PatMcGroyne
Sharpshooter
Long read, but essential to hour knowledge of What's Next:
Is the U.S. still in an official state of emergency, and if so, what does that mean?
Yes, we are still in a state of emergency. Specifically:
On September 11, 2001, the government declared a state of emergency. That declared state of emergency was formally put in writing on 9/14/2001: "A national emergency exists by reason of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, New York, New York, and the Pentagon, and the continuing and immediate threat of further attacks on the United States.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, I hereby declare that the national emergency has existed since September 11, 2001 . . . ."
That declared state of emergency has continued in full force and effect from 9/11 up to the present.
On September 10 2009, President Øbama continued the state of emergency:
"The terrorist threat that led to the declaration on September 14, 2001, of a national emergency continues. For this reason, I have determined that it is necessary to continue in effect after September 14, 2009, the national emergency with respect to terrorist threat."
Does a State of Emergency Really Mean Anything?
Yes, it does:The Washington Times wrote on September 18, 2001: "Simply by proclaiming a national emergency on Friday, President Bush activated some 500 dormant legal provisions, including those allowing him to impose censorship and martial law."
Is the Times correct? Well, it is clear that pre-9/11 declarations of national emergency have authorized martial law. For example,
In 1973, the Senate created a Special Committee on National Emergencies and Delegated Emergency Powers to investigate the matter and to propose reforms. Ascertaining the continued existence of four presidential declarations of national emergency, the Special Committee (U.S. Senate 1973, p. iii) reported: "These proclamations give force to 470 provisions of Federal law. . . . taken together, [they] confer enough authority to rule the country without reference to normal constitutional processes. Under the powers delegated by these statutes, the President may: seize property; organize and control the means of production; seize commodities; assign military forces abroad; institute martial law; seize and control all transportation and communications; regulate the operation of private enterprise; restrict travel; and, in a plethora of particular ways, control the lives of all American citizens."
( numerous presidents have made numerous declarations of emergency since then, and the declarations made by President Bush in September 2001 are still in effect).
It is also clear that the White House has kept substantial information concerning its presidential proclamations and directives hidden from Congress. For example, according to Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy: "Of the 54 National Security Presidential Directives issued by the [George W.] Bush Administration to date, the titles of only about half have been publicly identified. There is descriptive material or actual text in the public domain for only about a third. In other words, there are dozens of undisclosed Presidential directives that define U.S. national security policy and task government agencies, but whose substance is unknown either to the public or, as a rule, to Congress."
While ... Congress and the judiciary, as well as public opinion, can restrain the executive regarding emergency powers, nothing of the sort has occurred.
Under the 1976 National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601-1651), Congress is required to review presidentially declared emergencies. Specifically, “not later than six months after a national emergency is declared, and not later than the end of each six-month period thereafter that such emergency continues, each House of Congress shall meet to consider a vote on a joint resolution to determine whether that emergency shall be terminated.” Over the past eight years, Congress has failed to obey even a single time its own law, a fact that casts doubt on the legality of the state of emergency. And now the Øbama administration is essentially arguing that the United States is currently in a state of resisting foreign invasion a full eight years after the attacks of 9/11!
This is ludicrous. Congress and the judiciary, as “co-equal branches of constitutional government,” serve as a check on the executive power. As we are seeing, Congress has either been shut out of this process, or, as in so many cases, it has capitulated. Public opinion can restrain the executive. But the public doesn’t even know they’re living under a state of emergency. The media doesn’t report it, and the government is certainly not in the business of providing information that might raise the hackles of real Americans.
It’s time for the American people to rise to this challenge. Write your member of Congress, and your senators. Tell them to obey their own laws. Tell them to end this phony, treacherous state of emergency that imperils the freedom of us all. Especially in view of suspension of Possse Comitatus, the operation of NorthCom inside the U.S., and the refusal of the Department of Homeland Security to provide information on the state of emergency to Congress or even to Congress members on the Homeland Security committee with the highest security clearances.
The Effect of a State of Emergency on the Economy and Business. The continuous state of emergency in effect from September 2001 to the present may have had a substantial affect on the economy and business.
While "national security" and a state of "national emergency" may not be exactly the same, they are variations of a single theme - an existential threat to our nation - which has dominated American since September 11. It is truly the time to un-bury the guns, Mr and Mrs private gun-owner (so far.)
