Thread: Bush Seizes Control Over State Militias

Imitating the Soviet Union
governors communist soviet


Centralized, paternalistic government was a bad Soviet Communist idea, so why does AWOL Bush favor it?

Here are portions of a news article appearing at stateline.org

by Kavan Peterson
A little-noticed change in federal law packs an important change in who is in charge the next time a state is devastated by a disaster such as Hurricane Katrina.

To the dismay of the nation’s governors, the White House now will be empowered to go over a governor’s head and call up National Guard troops to aid a state in time of natural disasters or other public emergencies. Up to now, governors were the sole commanders in chief of citizen soldiers in local Guard units during emergencies within the state.

A conflict over who should control Guard units arose in the days after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. President Bush sought to federalize control of Guardsmen in Louisiana in the chaos after the hurricane, but Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) refused to relinquish command.

Over objections from all 50 governors, Congress in October changed the 200-year-old Insurrection Act to empower the hand of the president in future stateside emergencies. In a letter to Congress, the governors called the change "a dramatic expansion of federal authority during natural disasters that could cause confusion in the command-and-control of the National Guard and interfere with states' ability to respond to natural disasters within their borders."

The change adds to tensions between governors and the White House after more than four years of heavy federal deployment of state-based Guard forces to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, four out of five guardsmen have been sent overseas in the largest deployment of the National Guard since World War II. Shortage of the Guard’s military equipment -- such as helicopters to drop hay to snow-stranded cattle in Colorado -- also is a nagging issue as much of units’ heavy equipment is left overseas and unavailable in case of a natural disaster at home.

A bipartisan majority of both chambers of Congress adopted the change as part of the budget-busting, 439-page, $538 billion 2007 so-called Defense Authorization Bill signed into law last October.

The nation's governors through the National Governors Association (NGA) successfully lobbied to defeat a broader proposal to give the president power to federalize Guard troops even without invoking the Insurrection Act. But the passage that became law also "disappointed" governors because it expands federal power and could cause confusion between state and federal authorities trying to respond to an emergency situation, said David Quam, an NGA homeland security advisor.

"Governors need to be focused on assisting their citizens during an emergency instead of looking over their shoulders to see if the federal government is going to step in," Quam said.

Under the U.S. Constitution, each state's National Guard unit is controlled by the governor in time of peace but can be called up for federal duty by the president. The National Guard employs 444,000 part-time soldiers between its two branches: the Army and Air National Guards.

The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 forbids U.S. troops from being deployed on American soil for law enforcement. The one exception is provided by the Insurrection Act of 1807, which lets the president use the military only for the purpose of putting down rebellions or enforcing constitutional rights if state authorities fail to do so. Under that law, the president can declare an insurrection and call in the armed forces. The act has been invoked several times in the past 50 years, including in 1957 to desegregate schools and in 1992 during riots in south central Los Angeles after the acquittal of police who were caught on videotape beating Rodney King.

Congress changed the Insurrection Act to list "natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident" as conditions under which the president can deploy U.S. armed forces and federalize state Guard troops if he determines that "authorities of the state or possession are incapable of maintaining public order."

Mark Smith, spokesperson for the Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said local and state emergency responders know what their communities need during a crisis better than officials in Washington.

"The president should not be able to step in and take control of the National Guard without a governor's consent. The Guard belongs to the states, has always belonged to the states and should remain a function of the states," Smith said.

http://www.progress.org/2007/ussr03.htm

I hope this is not true! Why would anyone place such a great power like this into the hands of Bush! This is the guy that blew it on Katrina. This is the guy that wants amnesty for illegal aliens and open borders! This is the guy that wants to read our mail, listen to all of our phone calls, and scan our bank accounts without clearance from a judge. This is the guy that gets to appoint judges without them being approved by the Congress through the Attorney Generals office under new provisions of the Patriot Act!

If our claim is true that the Executive Branch of the US Government has been compromised by either drug cartels and or multinational corporations, then why in the hell would anyone want to give them control over the national guard which is deployed to handle US Citizens in times of crisis!?!?!?!?

W

It has been rumored that Bush planned the closing of several Army, Marine and Navel bases for the purpose of holding "resisters" of the North American Union. He then plans on declaring Marshall law, by calling in the National Guard for the sole purpose of "controlling resisters". This would eliminate a 2008 election, which will keep him and his administration in office indefinitely. It is in the plans to be completed by 2010.
It is a rumor- but you never know.

The North American union is coming,,,and soon he will have to tell it out right to us all. But he knows for a fact that we will try then to take our country back by force. So he is taking control of the Army,Marines, militas. He will do everything he can do to make this the NAU

Originally Posted by firecracker

It has been rumored that Bush planned the closing of several Army, Marine and Navel bases for the purpose of holding "resisters" of the North American Union. He then plans on declaring Marshall law, by calling in the National Guard for the sole purpose of "controlling resisters". This would eliminate a 2008 election, which will keep him and his administration in office indefinitely. It is in the plans to be completed by 2010.
It is a rumor- but you never know.

