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T O P I C R E V I E W
pants_happy
Posted - 05/24/2007 : 03:17:39 AM On May 9th Bush quietly signed a directive --behind Congress's back-- that will go into effect in the event of a national emergency; it will effectively allow him to supercede the powers of the Legislative and Judicial branches as he and a "National Continuity Coordinator" could take control of government should any national emergency appear.
Taken directly from the White House press page:
quote:This policy establishes "National Essential Functions," prescribes continuity requirements for all executive departments and agencies, and provides guidance for State, local, territorial, and tribal governments, and private sector organizations in order to ensure a comprehensive and integrated national continuity program that will enhance the credibility of our national security posture and enable a more rapid and effective response to and recovery from a national emergency
(whitehouse.gov).
Take note that this would allow "State, local, territorial, and tribal governments, and private sector organizations" to be under the "guidance" of, and be directly controlled by Bush and the National Continuity Coordinator. (whitehouse.gov).
According to the Whitehouse, this directive would take effect under a Catastrophic Emergency:
quote:(b) "Catastrophic Emergency" means any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions
(whitehouse.gov).
Natural disasters such as Katrina, riots, or even the Bird Flu scare are just a few of the situations in which Bush could declare a "Catastrophic Emergency." They can be completely localized, and all they have to do is "disrupt" populations, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions. Should the Bird Flu scare come back, Bush could literally declare a "Catastrophic Emergency" in which he empowers himself to force all Americans under law to either a) take a vaccine, or b) be put into quarantine for an indefinite amount of time.
Additionally, once put into action, this directive would allow Bush to have these powers for an indefinite amount of time:
quote:(a) The continuation of the performance of PMEFs during any emergency must be for a period up to 30 days or until normal operations can be resumed, and the capability to be fully operational at alternate sites as soon as possible after the occurrence of an emergency, but not later than 12 hours after COOP activation;
(whitehouse.gov).
PMEFs defined as:
quote:(i) "Primary Mission Essential Functions," or "PMEFs," means those Government Functions that must be performed in order to support or implement the performance of NEFs before, during, and in the aftermath of an emergency
(whitehouse.gov).
To put this all in laymen's terms, according to worldnetdaily.com:
quote:President Bush, without so much as issuing a press statement, on May 9 signed a directive that granted near dictatorial powers to the office of the president in the event of a national emergency declared by the president...when the president determines a national emergency has occurred, the president can declare to the office of the presidency powers usually assumed by dictators to direct any and all government and business activities until the emergency is declared over
(worldnetdaily).
Consider that events like this have happened before. Roman history comes to mind:
quote: The precise event which signaled the transition of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire is a matter of interpretation. Historians have proposed the appointment of Julius Caesar as perpetual dictator (44 BC), the Battle of Actium (2 September 31 BC), and the Roman Senate's grant of Octavian's extraordinary powers under the first settlement (January 16, 27 BC), as candidates for the defining pivotal event.
Determining the precise end of the Republic is a task of modern historians; Roman citizens of the time did not recognize that the Republic had ceased to exist. The early Julio-Claudian "Emperors" maintained that the res publica still existed, albeit under the protection of their extraordinary powers, and would eventually return to its full Republican form. Rome remained a Republic in name until at least the third century and the reforms that created the Dominate form of government.
(wikipedia.org).
The power granted via the National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive is dangerous, and needs to be undone before it's too late. Write your Senator, send this message to your friends. Take action before it's too late!
Also, be sure to visit the worldnetdaily links below. They explain it much more clearly than I'm capable of doing.
