How much do you know about Martial Law?

[Kaeos]

Turns out what you think you may know is probably out of date as of last year.

I'm usually one to rail against fear mongering, but in this case, I am afraid and I think we all have something to be afraid of.

Look this one up:

Public Law 109-364, or the "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007" (H.R.5122) (2), which was signed by the commander in chief on October 17th, 2006, in a private Oval Office ceremony, allows the President to declare a "public emergency" and station troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder."

I think a lot of Americans missed this, but Bush essentially made himself King by signing two laws giving him complete and total power in a time of natural disaster, terrorist attack or public disorder. These laws also include suspending elections.

So then we see last night's prime time speech and we hear a message about how bad it is and that "More banks could fail, including some in your community. The stock market would drop even more, which would reduce the value of your retirement account. The value of your home could plummet. Foreclosures would rise dramatically."

Are they trying to whip everyone into a hysteria? Are they trying to cause more "Indy Mac" style runs on the bank? Sure seems like they are trying to incite fear and response.

That could lead to...I dunno "Civil Unrest"? Give them a good enough reason to exercise "Public Law 109-364" and suspend the election?

We're already seeing the attempts to stop the debates. We're "suspending the campaign" for what has now been demonstrated to be a farce.

I wrote a post here a long time back speculating that they will find a way. Some way to create a reason for them to declare Martial Law and suspend the elections.

I seriously hope I am wrong. But this just feels to close for comfort.:(

[Bill_the_Pony]

Yeah, I have read about this sometime in the last year. :(

And these next couple months will prove interesting if that was a prelude to what I hope will never happen.

[JarrodSarafin]

If Bush made himself King, there wouldn't be any political discussions going on here and there wouldn't be any election to talk about.

I don't like the man myself (not to the degree that some people hate him) and I cannot wait until January so we can knock off this Bush is the Emperor and Bush wants to be King rhetoric coming between both sides of the political persuasion. I'm not saying you're really following that line, K-Man. I know you're just going into detail about the powers the government now has here, which can be a bit scary at times.

Come January, these types of comparisons can be silenced for him and can start up with the next sitting president, whether that's McCain or Obama.

As far as government having too much power, I totally agree on that one. But I've felt the government was grabbing too much power from the people for the last 20 years.

And the American people just sit around with perfect apathy.

So I agree with that part, even if I've been getting a bit tired of the whole Bush/Dictator, Bush/Palpatine, Bush/King stuff. Dude knows he is leaving soon and is likely as happy about it as many of the people who hate him are...

[RedKarma]

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-5122&tab=summary

So I looked up the bill here - but I honestly didn't see anything about the President yanking National Guard troops without a Governor's consent, or suspending elections in a time of crisis. Maybe those things are already under the definition of Martial Law?

Don't get me wrong - this is a lengthy bill, covering everything from what tech to share with the UK, to Health Insurance, to amending who can get a Purple Heart under what circumstances. It could be in there somewhere.


This was the only thing I found about the President & the National Guard

Section 1042 -
Revises federal provisions allowing the President to utilize the Armed Forces in connection with interference with federal and state law to allow the President to employ the Armed Forces and National Guard in federal service to restore public order in cases of natural disaster, epidemic or other public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or domestic violence. Requires the President to notify Congress within 14 days of the exercise of such authority. Authorizes the President, when exercising such authority, to direct the Secretary to provide supplies, services, and equipment to persons affected by the situation.



Slightly OT - Fear works. They did this in the last election by incrementally marking up the "Terror Alert Level" and making us afraid of another terror attack right before the election.

This time they are using money fear, the fear of losing your savings, retirement, home, etc.


If you want to fight the fear, you have to stay informed. The best way to stay informed is to vary your news sources, and make sure they are accurate as possible.

[omicron]

That's one of the things I would love to change about our government. No huge bills or house resolutions covering everything under the sun with dozens of riders and pork.

One subject, let that be decided and then move on to the next topic.

[Bill_the_Pony]

Something I always thought.....

Bush, the Sociopath (http://www.serendipity.li/wot/conover01.htm)