Presidential Directive To Dictatorship/ National Continuity Policy

[RestoreGore]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070509-12.html

Subject: National Continuity Policy

Purpose

(1) This directive establishes a comprehensive national policy on the continuity of Federal Government structures and operations and a single National Continuity Coordinator responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of Federal continuity policies. 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.

Definitions

(2) In this directive:

(a) "Category" refers to the categories of executive departments and agencies listed in Annex A to this directive;

( "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;

© "Continuity of Government," or "COG," means a coordinated effort within the Federal Government's executive branch to ensure that National Essential Functions continue to be performed during a Catastrophic Emergency;

(d) "Continuity of Operations," or "COOP," means an effort within individual executive departments and agencies to ensure that Primary Mission-Essential Functions continue to be performed during a wide range of emergencies, including localized acts of nature, accidents, and technological or attack-related emergencies;

(e) "Enduring Constitutional Government," or "ECG," means a cooperative effort among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Federal Government, coordinated by the President, as a matter of comity with respect to the legislative and judicial branches and with proper respect for the constitutional separation of powers among the branches, to preserve the constitutional framework under which the Nation is governed and the capability of all three branches of government to execute constitutional responsibilities and provide for orderly succession, appropriate transition of leadership, and interoperability and support of the National Essential Functions during a catastrophic emergency;

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Did this fly under the radar, or what? This directive essentially hands power to Bush in case of an attack or any other event REGARDLESS OF LOCATION that HE deems catastrophic. Why do this now? Why does this sound so chilling and give me a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach?

[sam sarrha]

1. this is just the final touch to his fathers 'New World Order' exucative orders before GW1

[MonkeyFunk]

2. LOL.. under the radar?

there've bee probably 3 threads a day for the last week panicking over this.

Did you read section (e)?

The panic over this is just plain silly.

[RestoreGore]

3. Well, after his criminality regarding Hurricane Katrina

I don't happen to find it silly. I also meant flying under the radar in this complicit MSM. And in case you didn't read it all, it essentially gives a president full power in the event of a "catastrophe" which is not really defined. Sorry, but that doesn't sit well with me in light of what we have now and in being an American who happens to care about the constitution. So excuse me for actually giving a damn. The blase attitude some exhibit in this country is the very reason why they have gone so far to begin with... because they know they will get away with anything as long as they phrase it in a way to make you believe their bs.

[MonkeyFunk]

4. Show me the wording from the directive

that gives the Presient "full power".

[northzax]

5. shh, you'll disturb the tinfoil

it has to be arranged just so, or it doesn't block the rays from the satellites.

everyone seems to forget that this is the pupose of a strong executive system, to be able to react in times of crisis. Congress is great and all, but it is not known for acting quickly very often.

[RestoreGore]

9. ANY incident

Which in this case could mean just a hurricane. Forget it. Some of you simply are too naive to see anything. But hey, if you want Herr Bush as your leader in an emergency, I guess you just haven't been paying attention.

[northzax]

10. right, cause you know he had this power already, right?

this isn't anything new? see, the problem with declaring a state of emergency and martial law, even locally, is you have to get the military and the rest of the government to go along with you. it seems unlikely, to say the least, that the President could manage to declare national states of emergency or martial law for a local or regional event. Or do you somehow think that the Montana National Guard would agree to do this the next time a hurricane hits Miami?

to give you an idea: even the Chinese government, during Tiananmen Square, had to import soldiers from the hinterlands because local soldiers couldn't be trusted to open fire on local citizens. There are not enough soldiers in the US, even with the reserves and national guard, to put martial law in place in the US, think about it, we can't control Baghdad with 100,000+ highly trained soldiers and marines, you'd need 5,000,000, minimum, to declare effective martial law in the US. it's not going to happen.

but hey, who wants logic?

[RestoreGore]

11. Actually it was transferred from Homeland Security

Now it is all concentrated with Bush. If you can't see how that can be abused now based on past history, then logic is not what you want.

