The Future Through the Past

http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ari_ayn_rand_the_nature_of_government

I was reading this Ayn Rand essay from 1963 and struck by how relevant it is today:

...Consider the extent of the moral and political inversion in today’s prevalent view of government. Instead of being a protector of man’s rights, the government is becoming their most dangerous violator; instead of guarding freedom, the government is establishing slavery; instead of protecting men from the initiators of physical force, the government is initiating physical force and coercion in any manner and issue it pleases; instead of serving as the instrument of objectivity in human relationships, the government is creating a deadly, subterranean reign of uncertainty and fear, by means of nonobjective laws whose interpretation is left to the arbitrary decisions of random bureaucrats; instead of protecting men from injury by whim, the government is arrogating to itself the power of unlimited whim—so that we are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.

Think of the power of Obama's "Czars". Think of House leader Pelosi's recent response, when asked if the Congress had the authority to enact Health Care legislation ("Are you serious? Are you serious?"). Think of the doctors and insurance companies and automobile manufacturers and dealerships and banks and business executives or ordinary Americans who are being enslaved in uncertainty and fear to what the arbitrary and unbridled power of Washington will do next.

For two centuries, the United States was the last hope for the anyone in this world who wished to escape despotism in their own land. No more. The despots and thugs have now reached our shores. Unless limits are soon put on what Washington is doing, this planet will soon be entering the darkest period of human history.

The Unbridled Authority of Presidential "Executive Orders"

A friend passed me a link to an article on the dangers of Presidential Executive Orders that is interesting though it initially struck me as somewhat conspiratorial in its assertions about the insidious nature of Presidential "Executive Orders". I don't know who the author "Marion Valentine" is, but on further examination, I think he is correct in his narrow point that a "medical emergency" could be the route to martial law.

What buttresses that point is actually reading the Executive Orders he lists in his article. And doing further research, I found that the situation is much, much worse than I imagined.

I checked the source -- the actual text of the Executive Orders -- and found that for the most part, the assertions about their content are accurate, though the vast majority of the Orders he listed had long since been revoked or superceded. Nonetheless, there is value in reading them to understand how they evolved into the key orders now in effect today: EO's 11921 (Under Ford), 12148 (Under Carter) and 12656 (Under Reagan).

I didn't try to look at more current EOs than were listed in the article, but it is clear that their evolution started from a rationale based on a legitimate concern -- nuclear attack -- that was driven by the goal of circumventing Supreme Court restrictions on the imposition of martial law, as well as the 1878 Posse Comitatus law against using Federal military personnel as law enforcement on non-Federal property without Congressional authority.

By such means has federal authority morphed to undermine the Constitution.

Several things jumped out at me from reading the actual Executive Orders. Most importantly, they all rest on the failure to define an "emergency". Had an emergency been defined as an attack on the soil of the United States, these orders would be much less threatening, and possibly fully Constitutional. Often they make no such claim, and even when they reference the possibility of an attack on our soil, it's only "included" as one type of emergency while leaving other types undefined. That makes it clear the people writing these orders knew what they were doing.

The intent was to sidestep the Supreme Court's prohibition of "casual" implementation of "martial law" in the United States, based on Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution:

"The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it."

This is the primary Constitutional definition of an emergency. Rebellion or Invasion. Period. It implies authority for martial law only for these two cases and no other. It doesn't give authority to impose martial law for economic emergencies, environmental emergencies, medical emergencies or any other.

The Constitution doesn't make clear who can impose an "emergency" in case of rebellion or invasion -- the President or Congress. Lincoln obtained Congressional authority for martial law during the Civil War, but that was later overruled by the Supreme Court:

On September 15, 1863, Lincoln imposed Congressionally-authorized martial law. The authorizing act allowed the President to suspend habeas corpus throughout the entire United States. Lincoln imposed the suspension on "prisoners of war, spies, or aiders and abettors of the enemy," as well as on other classes of people, such as draft dodgers. The President's proclamation was challenged in ex parte Milligan (71 US 2 [1866]). The Supreme Court ruled that Lincoln's imposition of martial law (by way of suspension of habeas corpus) was unconstitutional.

Were I a lawyer mounting a challenge to TARP or other unconstitutional actions, this would be a key angle I would pursue. Many of the origins of these Orders came after WWII, as a response to the possibility of nuclear attack. The lack of definition of an "emergency" now allows the government to de facto implementation of martial law for almost any circumstance.

So the answer that came back from the Supremes was a firm limitation on the authority of either the President or Congress to impose martial law:

"Martial law ... destroys every guarantee of the Constitution. Civil liberty and this kind of martial law cannot endure together; the antagonism is irreconcilable; and, in the conflict, one or the other must perish."

The Court didn't say martial law could never be imposed -- they said Congress and the President did not have the authority in this case.

"If, in foreign invasion or civil war, the courts are actually closed, and it is impossible to administer criminal justice according to law, then, on the theatre of active military operations, where war really prevails, there is a necessity to furnish a substitute for the civil authority, thus overthrown, to preserve the safety of the army and society; and as no power is left but the military, it is allowed to govern by martial rule until the laws can have their free course. As necessity creates the rule, so it limits its duration; for, if this government is continued after the courts are reinstated, it is a gross usurpation of power. Martial rule can never exist where the courts are open, and in the proper and unobstructed exercise of their jurisdiction. It is also confined to the locality of actual war."

This is a clear limitation on Presidential and Congressional authority to declare "emergencies". It has been ignored for the last 70 years: only when and where there is an actual breakdown of order with no functioning police and courts can martial law be imposed.

What we're witnessing today is the extension of that authority by the means of "emergencies" that claim the same status as "Rebellion or Invasion", but without regard to a breakdown of law and order. The most recent and ludicrous is Obama's "swine flu emergency".