LOL!!!

I heard those EXACT same rumors during the George H.W. Bush and Clinton presidencies. Honestly. While there is some truth to the claim that there are a number of inexplicable detention centers, and while I would not turn my back on any of those guys, I would say that the "plan" you describe is the latest version of an old urban legend.

I have a question for JP: Do you understand the difference between the Executive and Legislative branches of government? I ask because Congress passed the law you are railing against, yet you ascribe the policy to the machinations of the President.

Originally Posted by Matthewcloseborders

The North American union is coming,,,and soon he will have to tell it out right to us all. But he knows for a fact that we will try then to take our country back by force. So he is taking control of the Army,Marines, militas. He will do everything he can do to make this the NAU

Is that what's happening?

CrocketsGhost wrote

matthewcloseborders wrote [quote:2dc67c38]The North American union is coming,,,and soon he will have to tell it out right to us all. But he knows for a fact that we will try then to take our country back by force. So he is taking control of the Army,Marines, militas. He will do everything he can do to make this the NAU

Is that what's happening?[/quote:2dc67c38]
Crocket, it would seem that you are in a state of denial about the NAU coming..also seems like you're willing to pass this off as an internet conspiracy. With all of your great knowlege and wisdom, are you really that naive? Sounds like you better wake up!

ALIPAC wrote

I hope this is not true! Why would anyone place such a great power like this into the hands of Bush! This is the guy that blew it on Katrina. This is the guy that wants amnesty for illegal aliens and open borders! This is the guy that wants to read our mail, listen to all of our phone calls, and scan our bank accounts without clearance from a judge. This is the guy that gets to appoint judges without them being approved by the Congress through the Attorney Generals office under new provisions of the Patriot Act!

If our claim is true that the Executive Branch of the US Government has been compromised by either drug cartels and or multinational corporations, then why in the hell would anyone want to give them control over the national guard which is deployed to handle US Citizens in times of crisis!?!?!?!?

I really belive the members of the CFR, Scull and Bones, the Rhoades Scholar Society and the rest of the nasty nest of rats are running this country via our faulty voting machines. Bush is only a puppet without a backbone or the intestinal fortitude to be a President.

Originally Posted by Rockfish

CrocketsGhost wrote

matthewcloseborders wrote [quote:2lxudy1h]The North American union is coming,,,and soon he will have to tell it out right to us all. But he knows for a fact that we will try then to take our country back by force. So he is taking control of the Army,Marines, militas. He will do everything he can do to make this the NAU

Is that what's happening?

Crocket, it would seem that you are in a state of denial about the NAU coming..also seems like you're willing to pass this off as an internet conspiracy. With all of your great knowlege and wisdom, are you really that naive? Sounds like you better wake up! [/quote:2lxudy1h]
I am in denial about NOTHING. I do, however, firmly hold the opinion, based on LONG experience exposing government misdeeds and the compromise of our freedoms, that the government is not going do anything that foments a rebellion. It has mastered the art of glacial incrementalism, which is the old "frog in a pot" scenario whereby the water is heated so slowly that the frog never leaps out.

You will also forgive me my cynicism if I dismiss threats that the citizens will take up arms. There are plenty of people who have received plenty of information from myself and others that absolutely demands action from the person to whom the information is being revealed. Believe me when I tell you that you don't want to know the miserably low percentage of people who actually act. We have become so fat and comfortable as a people that the threshold for action is pretty much to the level of a given individual suffering direct physical harm. That won't get it done.

For my part, I have put my butt and my livelihood on the line more times that I can count. I have faced the government down numerous times administratively and in court, and have eventually won in every case. So not only am I wide awake about the government, I am also wide awake with regard to the empty rhetoric of the vast majority of my fellow Americans who can't manage to stay "awake" for more than a few days or weeks at a time and whose likelihood for action is just a smidge above absolute zero. You will notice that while I remain cynical, I do not stop trying.

CrocketsGhost wrote

..It has mastered the art of glacial incrementalism, which is the old "frog in a pot" scenario whereby the water is heated so slowly that the frog never leaps out.

It would not be so wise to pass judgement about this..things are beginning to happen real fast..faster than ever before

Believe me when I tell you that you don't want to know the miserably low percentage of people who actually act.

Come on, Crocket! There is alot of fine upstanding patriots who would act if pushed into a corner, I know I would. No one can expect the public to accept what's being ram-roded down their throats and go quietly into the night..to fade away as our elites would like us to. Yes, we need to get the word out about what is happening to this country!

You will notice that while I remain cynical, I do not stop trying.

I don't care how cynical you become.. ..just as long as you DON'T stop trying!