By Elizabeth Weiss Green
Posted 7/21/06

DUAL CREDIT
US News & World Report http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072206A.shtml

Raw Story
http://www.rawstory.com/showarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usnews.com%2Fusnews%2Fnews%2Farticles%2F060721%2F21signing.htm

George W. Bush did not invent the document known as the presidential signing statement; he inherited it. Franklin Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, and even James Monroe, in 1830, authored the statements, which spell out the president's sometimes controversial interpretation of the very law he's signing. But no president has used signing statements quite like Bush.

Although the president has not issued more statements in total than any other president, he has challenged more than 750 laws in more than 100 signing statements.

[Solly Mack]

4. Thank you. Exactly. As any one law can directly relate to other laws

a signing statement on one law can directly challenge another law and render both laws (or more) ineffective.

The Torture Czar is using the smaller number to shade (bury) the truth.

[napi21]

6. Ahhhhhh, how did I know there was legal double-speak involved!

Once again, if you don't listen to EVERY WORD you miss the message!

When I heard Gonzo say that number is wrong, I thought of the ABA putting together a panel to study all the signing statements Shrub has done, and I KNOW the ABA wouldn't do that without what they believe is just cause.

Dear God, why don't these people just use the normal English language??????

[rodeodance]

7. I watched him say this --but have been unable to find any follow-up.

[chill_wind]

9. Grrr... talking about handing points to the enemy for obfuscation.

I know Sen Leahy had the right guts and intentions, and I cheered at his final parting shot, but he should have had his *facts*-- which speak for themseves, but which were quickly impuned and effectively blurred. Pubs: "The Globe was made to retract that number", yadayada. Nowhere did it then loudly and clearly come out (that I heard) that it was a possible 750 Laws.

THIS will/should be the issue before Congress, if it is to go anywhere:

(...)

Now, U.S. News has learned, an American Bar Association task force is set to suggest even stronger action. In a report to be released Monday, the task force will recommend that Congress pass legislation providing for some sort of judicial review of the signing statements. Some task force members want to simply give Congress the right to sue over the signing statements; other task force members will not characterize what sort of judicial review might ultimately emerge.

To mount a legal case, a person or group must have been granted "standing," or the right to file a lawsuit. Current law does not grant members of Congress such a right, and recent Supreme Court decisions have denied it in all but very exceptional cases. But Congress could consider bypassing that hurdle by writing a law to give its members the right to sue, a resolution in the task force's report declares, a source familiar with the task force report told U.S. News

(...)


http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060721/21signing.htm

[Rex]

12. These criminals will stop at nothing, even lying under oath.

Clinton...ah yes that old Canard. Blame Clinton. :eyes: I hope Gonzo realizes his boss is a war criminal.

[MissWaverly]

13. I went to the GPO website

when you look at the number of signing statements for GWB from 2001 to 2006; it lists 131 if
you count them all (but next to this number - it says estimated.) I thought that is very
funny because when the W8lifting lady and I were reading through them there was a ton and
now there's not. So I did a manual search by year with the signing statement keyword and here's
what I found. For the years 2001-2006, there were 290 signing statements by GWB, with 40
in 2006 so far. So how many signing statements there are signed by him depends on whether
you go by the (estimated) count or how many there are in the GPO database. So there's either
131 (estimated) or 290 by manual search. It pays to listen to the experts.

[uppityperson]

14. thank you for taking the time and spending the energy to manual search.

statistics are wonderful things. Thank you again.

[MissWaverly]

15. thanks, I posted this as a seperate thread

it makes me mad how things get twisted, one little word (estimated) and the numbers are adjusted; I knew there were a lot because there's a great many just on Homeland Security.