Another interesting insight gleaned from reading the Presidential EOs is the origins of the many "advisory" functions they create. These are the central mechanism subverting Congressional oversight of the Executive branch.

Here's how it works: in the EOs, delegation power is "reserved" to the President, who gives "guidance authority" to "advisors" made up out of thin air. The President appoints these "adviCzars" and then takes their "guidance" as orders he passes on to his Cabinet offices. Actual cabinet Secretaries become puppets, implementing the Czar policies, while the Czars (as Obama claims) have no obligation to report to Congress. The President thus circumvents Congressional approval of cabinet posts and oversight of Cabinet policy. This is why Obama is creating so many "Czars" as a complete shadow Cabinet. BiCzar.

Much of the "authority" in these EOs rests on bizarre interpretations of words like "guidance" and "planning", which are given no definition and a much broader meaning than most people would assume. Everything else is defined in these Orders, but not the words that really matter. Again, Obama's "advisors" provide "guidance" to the President for "planning", and he then delegates authority to "implement" those plans back to his Cabinet. In this manner the strings of the puppet master are pulled. For example, Van Jones, Special Advisor to the President for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Green Jobs Czar. How else do you get an avowed communist running parts of the country? (At least for awhile.)

Many of these EOs have arbitrary "claimancy" clauses as well. These assign the President unrestricted authority to seize anything for any reason whatsoever during an emergency.

Whatever the emergency is. These clauses are just stuck in there, with no legal basis provided whatsoever. No one has ever challenged them that I know. Now we have 60 years of "tradition" behind them, if not a single basis in the Constitution.

Authority for TARP is buried in these Orders, too, such as sub-clause (j) of Order 10997 under Kennedy. For a long time I've wondered why TARP hasn't been challenged in Court. The EOs explain it. A long tradition of Executive Orders, nothing more. What disturbs me is the possibility that so many victims could have been convinced they would lose in court because of Presidential Executive Orders, not actual Congressional law. Or that the courts would give Executive Orders the same status as actual statutes. Give me a break.

Again, in case of an actual attack on U.S. soil, especially a nuclear one, where there is literally chaos everywhere and no law enforcement and invading hordes of Chicomms,Russkis and replicating bureaucrats from D.C. or whatever, I wouldn't have a problem with many of these Orders. A genuine emergency. The problem principally rests on the definition of an "emergency" (and secondarily on the unquestioned authority to "claimancy"). This is how it should be attacked in Court.

This is what happens when citizens don't file cases against unconstitutional laws, and when the courts have been so philosophically corrupted that they don't declare unconstitutional laws and regulations and Orders unconstitutional. Thus is a free nation fascized and socialized. 

Side note: A great many of the egregious EOs were in anticipation of a nuclear attack and ordered by John F. Kennedy on one day -- February 16, 1962, fully 8 months before the Cuban Missile Crisis, well before any missiles had been discovered in Cuba -- as reported in the history books. This makes it almost certain that the books are wrong and that Russian nuclear missiles were in Cuba well before the time reported in the history books -- September, 1962. The Big Lie strikes again.

---------- List of Key Executive Orders and an Evaluation  of Each -----------

Following are the EO's listed in Valentine's article (his phrasing, in quotes), followed by my analysis.  Here also are the main two links from which I extracted excerpts from the actual EOs:

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/executive_orders.php?year=1962&Submit=DISPLAY

http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/numeric-executive-orders.html

EXECUTIVE ORDER 10990 "allows the government to take over all modes of transportation and control of highways and seaports."

Under Kennedy. Valentine's interpretation is wrong, or at least a huge stretch. It establishes a "safety council", and I couldn't find any authority to actually do something. Maybe I'm too generous in how they manipulate words. In any case, Superseded by EO 11612.  


EXECUTIVE ORDER 10995 "allows the government to seize and control the communication media."

Agree with the assessment, but revoked by EO 11556. Excerpt:

SEC. 3. The authority to assign radio frequencies to Government agencies, vested in the President by section 305 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (47 U.S.C. 305), including all functions heretofore vested in the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee, is hereby delegated to the Director of the Office of Emergency Planning, who may redelegate such authority to the Director of Telecommunications Management. Such authority shall include the power to amend, modify, or revoke frequency assignments. 

EXECUTIVE ORDER 10997 "allows the government to take over all electrical power, gas, petroleum, fuels and minerals."

Agree with the assessment. Unbridled authority to seize and control. Add authority for price controls, rationing, etc. Note sub-clause (j) -- there is part of the TARP authority. But superceded by EO 11490 under Nixon. Key excerpts:

SECTION 1. Scope. The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter referred to as the Secretary) shall prepare national emergency plans and develop preparedness programs covering (1) electric power; (2) petroleum and gas; (3) solid fuels; and (4) minerals. These plans and programs shall be designed to provide a state of readiness in these resource areas with respect to all conditions of national emergency, including attack upon the United States.

SEC. 3. Resource Functions. With respect to the resources defined above, the Secretary shall:

(a) Priorities and allocations. Develop systems for the emergency application of priorities and allocations to the production and distribution of assigned resources.

(d) Claimancy. Prepare plans to claim materials, manpower, equipment, supplies and services needed in support of assigned responsibilities and other essential functions of the Department before the appropriate agency, and work with such agencies in developing programs to insure availability of such resources in an emergency.

(i) (Economic Stabilization. Cooperate with the Office of Emergency Planning in the development of economic stabilization policies as they might affect the power, fuels and assigned minerals supply, production, and marketing programs, and the conservation of essential commodities in an emergency, including rationing of power and fuel.

( j ) Financial aid. Develop plans and procedures for financial and credit assistance to producers, processors, and distributors who might need such assistance in various mobilization conditions.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 10998 "allows the government to take over all food resources and farms."