Is the U.S. still in an official state of emergency, and if so, what does that mean?
Yes, we are still in a state of emergency. Specifically:
On September 11, 2001, the government declared a state of emergency. That declared state of emergency was formally put in writing on 9/14/2001: "A national emergency exists by reason of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, New York, New York, and the Pentagon, and the continuing and immediate threat of further attacks on the United States.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, I hereby declare that the national emergency has existed since September 11, 2001 . . . ."
That declared state of emergency has continued in full force and effect from 9/11 up to the present.
On September 10 2009, President Øbama continued the state of emergency:
"The terrorist threat that led to the declaration on September 14, 2001, of a national emergency continues. For this reason, I have determined that it is necessary to continue in effect after September 14, 2009, the national emergency with respect to terrorist threat."
Does a State of Emergency Really Mean Anything?
Yes, it does:The Washington Times wrote on September 18, 2001: "Simply by proclaiming a national emergency on Friday, President Bush activated some 500 dormant legal provisions, including those allowing him to impose censorship and martial law."
Is the Times correct? Well, it is clear that pre-9/11 declarations of national emergency have authorized martial law. For example,
In 1973, the Senate created a Special Committee on National Emergencies and Delegated Emergency Powers to investigate the matter and to propose reforms. Ascertaining the continued existence of four presidential declarations of national emergency, the Special Committee (U.S. Senate 1973, p. iii) reported: "These proclamations give force to 470 provisions of Federal law. . . . taken together, [they] confer enough authority to rule the country without reference to normal constitutional processes. Under the powers delegated by these statutes, the President may: seize property; organize and control the means of production; seize commodities; assign military forces abroad; institute martial law; seize and control all transportation and communications; regulate the operation of private enterprise; restrict travel; and, in a plethora of particular ways, control the lives of all American citizens."
( numerous presidents have made numerous declarations of emergency since then, and the declarations made by President Bush in September 2001 are still in effect).
It is also clear that the White House has kept substantial information concerning its presidential proclamations and directives hidden from Congress. For example, according to Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy: "Of the 54 National Security Presidential Directives issued by the [George W.] Bush Administration to date, the titles of only about half have been publicly identified. There is descriptive material or actual text in the public domain for only about a third. In other words, there are dozens of undisclosed Presidential directives that define U.S. national security policy and task government agencies, but whose substance is unknown either to the public or, as a rule, to Congress."
While ... Congress and the judiciary, as well as public opinion, can restrain the executive regarding emergency powers, nothing of the sort has occurred.
Under the 1976 National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601-1651), Congress is required to review presidentially declared emergencies. Specifically, “not later than six months after a national emergency is declared, and not later than the end of each six-month period thereafter that such emergency continues, each House of Congress shall meet to consider a vote on a joint resolution to determine whether that emergency shall be terminated.” Over the past eight years, Congress has failed to obey even a single time its own law, a fact that casts doubt on the legality of the state of emergency. And now the Øbama administration is essentially arguing that the United States is currently in a state of resisting foreign invasion a full eight years after the attacks of 9/11!
This is ludicrous. Congress and the judiciary, as “co-equal branches of constitutional government,” serve as a check on the executive power. As we are seeing, Congress has either been shut out of this process, or, as in so many cases, it has capitulated. Public opinion can restrain the executive. But the public doesn’t even know they’re living under a state of emergency. The media doesn’t report it, and the government is certainly not in the business of providing information that might raise the hackles of real Americans.
It’s time for the American people to rise to this challenge. Write your member of Congress, and your senators. Tell them to obey their own laws. Tell them to end this phony, treacherous state of emergency that imperils the freedom of us all. Especially in view of suspension of Possse Comitatus, the operation of NorthCom inside the U.S., and the refusal of the Department of Homeland Security to provide information on the state of emergency to Congress or even to Congress members on the Homeland Security committee with the highest security clearances.
The Effect of a State of Emergency on the Economy and Business. The continuous state of emergency in effect from September 2001 to the present may have had a substantial affect on the economy and business.
While "national security" and a state of "national emergency" may not be exactly the same, they are variations of a single theme - an existential threat to our nation - which has dominated American since September 11. It is truly the time to un-bury the guns, Mr and Mrs private gun-owner (so far.)
