Rex Tyrannus

One of the best parts of Mel Brooks's History of the World is the bit covering the French revolution, in which Louis XVI does a series of unseemly things and justifies them by turning to the camera and announcing, "It's good to be the king." It's a funny running gag when Brooks does it in the context of a broad historical farce.

It is not funny when the President of the United States essentially does the same thing. Dubya's "yeah, I broke the law, what are you gonna' do about it?" attitude towards the NSA's spying on Americans as part of the "War on Terra." Of course, it fits Dubya's tenure in the White House perfectly. He has consistently showed no regard for the rule of law when it interferes with his acquisition of power. And while I don't buy the argument that the NSA scheme is justified by the 2001 Congressional authorization of force that kicked off the War on Terra, I do believe that Congress abdicated its responsibility in the past several years to reign in King Dubya. Somebody needs to step up.