Agree with the assessment. See Section 5, which essentially gives the President carte blanche authority to do whatever the hell he wants. Revoked and superceded by EO 11490. Key excerpts:

SECTION 1. Scope. The Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as the Secretary) shall prepare national emergency plans and develop preparedness programs covering: Food resources, farm equipment, fertilizer, and food resource facilities, as defined below; rural fire control; defense against biological warfare, chemical warfare, and radiological fallout pertaining to agricultural activities; and rural defense information and education. These plans and programs shall be designed to develop a state of readiness in these areas with respect to all conditions of national emergency, including attack upon the United States.

SEC. 3. Food Function. With respect to food resources, food resource facilities, farm equipment, and fertilizer the Secretary shall:

(a) Resources. Periodically assess assigned resources available from all sources in order to estimate availability under an emergency situation, analyze resource estimates in relation to estimated requirements in order to identify problem areas, and develop appropriate recommendations and programs including those necessary for the maintenance of an adequate mobilization base. Provide data and assistance before and after attack for national resource evaluation purposes of the Office of Emergency Planning.

(c) Priorities and allocations. Develop priorities, allocations and distribution control systems and related plans to insure that available food resources are properly apportioned among and distributed to civilian, military and foreign claimants in an emergency and develop priorities, allocations and distribution control systems and related plans for the domestic distribution of farm equipment and fertilizer.

(f) Economic stabilization. Cooperate with the Office of Emergency Planning in the development of stabilization policies as they might affect agricultural production, processing, distribution, and storage, and in tile development of policies for consumer rationing of food resources.

SEC. 4. Cooperation with Department of Defense. In consonance with national civil defense plans, programs and operations of the Department of Defense, under Executive Order No. 10952, the Secretary shall:

(c) Biological, chemical, and radiological warfare defense functions. Develop plans for a national program, direct Federal activities, and furnish technical guidance to State and local authorities concerning (1) diagnosis and strengthening of defensive barriers and control or eradication of diseases, pests, or chemicals introduced as agents of biological or chemical warfare against animals, crops or products thereof; (2) protective measures, treatment and handling of livestock, including poultry, agricultural commodities on farms or ranches, agricultural lands, forest lands, and water for agricultural purposes, any of which have been exposed to or affected by radiation. Plans shall be developed for a national program and direction of Federal activities to assure the safety and wholesomeness and to minimize losses from biological and chemical warfare radiological effects, and other emergency hazards of livestock, meat and meat products, poultry and poultry products in establishments under the continuous inspection of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and agricultural commodities and products owned by the Commodity Credit Corporation or by the Secretary.

SEC. 5. Claimancy. The Secretary shall prepare plans to claim materials, manpower, equipment, supplies and services which would be needed to carry out assigned responsibilities and other essential functions of the Department from the appropriate agency and work with such agencies in developing programs to insure availability of such resources Ill an emergency.

(c) Emergency planning. Emergency plans and programs, and emergency organization structure required thereby, shall be developed as an integral part of the continuing activities of the Department of the Interior on the basis that it will have the responsibility for carrying out such programs during an emergency. The Secretary shall be prepared to implement all appropriate plans developed under this order. Modifications, and temporary organizational changes, based on emergency conditions, will be in accordance with policy determination by the President.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11000 "allows the government to mobilize civilians into work brigades under government supervision."

Agreed. Mass civilian conscription is authorized. Also add "Wage and Price Controls", and "power to expropriate anything they need from anyone for any reason whatsoever". Revoked and superceded by EO 11490.

SECTION 1. Scope. The Secretary of Labor (hereinafter referred to as the Secretary) shall prepare national emergency plans and develop preparedness programs covering civilian manpower mobilization, more effective utilization of limited manpower resources including specialized personnel, wage and salary stabilization, worker incentives and protection, manpower resources and requirements, skill development and training, research, labor-management relations, and critical occupations. These plans and programs shall be designed to develop a state of readiness in these areas with respect to all conditions of national emergency, including attack upon the United States.

(f) Claimancy. Prepare plans to claim materials, equipment, supplies and services needed in support of assigned responsibilities and other essential functions of the Department from appropriate agencies and work with such agencies in developing programs to insure the availability of such resources in an emergency.

This order, issued February 16, 1962, is an extremely comprehensive statement of government authority in a national emergency such as a nuclear war. You should read the entire thing. But what's really interesting -- it came out 8 months before the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. The history is that the missiles weren't put in Cuba till September 1962. That says to me they knew a crisis was brewing long before.  


EXECUTIVE ORDER 11001 "allows the government to take over all health, education and welfare functions."

Agreed. Add unbridled authority to impose a massive welfare state. Revoked and superceded by EO 11490.

SECTION 1. Scope. The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (hereinafter referred to as the Secretary) shall prepare national emergency plans and develop preparedness programs covering health services, civilian health manpower, health resources, welfare services, and educational programs as defined below. These plans and programs shall be designed to develop a state of readiness in these areas with respect to all conditions of national emergency including attack upon the United States.

SEC. 3. Health Functions. With respect to emergency health services, as defined above, and in consonance with national civil defense plans, programs and operations of the Department of Defense under Executive Order No. 10952, the Secretary shall:

(f) Food, drugs, and biologicals. Plan and direct national programs for the maintenance of purity and safety in the manufacture and distribution of food, drugs, and biologicals in an emergency.

There is also this ominous and peculiar Section 7:

SEC. 7. Resources. The Secretary shall periodically assess assigned resources available from all sources in order to estimate availability under an emergency situation, analyze resource estimates in relation to estimated requirements in order to identify problem areas and develop appropriate recommendations and programs. Provide data and assistance before and after attack for national resource evaluation purposes of the Office of Emergency Planning.

It is strangely vague and doesn't refer to "health resources" in any way. What "resources" is it referring to? For what purpose?

