That's a pretty long-ass "emergency".

The rest of the world cracks me up sometimes. In other news, Karzai is now threatening to quit and join the Taliban unless America quits "meddling" in their affairs. Where do they find these wingnuts?

dont mess with egypt

Remember how 9/11 created an emergency state that necessitated the creation of new laws that allowed the Executive Branch to exercise all these sweeping new powers until the "emergency" passed, and didn't specify when the emergency would be over or how we would know if it was? And all the people who thought this was a bad idea? This situation in Egypt with the thirty-years-and-counting emergency is exactly the kind of thing we were worried about.

The Patriot Act remains in effect largely unchanged from its original form, by the way.

@5 and Obama hasn't moved to reinstate the law that prevents the US Military from using force against Americans on American soil. I can't remember the name of it but it became law shortly after the Civil War.

@6: Posse Comitatus?

@7 THAT'S what I was trying to think of.

That democratic heaven in Iraq sure did influence everyone else in the region. Glad we protected that.

I can't imagine how anyone gets out of line in Egypt without being killed by the police. I saw more police per square foot in Cairo and Alexandria than I've seen anywhere outside a presidential motorcade. The police are on ever corner, with guns - BIG guns, and they aren't smiling, either. Egypt was beautiful but a bit intimidating.