John Dean...could we have a constitutional dictator? Emergency powers.

[madfloridian]

From June 7, 2002

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20020607.html
SNIP..."Friday, Jun. 07, 2002

On September 14, 2001, President Bush declared that a "national emergency exists by reason of the terrorist attacks ... and the continuing and immediate threat of further attacks on the United States." When the emergency will end, no one knows.

At present, the President has opted to exercise only a few of his emergency powers. Under the National Emergencies Act, at this time, he is only utilizing provisions relating to the military.

Will the President choose to use additional powers? It depends on the future. Because we don't know what shape this undeclared war on terrorism will take, we can't know what powers this president - or any successor - might need to cope with the problems of terrorism...."

And from the Sydney Morning Herald, 2002, some details on this.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/07/27/1027497418339.html
Foundations are in place for martial law in the US

SNIP..."From 1982-84 Colonel Oliver North assisted FEMA in drafting its civil defence preparations. Details of these plans emerged during the 1987 Iran-Contra scandal.

They included executive orders providing for suspension of the constitution, the imposition of martial law, internment camps, and the turning over of government to the president and FEMA.

A Miami Herald article on July 5, 1987, reported that the former FEMA director Louis Guiffrida's deputy, John Brinkerhoff, handled the martial law portion of the planning......

SNIP..."Today Mr Brinkerhoff is with the highly influential Anser Institute for Homeland Security. Following a request by the Pentagon in January that the US military be allowed the option of deploying troops on American streets, the institute in February published a paper by Mr Brinkerhoff arguing the legality of this. He alleged that the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which has long been accepted as prohibiting such deployments, had simply been misunderstood and misapplied.

[liberalnurse]

1. Let the arrogant regime go ahead and

push the envelope.......Protest will be rampant.

Realisticly, I see this happening 6 months after the 2004 election if *bush gets in......Isn' this how they planned the Iraqi attack?

[kalian]

3. Unfortunately....

I don't believe that "protests would be rampant"... Americans
are too lazy even to fight for their rights. As long as they can
have their cutesy little homes and their gas-guzzling SUVs...they're
happy.

[ochazuke]

5. Sad but true

Americans will give up their liberties for a false sense of security. Those cutesy little homes these days have a three-car garage and a facade that looks like a triumphal arch. "Starter castles" they are called, the "American Dream" according to real estate shills. I wouldn't live in one if you paid me.

[LibertyBe11e]

6. If bu$h isn't able secure his reselection in '04,

he will use those powers before the real president can be sworn in. OR more likely, if the numbers look too dismal for him to steal it again, he may institute those powers to prevent an election.

I agree with the person who said Americans would be too lazy and soft to revolt. More than that, they are willfully ignorant and would probably think he was doing a good thing. And look for the likes of Geppy and Lieberman talking about "supporting the president in the interests of unity." :puke:

[grasswire]

2. thank goodness for John Dean

He's been the watchdog of the Bush administration on Constitutional issues. Also Jonathan Turley (whom I despised during the Clinton era)

[madfloridian]

4. I get the impression that Bush already has the powers. Does he?

Am I reading this article correctly? That is a fearful thought. That he has so far chosen not to use his powers?
:think:

[Cronus Protagonist]

7. The head of FEMA is Bush's closest friend - be afraid

I always wondered why he gave Joe this position. It seemed he could have given him a cabinet post or something. At the time it looked fishy and now it looks like advance planning for his dictatorship.

http://bushspeaks.com/home.asp?did=10



"Lick Bush" Buttons, Stickers & Magnets

[economic justice]

9. Allbaugh resigned

For what it's worth, Allbaugh resigned in March. Here is an article that is fairly interesting...

http://www.prisonplanet.com/analysis_louise_122302_allbaugh.html

[madfloridian]