This EO is the equivalent of Directive 10-289 from Atlas Shrugged:

SEC. 8. Relative Urgencies. The Secretary shall develop standards and relative urgencies for emergency health and welfare services for guidance of Federal agencies, States, and communities in providing maximum protection to survivors, and for the purpose of conserving, improving availability, and allocating such resources.

SEC. 10. Claimancy. The Secretary shall prepare plans to claim materials, manpower, equipment, supplies and services needed to carry out assigned responsibilities and other essential functions of the Department, from the appropriate agency and work with such agencies in developing programs to insure availability of such resources in an emergency. 

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11002 "designates the Postmaster General to operate a national registration of all persons."

True, though allegedly it's for "welfare" and "re-uniting families" after an attack. Revoked and superceded by EO 11490.

SECTION 1. Scope. The Postmaster General shall assist in the development of a national emergency registration system. These plans and programs shall be designed to develop a state of readiness in this area with respect to all conditions of national emergency including attack upon the United States.

SEC. 2. Cooperation with Department of Defense. In consonance with national civil defense plans, programs, and operations of the Department of Defense under Executive Order No. 10952, the Postmaster General shall:

(a) Registration system. Assist in planning a national program and developing technical guidance for States, and directing Post Office activities concerned with registering persons and families for the purpose of receiving and answering welfare inquiries, and reuniting families in civil defense emergencies. 

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11003 "allows the government to take over all airports and aircraft, including commercial aircraft."

True. But revoked and superceded by EO 11490

SECTION 1. Scope. The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Agency (hereinafter referred to as the Administrator) shall prepare national emergency plans and develop preparedness programs covering the emergency management of the Nation's civil airports, civil aviation operating facilities, civil aviation services, and civil aircraft other than air carrier aircraft. These plans and programs shall be designed to develop a state of readiness in these areas with respect to all conditions of national emergency, including attack upon the United States.

(f) Claimancy. Prepare plans to claim materials, manpower, equipment, supplies, and services needed to carry out assigned responsibilities and other essential functions of the agency from the appropriate agencies and work with such agencies in developing programs to insure availability of such resources in an emergency. 

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11004 "allows the Housing and Finance Authority to relocate communities, build new housing with public funds, designate areas to be abandoned, and establish new locations for populations."

True. But revoked and superceded by EO 11490

SECTION 1. Scope. The Housing and Home Finance Administrator (hereinafter referred to as the Administrator) shall prepare national emergency plans and develop preparedness programs covering all aspects of lodging or housing and community facilities related thereto.

(f) Claimancy. Prepare plans to claim materials, manpower, equipment, supplies, and services needed in support of assigned responsibilities and other essential functions of the agency from appropriate agencies, and work with such agencies in developing programs to insure availability of such resources in an emergency.

(b) Temporary housing. Develop plans for the emergency repair and restoration to use of damaged housing, for the construction and management of emergency housing units and the community facilities related thereto, and for the emergency conversion to dwelling use of non-residential structures with public funds through direct Federal action or through financial or credit assistance.

(c) Population movement. Participate in the preparation of plans for determining which areas are to be restored and in the development and coordination of plans for the movement of people on a temporary basis from areas to be abandoned to areas where housing is available or can be made available.

(e) Vulnerability. Participate in promoting the dispersal of new or expanding communities and government installations in conformance to national vulnerability reduction policy. 

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11005 "allows the government to take over railroads, inland waterways and public storage facilities."

True. Revoked and superceded by EO 11490.

SECTION 1. Scope. The Interstate Commerce Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Commission shall prepare national emergency plans and develop preparedness programs covering railroad utilization, reduction of vulnerability, maintenance, restoration, and operation in an emergency; motor carrier utilization, reduction of vulnerability, and operation in an emergency; inland waterway mutilization of equipment and shipping, reduction of vulnerability, and operation in an emergency, excepting the St. Lawrence Seaway; and also provide guidance and consultation to domestic surface transportation and storage industries, as defined below, regarding emergency preparedness measures, and to States regarding development of their transportation plans in assigned areas. These plans and programs will be designed to develop a state of readiness in these areas with respect to all conditions of national emergency, including attack upon the United States.

(c) Claimancy. Prepare plans to claim material, equipment, manpower, supplies, and services needed to carry out assigned responsibilities and other essential functions of the Commission before the appropriate agency, and work with such agencies in developing programs to insure availability of such resources in an emergency. 

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11051 "specifies the responsibility of the Office of Emergency Planning and gives authorization to put all Executive Orders into effect in times of increased international tensions and economic or financial crisis."

I think so, but didn't read closely enough to be sure. If you thought the Health Care Bill was bad, read this one carefully. I think this is a real smoking gun. It is very long and replaces the Director of the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization" with "the Director of the Office of Emergency Planning. But revoked by EO 12148.

SECTION 101. Resume of responsibilities. The Director of the Office of Emergency Planning (hereinafter referred to as the Director) shall:

(a) Advise and assist the President in the coordination of and in the determination of policy for the emergency plans and preparedness assignments of the Federal departments and agencies (hereinafter referred to as Federal agencies) designed to make possible at Federal, State and local levels the mobilization of the human, natural and industrial resources of the nation to meet all conditions of national emergency, including attack on the United States.

(b) Under the direction of the President, be responsible for the preparation of nonmilitary plans and preparedness programs with respect to organization and functioning of the Federal Government under emergency conditions and with respect to specific areas of Federal activity necessary in time of war which are neither performed in the normal operations of the regular departments and agencies nor assigned thereto by or under the authority of the President.

(c) Perform such other functions as are vested in him by law or are by this order, or by orders referred to in this order, delegated or otherwise assigned to him.

(d) Perform such additional functions as the President may from time to time direct.

You got all that? This Order amends or supercedes many other prior Executive Orders to expand their scope, but you can't get the full gist unless you dig out those older Orders. I didn't have time to wade through all that, but I believe the thrust is an expansion of the meaning of "emergency" in prior Orders, that extends an emergency to non-civil defense matters.

