Unprecedented authority is being given to the CIA under our current Emperor.

John Negroponte, Bush-appointed CIA director, was given the authority last week to

"...excuse publicly traded companies from their usual accounting and securities-disclosure obligations. Notice of the development came in a brief entry in the Federal Register, dated May 5, 2006, that was opaque to the untrained eye."

OK. While this may sound like just dispensing with a piece of "usual accounting procedure", what the memo actually said was:

"I hereby assign to you the function of the President under section 13(b)(3)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended."

The amended version of the 1934 act states that "with respect to matters concerning the national security of the United States," the President or the head of an Executive Branch agency may exempt companies from certain critical legal obligations, including keeping accurate "books, records, and accounts" and maintaining "a system of internal accounting controls.”

This prevents future Enrons from happening. If they're your friend, you give them a defense contract, now it's a "national security" issue, and they don't have to keep records at all! It's a win-win situation for Bush cronies in an unprecedented display of the cover-your-behind game.

But it doesn't stop at stock filings.

The US moved in federal court to dismiss cases brought against domestic spying under Bush's homeland security anti-terrorism surveillance programs.

For decades, U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies have been required to seek court approval before using electronic surveillance on Americans. That was not done by the NSA in the program at issue, but President Bush has said the eavesdropping was made legal by a congressional resolution passed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Justice Department attorneys said in their legal brief that the legality of the president’s actions could only be properly judged by understanding “the specific threat facing the nation and the particular actions taken by the president to meet that threat.”

That's the legal equivalent of saying "it's a govt thing, you wouldn't understand." Already the FCC backed off investigating the wiretapping.

It's quite disturbing knowing that the head of national intelligence controls everything from stock disclosures to judicial verdicts.