10. OMG, I remember when this happened.

What a really nice guy.
SNIP...."Is it any wonder that Bush family patron SCI, is also linked to the Georgia crematorium scandal? Wasn't it strange that after two weeks of constant media attention, this story was dropped like a hot potato? Several of the funeral homes being sued for using the Tri-state Crematory, serving Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama were owned by SCI. The Georgia House passed a bill to make it a felony to abandon a body intended for burial or cremation, in response to the hundreds of corpses found mistreated at the crematory in Walker County (Noble, Georgia). Incidentally, officials found pictures on the crematory operator's computer, of bodies in various stages of decomposition and seized a large quantity of pornography from Ray Brent Marsh's office. Governor Roy Barnes asked President Bush to declare an emergency for the state of Georgia, saying the bodies have caused "significant environmental degradation" and is a threat to public health, although public health officials say otherwise. FEMA turned down the request for financial assistance in dealing with the cleanup and removal of bodies, estimated to be upwards of $10 million that is now in the laps of taxpayers. Joe Allbaugh said the situation in Georgia did not meet the agency's definition of an emergency and thus it could not provide funds. Quoting Allbaugh, "An emergency declaration is neither appropriate nor warranted." He also said other agencies such as the Dept. of Justice and Health and Human Services are better suited to handle the situation. Senators Zell Miller and Max Cleland expressed frustration by saying, "The failure of the administration to declare Georgia a disaster area, is a disaster in itself." In July of 2002 it was reported that SCI announced the resignation of Jerald L. Pullins, President and Chief Operating Officer of SCI. Pullins suspected things weren't quite right during his first visit to the Georgia facility, way back in 1985, but did business with them anyway....."END SNIP

And Zell Miller is blaming the Democrats now. Talking out of both sides of his mouth?

[madfloridian]

8. Mt. Weather? I sure am uninformed. Interesting.

The Mount Weather Emergency Assistance Center (MWEAC) is located in Virginia
high in the Blue Ridge Mountains west of Washington, D.C. The site was first
used by the Department of Agriculture's Weather Bureau as a meteorological
balloon and kite launch facility in 1902. Known as "Mt. Weather", today the
center is a hub of emergency response activity providing FEMA and other
government agencies space for offices, training, conferencing,
http://www.fema.gov/rrr/weather.shtm
Mount Weather
High Point Special Facility (SF)
Mount Weather Emergency Assistance Center
Western Virginia Office of Controlled Conflict Operations
http://globalsecurity.org/wmd/facility/mt_weather.htm

Mr. Cheney...hellooo, are you there?

[madfloridian]

11. John Dean was just on C-Span in a panel. What a fascinating guy.

He was discussing the Nixon administration. How they wanted to set fire to the Brookings Institute, then manage to get to the safe afterwards. Dean told them it was slightly illegal.
:7

[madfloridian]

12. More..Don't like Orange, try Red alert...article from March.

I remember this article, and it was shared here at DU. Gives a pretty graphic picture of what being under Red would be like.

Red Alert....stay home await word.
http://www.southjerseynews.com/issues/march/m031603e.htm
Red alert? Stay home, await word

Sunday, March 16, 2003

By TOM BALDWIN
Gannett State Bureau
TRENTON

If the nation escalates to "red alert," which is the highest in the
color-coded readiness against terror, you will be assumed by authorities to
be the enemy if you so much as venture outside your home, the state's
anti-terror czar says.

SNIP...""This state is on top of it," said Sid Caspersen, New Jersey's director of
the office of counter-terrorism.

Caspersen, a former FBI agent, was briefing reporters, alongside Gov. James
E. McGreevey, on Thursday, when for the first time he disclosed the
realities of how a red alert would shut the state down.A red alert would also tear away virtually all personal freedoms to move
about and associate.

"Red means all noncritical functions cease," Caspersen said. "Noncritical
would be almost all businesses, except health-related."

A red alert means there is a severe risk of terrorist attack, according to
federal guidelines from the Department of Homeland Security.

"The state will restrict transportation and access to critical locations,"
says the state's new brochure on dealing with terrorism.

"You must adhere to the restrictions announced by authorities and prepare to
evacuate, if instructed. Stay alert for emergency messages."


"The state police and the emergency management people would take control
over the highways....."