Here's another of those insidiously vague clauses:

(e) Executive Order No. 10582 of December 17, 1954, is hereby amended by striking from Section 3 (d) thereof the words "from any officer of the Government designated by the President to furnish such advice" and by inserting in lieu of the stricken words the following: "from the Director of the Office of Emergency Planning. In providing this advice the Director shall be governed by the principle that exceptions under this section shall be made only upon a clear showing that the payment of a greater differential than the procedures of this section generally prescribe is justified by consideration of national security".

If you can find any meaning in that other than a claim of arbitrary authority to do whatever the hell they want, you're better than me. 


EXECUTIVE ORDER 11310 "grants authority to the Department of Justice to enforce the plans set out in Executive Orders, to institute industrial support, to establish judicial and legislative liaison, to control all aliens, to operate penal and correctional institutions, and to advise and assist the President."

Translation: they are the enforcers. This one wasn't listed at the links I provided, by the way, so I can't quote from it.

EO 11310 was ordered by Johnson, and then revoked by EO 11490 under Nixon shortly thereafter. Then 11490 was then revoked by EO 12656 under... guess who? Ronald Reagan. See below.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11490 "assigns emergency preparedness function to federal departments and agencies, consolidating 21 operative Executive Orders issued over a fifteen year period."

Under Richard Nixon. Revoked and superceded by EO 12656. Valentine misnumbered this one as "11049" because he copied his list from everyone else on the web. It at least claims some genuine Congressional authority:

WHEREAS the Congress has directed the development of such national emergency preparedness plans and has provided funds for the accomplishment thereof; and

WHEREAS this national emergency preparedness planning activity has been an established program of the United States Government for more than twenty years:

And then goes on forever. It is the LONGEST of the EOs.

SECTION 101 Purpose. This order consolidates the assignment of emergency preparedness functions to various departments and agencies heretofore contained in the 21 Executive orders and 2 Defense Mobilization orders listed in Section 3015 of this order. Assignments have been adjusted to conform to changes in organization which have occurred subsequent to the issuance of those Executive orders and Defense Mobilization orders.

And then proceeds to explictly broaden the definition of an emergency without bound:

(b) The departments and agencies of the Federal Government are hereby severally charged with the duty of assuring the continuity of the Federal Government in any national emergency type situation that might confront the nation.

This thing is almost as long as Obama's Health Care Bill. I barely skimmed. But it's as bad as you might expect. It is a massive umbrella EO that just consolidates everything before it and piles on. But... it was revoked and superceded by EO 12656... 

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11921 "allows the Federal Emergency Preparedness Agency to develop plans to establish control over the mechanisms of production and distribution, of energy sources, wages, salaries, credit and the flow of money in U.S. financial institution in any undefined national emergency. It also provides that when a state of emergency is declared by the President, Congress cannot review the action for six months."

Gerald Ford. Amends EO 11490. Supersedes EO's 11522, 11746. STILL IN EFFECT. Note the broadening of the definition of "emergency".

SEC. 2. The phrase 'the Office of Emergency Preparedness' is deleted wherever it occurs, and in its place is inserted the phrase 'the Federal Preparedness Agency (GSA)'.

And just selecting examples at random, here's more farm policy stuff (remember EO 10998 back in 1962?):

(2) Nuclear, biological, and chemical hazards protection for agriculture. Develop, in consonance with overall planning of the Environmental Protection Agency, plans for a national program, direct Federal activities, and furnish technical guidance to State and local authorities concerning (a) diagnosis and strengthening of defensive barriers and control or eradication of diseases, pests, or chemicals introduced as agents of biological or chemical warfare against animals, crops or products thereof; (b) protective measures, treatment and handling of livestock, including poultry or products thereof, which have been exposed to or affected by radiation; and, (c) use of crops, agricultural commodities on farms and ranches, agricultural lands, forest lands, and water for agricultural purposes, any of which have been exposed to or affected by radiation. Develop plans for a national program and direction of Federal activities to assure the safety and wholesomeness and to minimize losses from hazardous agents (nuclear, biological and chemical) and other emergency hazards of livestock, meat and meat products, poultry and poultry products in establishments under the continuous inspection of the Department of Agriculture, and agricultural commodities and products owned by the Commodity Credit Corporation or by the Department of Agriculture.

and Health stuff:

(1) 'Emergency health services' means medical and dental care for the civilian population in all of the specialties and adjunct therapeutic fields, and the planning, provision, and operation of first aid stations, hospitals, and clinics; preventive health services, including detection, identification, and control of communicable diseases, their vectors, and other public health hazards, inspection and control of purity and safety of food, drugs, and biologicals; vital statistics services, rehabilitation and related services for disabled survivors; preventive and curative care related to human exposure to hazardous agents (nuclear, biological and chemical); sanitary aspects of disposal of the dead; and food and milk sanitation.

and Aviation stuff:

(2) Emergency resource management of the National Aviation System, which is the physical complex of civil airmen, aircraft (including air carrier and general aviation aircraft) airports, airspace, airways and facilities and services, regulations, plans, standards, procedures and practices associated with the complex, for emergency management of the National Airspace System, and for control of civil and military air traffic, except as provided in Part 15 herein. In the performance of these responsibilities:

and Environmental stuff:

PART 15A--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

'Section 1550. Resume of responsibilities. The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for diagnosis of quality problems and hazards in the environment which would impede the survival and recovery efforts of the nation and for developing coordinated Federal plans and fostering State and local plans designed to prevent or minimize the long-term ecological impact of hazardous agents introduced into the environment in an emergency situation, and to assist and coordinate with all primary resource agencies regarding plans to preserve the quality of a resource needed in an emergency.

And on and on and on. This EO is a massive expansion of previous EOs with amendments ad infinitum. Under a Republican Administration. 

EXECUTIVE ORDER 12148 "created the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that is to interface with the Department of Defense for civil defense planning and funding. An “emergency czar” was appointed. FEMA has only spent about 6 percent of its budget on national emergencies, the bulk of their funding has been used for the construction of secret underground facilities to assure continuity of government in case of a major emergency, foreign or domestic."

Under Jimmy Carter. Codified at Chapter44. Amended by EO's 12155, 12156, 12319, 12356, 12379, 12381, 12673.

3-101. There is hereby established the Emergency Management Council.

3-202. The Council shall provide guidance to the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the performance of functions vested in him.

I didn't read this. Very long, very boring and full of a zillion amendments or revocations of prior EOs that make it almost impossible to read anyway. Who knows what could be lurking there. Wear hip waders over body armor.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 12656 "appointed the National Security Council as the principal body that should consider emergency powers. This allows the government to increase domestic intelligence and surveillance of U.S. citizens and would restrict the freedom of movement within the United States and granted the government the right to isolate large groups of civilians. The National Guard could be federalized to seal all borders and take control of U.S. air space and all ports of entry. Many of the figures in the Iran-Contra scandal were part of this emergency contingent, including Marine Colonel Oliver North." 

Ronald Reagan. Another Republican. Codified at Chapter 44. For the first time an "emergency" is defined. Not that it's any help. It now just officially means whatever the hell they want it to mean.

Section 101. National Security Emergency Preparedness Policy.

(a) The policy of the United States is to have sufficient capabilities at all levels of government to meet essential defense and civilian needs during any national security emergency. A national security emergency is any occurrence, including natural disaster, military attack, technological emergency, or other emergency, that seriously degrades or seriously threatens the national security of the United States. Policy for national security emergency preparedness shall be established by the President. Pursuant to the President's direction, the National Security Council shall be responsible for developing and administering such policy. All national security emergency preparedness activities shall be consistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States and with preservation of the constitutional government of the United States.

You can therefore thank Reagan for giving Obama more authority to do what he's doing. However, in his defense, the Order says:

(b) This Order does not apply to those natural disasters, technological emergencies, or other emergencies, the alleviation of which is normally the responsibility of individuals, the private sector, volunteer organizations, State and local governments, and Federal departments and agencies unless such situations also constitute a national security emergency.

(b) This Order does not constitute authority to implement the plans prepared pursuant to this Order. Plans so developed may be executed only in the event that authority for such execution is authorized by law.

So some burden is on Congress. This is an EXTREMELY long EO, and I only skimmed a few paragraphs.

The Valentine article doesn't list more recent events, like Bush's attempt to circumvent the Posse Comitatus statute, but here's an interesting teaser from Wiki on Martial Law for more digging.

Public Law 109-364, or the "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007" (H.R.5122), was signed by President Bush on October 17, 2006, and allowed the President to declare a "public emergency" and station troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities.

Title V, Subtitle B, Part II, Section 525(a) of the JWDAA of 2007 reads "The [military] Secretary [of the Army, Navy or Air Force] concerned may order a member of a reserve component under the Secretary's jurisdiction to active duty...The training or duty ordered to be performed...may include...support of operations or missions undertaken by the member's unit at the request of the President or Secretary of Defense." The President signed the Defense Authorization Act of 2008 on January 13, 2008. However, Section 1068 in the enacted 2008 defense authorization bill (H.R. 4986: "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008") repealed this section of PL 109-364.

And that's not all she wrote.  See my more recent post, They Can Do Whatever They Want...

The Thugs is A-comin'

Reading the story at bottom, you will see pure, unabashed thuggery in action, as the Senate make a bald-faced threat to the insurance industry: oppose us at your peril. I'm reminded of

"...when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

...He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.... [think: "czars"]

...taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments...

What's happening in the Senate merely proves Jefferson's other point:

A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.

Which led me to some other Jefferson quotes:

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

The earth belongs to the living, not to the dead.

Experience hath shown, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.

I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive.

It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself.

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.

And for those taking action to stop this, he says:

Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day.

Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.

Don't talk about what you have done or what you are going to do.

Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.

One man with courage is a majority.

Several friends put good quotes at the bottom of every email as a means of spreading ideas and inspiring, a tactic I like very much. It strikes me that it would be useful to spread more quotes in more ways, from every good source (Founders, Ayn Rand, etc) . Would the pithiness of tweets make them a good vehicle for this? I'm not a tweeter, I'm more of a woofer, so I pose the question. Is this practical?

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/21/us/politics/AP-US-Health-Care-Overhaul.html

House Committee Votes Against Antitrust Protection

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 21, 2009

Filed at 12:09 p.m. ET

The latest on President Obama, the new administration and other news from Washington and around the nation.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A House committee has voted to strip the health insurance industry of its exemption from federal antitrust laws as senators announced plans to take the same step.

The moves Wednesday signaled a growing determination by Democrats to punish the insurance industry for its criticism of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul agenda. The House Judiciary Committee voted 20 to 9 to repeal a 1940s law that exempted the health insurance industry from federal controls over certain antitrust violations including price-fixing.

Lawmakers said they wanted to include the legislation in a larger health care overhaul bill taking shape in the House. In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid announced plans to repeal the antitrust exemption as part of its health care legislation.

To Hell with Saul Alinsky

George Patton had his flaws, but also some great quotes, which I'm reminded of now and then, and taken metaphorically and in the right context, can provide inspiration, motivation, guidance for anyone fighting to preserve or achieve something in their life, politically, personally, intellectually, professionally.

If anyone has great quotes of their own in this vein from other sources, I'd enjoy hearing them.

Patton:

There are three reasons why we are fighting this war. The first is because we are determined to preserve our traditional liberties. Some crazy German bastards decided they were supermen and that it was their holy mission to rule the world. They've been pushing people around all over the world, looting, killing, and abusing millions of innocent men, women, and children. They were getting set to do the same thing to us. We had to fight to prevent being subjugated. [substitute "New Left" for "Germans" ...but they aren't so different, are they?]

Tin soldier politicians in Washington have allowed us to kick the Hell out of one bastard [let's say, Bush] and at the same time forced us to help establish a second one as evil or more evil than the first [let's say, Obama, working in league with various foreign enemies of the United States] ...This time we'll need almighty God's constant help if we're to live in the same world with Stalin and his murdering cutthroats. [at least, Ayn Rand's help, because the only way this war to save our freedom will be won is intellectually]

After being told by Omar Bradley that the Russians were going to be allowed to occupy Prague in order to avoid "complications", Patton said, "For God's sake Brad, it seems to me that a great nation like America should let others worry about the complications."

Courage:

Better to fight for something than live for nothing.

Moral courage is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men.

No sane man is unafraid in battle, but discipline produces in him a form of vicarious courage.

Brave men will breed brave men.

Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.

In war, it takes more than the desire to fight to win. You've got to have more than guts to lick the enemy. You must also have brains.

Untutored courage is useless in the face of educated bullets.

There is a time to take counsel of your fears, and there is a time to never listen to any fear.

If we take the generally accepted definition of bravery as a quality which knows no fear, I have never seen a brave man. All men are frightened. The more intelligent they are, the more they are frightened.

Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.

The time to take counsel of your fears is before you make an important battle decision. That's the time to listen to every fear you can imagine! When you have collected all the facts and fears and made your decision, turn off all your fears and go ahead!

It’s the unconquerable soul of man, not the nature of the weapon he uses, that insures victory.

Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.

You’re never beaten until you admit it.

If man does his best what else is there?

Strategy:

War is simple, direct, and ruthless.

A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.

An incessant change of means to attain unalterable ends is always going on; we must take care not to let these sundry means acquire undue eminence in the perspective of our minds; for, since the beginning, there has been an unending cycle of them, and for each its advocates have claimed adoption as the sole solution of successful war.

You shouldn't underestimate an enemy, but it is just as fatal to overestimate him.

Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory.

Many, who should know better, think that wars can be decided by soulless machines, rather than by the blood and anguish of brave men. [computers aren't always the solution...]

You want to know why this outfit got the hell kicked out of it? A blind man could spot it. They don't act like soldiers; they don't look like soldiers; why should they be expected to fight like soldiers?

Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable.
In case of doubt, attack.

Good tactics can save even the worst strategy. Bad tactics will destroy even the best strategy.

In war the only sure defense is offense, and the efficiency of the offense depends on the warlike souls of those conducting it.

Now there's another thing I want you to remember. I don't want to get any messages saying that we are holding our position. We're not holding anything. We'll let the Hun do that. We are advancing constantly, and we're not interested in holding onto anything except the enemy. We're going to hold onto him by the nose, and we're going to kick him in the ass. We're going to kick the hell out of him all the time, and we're going to go through him like crap through a goose.

Nobody ever defended anything successfully, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.

Fixed fortifications are monuments to man's stupidity. [let's say, Conservatism...]

Many soldiers are led to faulty ideas of war by knowing too much about too little.

To conquer, we must destroy our enemies. We must not only die gallantly; we must kill devastatingly. The faster and more effectively you kill, the longer you will live to enjoy the priceless fame of conquerors.

There are no practice games in life. It's eat or be eaten, kill or be killed. I want my bunch to be in there first, to be the 'fustest with the mostest'. They won't do it if I ask them nicely.

I always believe in being prepared, even when I'm dressed in white tie and tails. [mentally prepared ... like Francisco d'Anconia]

Attack rapidly, ruthlessly, viciously, without rest, however tired and hungry you may be, the enemy will be more tired, more hungry. Keep punching.

Never let the enemy pick the battle site. [My addendum: Given the choice, never fight a battle you are sure to lose -- if you want to win the war.]

We have got by due to persistance and on the ability to make plans fit circumstances. The other armies try to make circumstances fit plans.

I do not fear failure. I only fear the "slowing up" of the engine inside of me which is pounding, saying, "Keep going, someone must be on top, why not you?"

Surrender is as ignoble as it is foolish. Above all else, remember that we as attackers have the initiative, we know exactly what we are going to do, while the enemy is ignorant of our intentions and can only parry our blows. We must retain this tremendous advantage by always attacking rapidly, ruthlessly, viciously, and without rest.

May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't.

Leadership:

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.

If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you'll be amazed at the results.

Be willing to make decisions. That's the most important quality in a good leader.

Do your damnedest in an ostentatious manner all the time.

The leader must be an actor.

All very successful commanders are prima donnas and must be so treated.

Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.

Always do everything you ask of those you command.

We herd sheep, we drive cattle, we lead people. Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.

No good decision was ever made in a swivel chair.

Say what you mean and mean what you say.

A piece of spaghetti or a military unit can only be led from the front end.

There is only one sort of discipline, perfect discipline. [let's say... a disciplined mind.]

Philosophy:

A man must know his destiny. If he does not recognize it, then he is lost. By this I mean, once, twice, or at the very most, three times, fate will reach out and tap a man on the shoulder. if he has the imagination, he will turn around and fate will point out to him what fork in the road he should take, if he has the guts, he will take it. [not fate perhaps, but the knowledge of what he must do have integrity towards his values...]

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking. [Fill in the blanks on that one... ]

Do more than is required of you.

An active mind cannot exist in an inactive body.

By perseverance, study, and eternal desire, any man can become great.

If a man does his best, what else is there?

A pint of sweat saves a gallon of blood.

Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable.

Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack.

I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.

You need to overcome the tug of people against you as you reach for high goals.

War:

Americans love to fight. All real Americans love the sting of battle.

War is the supreme test of man in which he rises to heights never approached in any other activity.

Americans play to win at all times. I wouldn't give a hoot and hell for a man who lost and laughed.

My men don't surrender. I don't want to hear of any soldier under my command being captured unless he is hit. Even if you are hit, you can still fight. That's not just bullshit, either. The kind of man I want under me is like the lieutenant in Libya, who, with a Lugar against his chest, jerked off his helmet, swept the gun aside with one hand and busted hell out of the Boche with the helmet. Then he jumped on the gun and went out and killed another German: All this with a bullet through his lung. That's a man for you.

No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.

There's one thing that you men will be able to say when you get back home, and you may thank God for it. Thirty years from now when you're sitting around your fireside with your grandson on your knee, and he asks you, "What did you do in the great World War II?" -- you won't have to say, "Well, I shoveled shit in Louisiana."

Don't Speak for Me, Argentina

A few months ago I heard warnings that censorship would come to America via "community access" and "content" rules for radio rather than by a new "Fairness Doctrine". Here's a story about the Argentinians taking that idea very literally -- they just put the gun in their mouth and pulled the trigger.

The new law preserves two-thirds of the radio and TV spectrum for noncommercial stations, and requires channels to use more Argentine content. It also forces Grupo Clarin, the country's leading media company, to sell off many of its properties.

Watch for the same in America very soon.

Consider what has happened already in this country:

1.) Endless restrictions on speech pertaining to economics -- starting with insider trading (little recognized as government imposed violations of free speech in lieu of voluntary contracts between businesses and employees), etc., to the most recent goal of fines/jail time for bloggers who don't disclose financial connections;

2.) McCain-Feingold restrictions on *political* speech, as well as many state-imposed restrictions. (If there was *anything* the First Amendment was intended to protect, it was political speech.)

''The initiative is moderate and democratic,'' said Sen. Miguel Angel Pichetto, a ruling party leader, during nearly 20 hours of uninterrupted debate that ended Saturday morning. ''It allows for companies to have an adequate position, but not a dominant one.''

Everything bad seems to happen under the guise of "democracy" -- code word for tyranny of the masses, code for variants of communism and socialism, code for rule of a selected elite.

We could (will, I think) soon see attempts to break up "media" monopolies in this country by the Argentine model:

The commission applying new regulations and granting (or canceling) radio and television licenses will have seven members, include two designated by the executive branch, three by Congress and two by a federal body representing provincial governments. This should ensure ruling party control, which opponents fear will be used to threaten and censure critics.

To put it mildly.

The new law imposes more frequent licensing approvals, and requires that at least 70 percent of radio content and 60 percent of television content be produced in Argentina. It also requires cable TV companies to carry channels operated by universities, unions, indigenous groups and other non-governmental organizations.

That's gonna be some excitin' programming, Maw. You betcha, Paw.

...media companies will now go to the courts, saying the new limits violate constitutional property protections. Cabinet Chief Anibel Fernandez said Saturday that ''this is the right of any citizen.''

I'm sure Obama's people will say the same. Of course, when you start packing the Supremes with the likes of Sotomayor, the result could be a foregone conclusion.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/10/world/AP-LT-Argentina-Media-Law.html?_r=1

Argentine Senate Overwhelmingly Approves Media Law

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: October 10, 2009

Filed at 11:08 a.m. ET

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Argentina's Senate overwhelmingly approved a law that will transform the nation's media landscape on Saturday, and President Cristina Kirchner said she would sign it immediately.

Senators voted by a surprisingly high 44-24 margin for the law, celebrating the end of dictatorship-era rules that enabled a few companies to dominate Argentine media. Opponents say it instead gives the government too much power and will curtail freedom of speech.

The new law preserves two-thirds of the radio and TV spectrum for noncommercial stations, and requires channels to use more Argentine content. It also forces Grupo Clarin, the country's leading media company, to sell off many of its properties.

''The initiative is moderate and democratic,'' said Sen. Miguel Angel Pichetto, a ruling party leader, during nearly 20 hours of uninterrupted debate that ended Saturday morning. ''It allows for companies to have an adequate position, but not a dominant one.''

Opponents say the new law simply replaces a media oligopoly with a state monopoly -- and will enable investors with close ties to the president and her husband, former president Nestor Kirchner, to snap up media properties at low prices in forced sales.

Outside Congress, thousands of supporters celebrated in the plaza with chants, applause, fireworks and booming drums. The demonstration was organized by government supporters and included political activist Maximo Kirchner, son of the first couple.

Ruling party Sen. Liliana Fellner said the law does away with a vestige of Argentina's 1976-83 military dictatorship.

''We are settling an old debt with democracy,'' she said.

The commission applying new regulations and granting (or canceling) radio and television licenses will have seven members, include two designated by the executive branch, three by Congress and two by a federal body representing provincial governments. This should ensure ruling party control, which opponents fear will be used to threaten and censure critics.

Most affected is Grupo Clarin, one of Latin America's leading media companies. Within one year, it must sell off radio stations, television channels and part of its dominant cable TV network to comply with new ownership limits.

''The government is going after the media with all its remaining power,'' Clarin Editor Ricardo Roa wrote Saturday. ''It has rushed through a misleading law that seems to be progressive but in reality only sets us back: it will promote a press that is weaker and more docile.''

The lopsided Senate vote makes it unlikely the law will be overturned when Fernandez loses supporters in a new Congress, starting Dec. 10. A two-thirds majority in needed to overcome her veto.

The new law imposes more frequent licensing approvals, and requires that at least 70 percent of radio content and 60 percent of television content be produced in Argentina. It also requires cable TV companies to carry channels operated by universities, unions, indigenous groups and other non-governmental organizations.

Clarin and other media companies will now go to the courts, saying the new limits violate constitutional property protections. Cabinet Chief Anibel Fernandez said Saturday that ''this is the right of any citizen.''

----

Associated Press Writer Vicente Panetta contributed to this report.