A lesson in why American lawmakers are incompetent.

[theweaselking]

Go here:
http://thomas.loc.gov/

Search for HR 5122 under "bill number".
Click on the last one, the one passed by both House and Senate.
Read section 1076, "USE OF THE ARMED FORCES IN MAJOR PUBLIC EMERGENCIES."

Signed into law Oct 17th, at the same time as the Torture And Disappearing Undesirables Act.

It states that "the President may employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service, to restore public order and enforce the laws of the United States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition in any State or possession of the United States, the President determines that domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of ("refuse" or "fail" in) maintaining public order, "in order to suppress, in any State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy."

For [Bush], "enforcement of the laws to restore public order" means to commandeer guardsmen from any state, over the objections of local governmental, military and local police entities; ship them off to another state; conscript them in a law enforcement mode; and set them loose against "disorderly" citizenry

Comments

[harald387.livejournal.com]

This is not incompetence. This is malice.

-K

[graethorne.livejournal.com]

Here comes the martial law.

[smashingstars.livejournal.com]

If I recall, there were similar laws before. Didn't Johnson and Nixon use similar laws to take National Guard units from one state and put them in another, for the purpose of "controlling" race riots and war protestors? I could be mistaken though, and I'm not sure where to even begin looking.

[zenten.livejournal.com]

Did they allow the President to declare what's an emergency?

[unknownpoltroon.livejournal.com]

The way i see it it this. There have always been times of emergency where laws like this were broken, ignored or whatever. A hurricane tankes out new york and there are thousands dead, noone is going to care if the president illegaly ges some guard/military on duty in the location to help. Same wit hthe torture thing. You know that every do often some guy gets the shit beat out of him for info. However, its one thing when the general public kinda agreees to turn a blind eye for the greater good, and when things that are WRONG get written into law. I give it 2 elections before we see troops firing on protesting americans if this next election dosent see a change in the way the masses in this country think. As a matter of fact, if the next presidental elections dont have a SERIOUS change, i think 2012 will be the last presidental elections.

[lots42.livejournal.com]

I think there's a better chance that the officer giving the order to fire will collect most of the bullets inside his lungs.

[toku666.livejournal.com]

Lame, but not the egregious break in legal tradition that 6166 represents.

I simply don't think there is enough malice in the Bush administration to just "go for it," so to speak. Dittoheads are Dittoheads, but when you actually begin to set the machinery of the military against the populace, there is no longer any spin. You have officially entered "endgame" at that point, and the repercussions would not only be dire, they would probably involve foreign powers and the end of the United States as a country called "the United States."

Short answer: Not gonna happen

[lots42.livejournal.com]

Dittoheads are fans of Rush Limbaugh's show, not a lockstep band of correct-thinking cultists.

They include the most hardcore liberal to the die-hard concservative...

[toku666.livejournal.com]

Thanks for zeroing in on what is obviously the most important part of the point I made.

A question, though: In general, would it not be correct to say that most Dittoheads have a high tolerance for spin?

[lots42.livejournal.com]

No, I would say the majority of Dittoheads see past spin. After all, Rush does encourage his listeners to think for themselves.

[toku666.livejournal.com]

Well, that's what he says. But it's strange when somebody says that and then posts such an amazing logical fallacy per minute rate.

The Kerry "joke," for instance.

Anyhow, I said "tolerance," since Rush himself spins things pretty strenuously. Whether or not you buy into it, if you continue to listen, you are exhibiting tolerance to it.

[lots42.livejournal.com]

You say that like it's a bad thing. Rush can say whatever he wants, being an American citizen and all. And since companies can make money via his opinions, he has a radio show which I sometimes enjoy. Nothing wrong with that.

[toku666.livejournal.com]

So we went from a comment I made on a new law that actually had nothing to do with Rush Limbaugh or his fans the "Dittoheads" to you feeling defensive about enjoying the Rush Limbaugh Show.

How/why did that happen?

[lots42.livejournal.com]

Topic drift is a beautiful thing. It happens all over the internets.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

"Hardcore liberals" would be fans of Rush Limbaugh?

And they're obviously not correct-thinking, since that requires thinking in the first place, but "lockstep cultists" really does describe what Bush calls "the base", hanging on whatever today's proper reinterpretation of the past should be.

(Pop Quiz: What do you get if you translate "the base" into the language of choice of the current government-approved villains?)

[lots42.livejournal.com]

I have listened to the show and heard self-confessed liberals confess to enjoying the show.

It's like when I try (and fail) to understand Ann Coulter. You gotta read the manifestos of the other side.

[lots42.livejournal.com]

I'm wonder if any lack (or percieved lack) of sending troops into Katrina had anything to do with this.