[northzax]

12. And, of course

Homeland security, being a cabinet department, works for the executive branch, right?

no, please do tell me exactly how you think this can be abused any more than when it rested at Homeland security? I've explained why it can't be (manpower, tradition, local and national resistance) now you tell me how it can be? What do you fear? Martial law? Then you have a low opinion of the military. Suspension of elections? Then you Have a low opinion of your fellow americans. And recall, if you will, that no presidental directive can override congress or the judiciary. What this document says is that, in essence, if congress is incapacitated, the president will take such actionAs neccesary until congress can reconvene. Or do you see something else? I want to know how you think this is ripe for abuse?Remember, the President only has power because people do what he says it is not some magical power, presented with martial law or thw full suspension of the constitution, how many people on the ground would go along?

[warren pease]

18. "Or do you somehow think that the Montana National Guard would agree to do this...

...the next time a hurricane hits Miami?"

And that's what's so ingenious about Blackwater and other paramilitary organizations, which owe no allegiance to anyone or anything but their paymasters. Now obviously, there's not nearly enough of them to lock down the country, or even a decent-sized state.

But there's certainly enough of them to lock down Miami, which would have the immediate effect of creating something that looks on TV a lot like martial law and therefore gives today's brand of chicken-shit Americans, who poop their collective pants every time they're told to by our Fear-Monger in Chief, something brand new to whine and snivel and duck-and-cover about.

And as we've all seen for the past six-plus years, a scared population isn't capable of questioning government policy very loudly, or taking much action at all even when elections are stolen right in front of their eyes.

And Blackwater mercs are well-trained, fresh from battlefield fire-fights, and only got into the business in the first place because they needed a career in which legalized killing -- the only thing they're qualified to do -- pays well enough to have a house, a really neat SUV, a personal arsenal and a lot of other cool expensive stuff.

But again, I'm probably just a delusional victim of the liberal media's constant criticism of our beleaguered but brave Codpiece in Chief, whose only concern is the welfare of the American people and fighting them over there before we have to fight them over here and that smoking gun that might just be a mushroom cloud and did I mention that freedom's on the march and mission accomplished and...


wp

[RestoreGore]

8. If I need to show you then you didn't read it

And I don't feel like a pissing contest here because you refuse to see it.

[northzax]

14. Yeah, why provide specifics

When it is so much more fun to run around screaming about the falling sky after being bonked with an acorn?

[warren pease]

17. Well silly me...

Although it's possible that I'm just a delusional tool of the liberal media and its unwavering bias against our noble and grossly misunderstood president, I can still only think of two reasons to issue such directives:


1) As a necessary response to the societal dislocation and chaos resulting from an emergency severe enough and/or widespread enough to justify a massive, coordinated effort to restore normality through the most efficient use of any and all available federal resources. As an element of such a federal response, martial law is just another useful tool to help the feds restore order as quickly as possible. Martial law would only be invoked if absolutely necessary, on a limited geographic basis, with every concern and respect for individual and societal rights and liberties, and for not a second longer than necessary to achieve a full return to the rule of Constitutional government.


or...


2) The 22nd Amendment says BushCo has to leave the White House in January, 2009 and, having fought for at least half a century to put the executive branch in the hands of pure malevolent fascists and world-class thieves whose only agenda is massive enrichment of themselves and their corporate cronies through things like insane levels of war spending and privatization of absolutely everything not already controlled by our multinational lords and masters, the right wing has absolutely no intention of screwing up a good thing by complying with the law.


Realistically, which of these sounds more like standard BushCo behavior? And there's your answer.


wp

[blues90]

6. My main concern is bush

He is the one behind the wheel if anything happens to trigger a reaction . Not whether this is considered normal policy .

[RestoreGore]

7. At least someone gets it

There appear to be some closet Bush supporters who don't. Even after all they have done, they still refuse to admit what they are capable of and how they can take anything and twist it to suit their purposes.

[northzax]

15. Gosh, you really think

That bush is some sort of evil machiavellian genius, don't you? Remember, he has failed at everything he has tried, why is this so scary to you?

[northzax]

13. But that has been the case since january 20, 2001

This doesn't change anything.

[Initech]

16. Dubya's crazy enough that he would do anything to keep his power.

If there were warnings about another terrorist attack coming in (a la 9/11), I bet he would ignore them and let the attack be carried out so he could declare martial law. :eyes: